Funding - general
There is no single centrally managed source of funding which provides support for all graduate students, and anyone intending to study at postgraduate level at Oxford will be responsible for securing funding to cover the costs of their course. There is information about fees and funding on the University’s website to help you work out how much it will cost to study in Oxford, and how you can fund your course. Students are required to provide a guarantee that they are in a secure financial position to undertake study before they can take up their place.
Sources of funding
The University, Division, Faculties and Colleges all have sources of funding available to graduate students. Major funding schemes include:
- AHRC BGP studentships – for UK and EU students. The Humanities Division has funding for around 80 doctoral studentships and nearly 60 master’s studentships under the AHRC’s Block Grant Partnership. Detailed information about the funding available, eligible courses and how to apply is available from the Division’s website.
- Clarendon Scholarships – for UK, EU and overseas students. Clarendon Awards are aimed at enabling academically outstanding students to pursue their studies at Oxford. Each year, the Humanities Division makes around 25 of these awards, which cover tuition and college fees and provide an allowance for living costs. More information on these scholarships and the fund that supports them is available from the Clarendon Fund website.
- Weidenfeld Scholarships - Primarily intended for students from Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Russia, the Middle East and North Africa, Weidenfeld Scholarships provide outstanding university graduates and young professionals with the opportunity to pursue graduate studies at the University of Oxford, as well as a comprehensive programme of leadership-skills development, long-term mentoring and networking (including communication skills courses, pro-bono projects and involvement in a high-level speaker and seminar series).
- The Wolfson Postgraduate Scholarships will fund doctoral research in three disciplines that align closely with the Foundation’s interests: history, literature and languages. Scholarships are offered at a group of nine universities that have strengths across the three disciplines, of which the University of Oxford is one. Oxford has been awarded three scholarships and matched funding is being provided by the Vice-Chancellor’s Fund, creating a total of six scholarships. Wolfson Postgraduate Scholarships will be awarded to outstanding students who demonstrate the potential to make an impact on their chosen field. Wolfson Scholarships will be awarded solely on academic merit. Ideally the successful candidates would go on to pursue an academic career.
- China Oxford Scholarship Fund: Brian Keelan Award - For the 2012 –2013 academic year, the Brian Keelan Award is expected to be £16,000 or more. Preference is given to mainland Chinese students studying in the Humanities especially in the areas of philosophy, history, theology, classics, English literature, Byzantine studies and Medieval studies. The Award was established in memory of Brian Keelan who studied PPE at University College. Where possible, it is hoped the Brian Keelan recipient would attend University College. Acceptance into University College can happen as a result of it being specified as the college preference and a direct offer being made. Alternatively a successful Brian Keelan Award candidate could be transferred from another college to University College.
In addition to these schemes, Faculties and Colleges offer a number of smaller awards.
Further information: see the Fees, Funding and Scholarships Search page.
Please note that all enquiries regarding applying to Oxford for graduate study should be directed to the Graduate Admissions and Funding Office.
