Application Deadline: 15 August 2017 midnight , South African Standard Time (SAST)
Eligible COuntries: South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia and Swaziland
95 Rhodes Scholars are selected annually from many countries around the world. They are young women and men from diverse backgrounds and interests who show potential to be public-spirited leaders for the world’s future.
The Rhodes Scholarships are postgraduate awards supporting outstanding all-round students at the University of Oxford, and providing transformative opportunities for exceptional individuals. The Rhodes Trust provides the Rhodes Scholarships in partnership with Second Century Founder, John McCall MacBain and other generous benefactors.
Requirements:
Scholarships in Southern Africa are distributed as follows:
- South Africa-at-Large Scholarships:
You should apply to the committee (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. Save for KwaZulu-Natal as explained below, all successful candidates from Regional Selection Committees are sent to the South Africa -at-Large Selection Committee, for the final round of interviews. - The South Africa-at-Large Selection Committee selects successful candidates and recommends them to the Rhodes Trust, which ultimately makes the scholarship awards. 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.
- KwaZulu-Natal Scholarship:
You may apply for the KwaZulu-Natal Scholarship if you live permanently or have received, or are currently receiving, a considerable part of your education in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN). The KZN Selection Committee may make one direct recommendation (similar to those of the South Africa-at-Large Selection Committee) to the Rhodes Trust each year, and also acts as a Regional Selection Committee. -
Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia and 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 procedure is the same as that for the South Africa-at-Large Scholarships.
Eligibility criteria
a. You must have a first degree by the time you start at Oxford, which means that you must be at least in the final year of your first degree when you apply for the Scholarship.
b. Generally, applicants from South African universities will have had to do very well in their discipline. You will need to obtain a first class or a very strong upper second class degree.
c. You must be a citizen or legal permanent resident of , and have resided for at least five years within the period of ten years immediately preceding your application, in South Africa,
Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia or Swaziland.
d. You must have reached your 19th and not have passed your 25th birthday on 01 October 2018, which means you must have been born after 30 September 1993 and on or before 01 October 1999.
e. For medical students and medical doctors the age limit is extended by up to three
years to allow them to complete internship and community service. This means applicants must have been born after 30 September 1990 and on or before 1 October, 1999.
f. If you are registered for an MBBCh or an MBChB degree you may apply during your second year of internship, provided that you would not have not passed your 28th birthday on 1 October 2018.
Application procedure
a. You may apply to one country only and, in South Africa, in one region or school only.
b. You should apply online from early June, and by the closing date at (1) above: www.rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk/southern-africa. Only in exceptional circumstances will paper applications be entertained. If you cannot submit online, contact your regional secretary (
see www.rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk/page/people-in-southern-africa) for a
ssistance. You are encouraged to do so sooner rather than waiting until the last minute.
c. Shortlisted candidates will be invited to interview. Applicants who cannot attend the relevant selection committee interview in person will not be considered.
- The regional and school selection committees usually meet in October/November.
- The BLMNS selection committee will hold its interviews towards the end of November.
- The South Africa-at-Large selections are usually held on the last weekend of November or the first weekend of December.
- Reasonable travel expenses to the nearest selection committee (and for those shortlisted by the KZN committee) for the purposes of interviews will be paid. The Trust will not be responsible for the cost of overseas travel.
- Accommodation within South Africa will, where necessary, be provided.
For further information about the Rhodes Trust and the Rhodes Scholarships, see www.rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk
General Secretary for the Rhodes Scholarships in Southern Africa
Mr Ndumiso Luthuli
Assistant General Secretaries
Mr Nick Ferreira and Ms Trudi Makhaya
Secretary
Mrs Annette Gibson
PO Box 41468, Craighall 2024
Tel: (011) 794 4693 Fax: 086 606 2545
Cell: 082 770 0515
Email:
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