International students aspiring to study at the University of Oxford, UK with a fully-funded scholarship covering both tuition and living expenses can now apply to Clarendon.
Purpose of Clarendon: The Clarendon Fund’s purpose is simple; to assist academically outstanding graduate students through their studies at the University of Oxford.
Clarendon not only offers around 130 new, fully-funded scholarships each year to assist outstanding graduate scholars, but offers the opportunity to join one of the most active, highly international, and multidisciplinary communities at Oxford.Title: Clarendon Scholarship
Level of Study: PG/Master’s, DPhil/PhD
Place of Study: The University of Oxford, UK
Subject of Study: Any
Total Number of Awards: 130
Deadline: January 2021 (relevant to each department)
Start-Date: September 2021
Value: Full Course Fees + £15009 (towards living expenses)
Eligibility Criteria
Graduate application deadline
By applying for graduate study you will automatically be considered for a Clarendon scholarship. You do not need to submit any additional documents and there are no separate scholarship application forms for Clarendon. You must apply by the relevant January deadline for your course in order to be considered. Deadline information is available on the course pages.
Value
Clarendon scholarships cover course fees in full. This applies to Home, EU and Overseas fee status students.
Scholars on a full-time course will receive an annual grant for living expenses of at least the minimum Research Council doctoral stipend rate, which is normally sufficient to cover the living costs of a single student living in Oxford. In 2020-21, you should expect to receive at least £15,009.
Duration
Clarendon scholarships are normally offered for the full period of fee liability. This is the period for which you are liable to pay course fees to the University.
Nationality or Ordinary Residence
There are no restrictions by nationality or country of ordinary residence.
Level of study
All full-time DPhil and Master’s courses are eligible, as long as you have applied by the relevant January deadline for your course. A list of all the graduate courses offered by the University of Oxford can be found on the courses page.
Subject area
Clarendon supports scholars from across the University, with no restrictions on subject area.
Other criteria
Candidates applying to start a new DPhil or Master’s course at Oxford are eligible. This includes students who are currently studying for a Master’s degree at Oxford but who will be re-applying for a DPhil or applying for a second Master’s course.
Deferred offers or current students
Applicants who hold a deferred graduate offer are not eligible to be considered for this scholarship.
Current students who will continue to study for the same degree at Oxford in the next year are not eligible for this scholarship.
Selection Criteria
Selection criteria vary slightly depending on the subject area and whether applicants apply for a taught or research degree.
As a guideline, applications are assessed against the following criteria:
Outstanding academic record
An excellent academic record is essential. The majority of successful scholars usually have at least a first-class honours degree or its equivalent. For example, a GPA score of at least 3.7, if the mark is out of 4, noting that a lot of the Clarendon scholars achieve higher than this score. Or an applicant must have an outstanding academic record at the Master’s level, noting that an exceptional Master’s degree can compensate for a moderate first-degree performance. Requirements may vary between disciplines and from year to year depending on the strength of the field. Other evidence of high academic achievement may include individual marks on student transcripts; evidence of previous university prizes or awards; information on your overall position within your cohort; and publications (if applicable).
Future potential and aptitude
Particular consideration is given to an applicant’s future academic potential and aptitude for the proposed course of study. This may be assessed by reviewing references and research proposals to determine evidence of an applicant’s aptitude for research and the likelihood of contributing significantly to the field of study.
Student motivation
This is assessed through evidence of the applicant’s commitment to the proposed course as well as evaluation of the personal statement and the referees’ reports.
Application Process
Graduate application deadline
By applying for graduate study you will automatically be considered for a Clarendon scholarship. You do not need to submit any additional documents and there are no separate scholarship application forms for Clarendon. You must apply by the relevant January deadline for your course in order to be considered. Deadline information is available on the course pages.
Value
Clarendon scholarships cover course fees in full. This applies to Home, EU and Overseas fee status students.
Scholars on a full-time course will receive an annual grant for living expenses of at least the minimum Research Council doctoral stipend rate, which is normally sufficient to cover the living costs of a single student living in Oxford. In 2020-21, you should expect to receive at least £15,009.
Duration
Clarendon scholarships are normally offered for the full period of fee liability. This is the period for which you are liable to pay course fees to the University. The fee liability page explains this in full, and also gives information about charges that may be applied after this period, known as continuation charges, which are not covered by the Clarendon Fund.
In some cases the academic division has the discretion to extend your scholarship to cover an additional period of study where the course is known to require additional time. The extension period applies to living expenses only and not to any continuation charges. Scholars will be notified in their offer letter if an extension to funding is provided.
Nationality or Ordinary Residence
There are no restrictions by nationality or country of ordinary residence.
Clarendon scholars come from across the world: from the USA to Australia, Venezuela to Vietnam and from Norway to Nigeria.
Level of study
All full-time DPhil and Master’s courses are eligible, as long as you have applied by the relevant January deadline for your course. A list of all the graduate courses offered by the University of Oxford can be found on the courses page.
For information for Part-time applicants please see our dedicated page.
Subject area
Clarendon supports scholars from across the University, with no restrictions on subject area.
Other criteria
Candidates applying to start a new DPhil or Master’s course at Oxford are eligible. This includes students who are currently studying for a Master’s degree at Oxford but who will be re-applying for a DPhil or applying for a second Master’s course.
Scholarship Application Process
- Apply by the relevant January deadline for your course to be considered for a Clarendon scholarship.
- Your application to your course will be considered by the academics working in your proposed field of study. They will assess the academic quality and suitability of your application.
- The department will make the final decision on your graduate place and will notify you with an outcome. See decision timeline for more details.
- In parallel, academics within your department will determine who to nominate to the division for a Clarendon scholarship based on the selection criteria.
- The process varies between the University’s academic divisions and the Department for Continuing Education, but each meet in February or March to review the departmental scholarship nominations.
- The academic divisions assess the nominations on their academic merit and future potential and the top ranked departmental nominees within the division are shortlisted for Clarendon.
- Once the shortlist is confirmed, the Clarendon Fund Administrator will contact successful applicants and will provide the scholarship offer letter.
- If you are offered (and accept) a Clarendon scholarship, this means your funding is now secure, as long as you meet the conditions of your offer of a place to study at Oxford.
- During April and May, Clarendon Partnership Awards are matched to scholars depending on the award requirements. No further information is required of Clarendon offer holders.
- Once each scholar’s unique funding package is confirmed, they will receive the funding breakdown letter outlining the funding arrangements. Final college placements will also be confirmed alongside partnership awards.
- All successful Clarendon candidates will be contacted via email. The majority of offers are sent out by early April of each year.
- Due to the number of eligible applicants, unsuccessful students will not be contacted. If you have not heard from us by June, please assume that unfortunately you have not been awarded a Clarendon scholarship.
- A few late nominations may take place during the summer period if nominated students withdraw, however this is very rare.
About Clarendon
The Clarendon Fund derives its name from its close relationship with Oxford University Press (OUP) and in honour of an act of philanthropy by the Earl of Clarendon. Alongside OUP, Clarendon receives a lot of support from the many of Oxford’s colleges, academic divisions and departments, University trust funds, and external partners. Known as Partnership Awards, this collaboration allows the costs to be spread between multiple sources enabling over 40 additional fully-funded scholarships to be awarded, and providing over £4.6m per year to the Fund.
Please visit the university website here for more details on the scholarship options.
