Application Deadline: 01 August 2025
Applications are now open for the 2026 Rhodes Southern Africa Scholarships Programme. The Rhodes Scholarship is a fully funded, full time, postgraduate award which enables talented young people from around the world to study at the University of Oxford. Rhodes Scholars come to the UK for two or more years and can apply to study most full-time postgraduate courses offered by Oxford University.
Scholarships in Southern Africa are distributed as follows:
a. South Africa-at-Large Scholarships: You should apply to the Regional Selection Committee in whose area you permanently live or in which you have received, or are currently receiving, any considerable part of your education. All successful candidates from Regional Selection Committees (except for KwaZulu-Natal as explained below), are sent to the South Africa-atLarge Selection Committee, for the final round of interviews. The South Africa-at-Large Selection Committee may select eight Rhodes Scholars.
There are four regional Selection Committees, namely:
i. Eastern Cape and Free State;
ii. KwaZulu-Natal;
iii. Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga and North-West; and iv. Western Cape and Northern Cape
b. KwaZulu-Natal Scholarship:
You may apply for the KwaZulu-Natal Scholarship if you live permanently or have received, or are receiving, a considerable part of your education in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). The KZN Selection Committee may select one successful candidate each year, and can also send candidates to the South Africa-at-Large Selection Committee.
c. Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia and eSwatini (formerly Swaziland) Scholarship (BLMNS): You may apply to the BLMNS Selection Committee if you fulfil the citizenship or legal residence requirement in one of the mentioned countries. The BLMNS Selection Committee may select one candidate each year.
Eligibility Criteria
- Nationality/citizenship: You must be a citizen or legal permanent resident of South Africa,
Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia or eSwatini. Applications from refugees/asylum seekers
in South Africa will also be considered in this constituency. - Residency: You must have been resident in South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia
or eSwatini for at least five of the last ten years. - Age:
(i) Upon entry to Oxford on 01 October 2026, you must be at least 19 years old and not have
passed your 25th birthday (which means you must have been born after 01 October 2001 and
on or before 01 October 2007).
(ii) For older candidates who will have passed their 25th birthday on 01 October 2026, and
completed their first undergraduate degree later than usual: - Candidates must have completed their first undergraduate degree within the last 2
years, i.e. after 1 October 2024*; and - may not have passed their 28th birthday on 01 October 2026 (which means they must have been born after 01 October 1998).
Scholarship Worth:
- The Rhodes Scholarship covers University of Oxford course fees, as well as providing an annual stipend. For the 2024/25 academic year, the stipend is £19,800 per annum (£1,650 per month) from which Scholars pay all living expenses, including accommodation.
Key Documents
You will need to upload copies of the following documents. Please note that all documents must be
submitted in English. If your official documents, such as your birth certificate, passport or transcript are
not in English you must also upload English translations. Please note that you may be asked to provide
the original documents at a later date.
- A copy of your birth certificate.
- A copy of a valid passport or ID document. For those candidates not born in one of the countries
listed at the top of page one, please also supply additional materials necessary to validate
citizenship, legal permanent residency, or refugee status. - An official academic transcript from the university at which you are studying, or have studied,
showing grades achieved (to date). - Copies of your degree certificates.
- A copy of your school leaving certificate.
- You will need to complete the curriculum vitae (CV) template PDF (available to download here)
and upload it into your application form. The template covers the following areas:
o Academic awards, prizes and scholarships
o Leadership roles and experience
o Volunteering and/or community involvement
o Publications and presentations
o Skills, hobbies and extra-curricular activities
Application Timeline:
- 01 August 2025: Deadline for applications
- 15 August 2025: Deadline for submission of references
- August: Your application will be checked for eligibility and completeness
- August-September: applications are reviewed by our Selection Committee(s).This assessment
determines if your application will proceed to the next stage. - September – November: Interviews will be held in South Africa. All interviews will take place
between 26 September and 9 November 2025. The Selection Committees for BLMNS, KZN and
regions meet in September and October. The South Africa-at-Large/ national selections are
held in November.
For More Information:
Visit the Official Webpage of the Rhodes Southern Africa Scholarships Programme
