Information for

Applicants


– 2010 –


How to Apply for a

Rhodes

Scholarship

Updated 31 March 2010

Click here to download the Application form and information brochure.

What are the Rhodes Scholarships?

How many Scholarships are available?

What qualities do you need to be selected?

Rules governing applications for Rhodes Scholarships in Southern Africa:

The addresses of the South African regional selection committee secretaries:

What are the Rhodes Scholarships?

The Rhodes Scholarships were founded by the Will of Cecil John Rhodes and they have been operating since 1903. Rhodes had himself been to Oxford University , and had such a high regard for the University that he wanted people from what was then the British Empire , and from the United States and Germany , to benefit from the intellectual, cultural, social and sporting opportunities Oxford offers. He therefore expected Rhodes Scholars to be sufficiently intellectually and academically competent to achieve a good degree while enjoying the additional benefits of Oxford life.

The Scholarship is for full-time study and pays your entire tuition fee. It provides you with a comfortable living allowance of £11,000 per year, and also pays the cost of transport for you and your necessary belongings to and from Oxford . There is no additional stipend for Scholars who are married or who have dependants.

The Scholarships are managed by the Rhodes Trust , which has its head office at Rhodes House in Oxford . The Warden of Rhodes House is the chief executive officer of the Rhodes Trust and is responsible for the Rhodes Scholarships and Rhodes Scholars at Oxford . The current Warden is Sir Colin Lucas, a former Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University.

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How many Scholarships are available?

There are ten Scholarships available in Southern Africa each year.

Four of these are available to all South African residents and are known as the South Africa-at-Large Scholarships.

Cecil Rhodes made specific provision in his Will for one Scholar from KwaZulu-Natal and one each from four schools, namely Diocesan College , Cape Town ; Paul Roos Gymnasium, Stellenbosch; St Andre w's College, Grahamstown; and South African College School, Cape Town .

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What qualities do you need to be selected?

More than a century after they were started, the Scholarships are still highly regarded for the achievements of the women and men who have been Rhodes Scholars. The Rhodes Scholarships are exceptional in that they are not meant for students who are outstanding academics without more to offer. In his Will, Cecil Rhodes emphasised that those elected should not be “merely bookworms”. Rhodes Scholars are consequently all-rounders who combine intellectual excellence with leadership, commitment, involvement, character and other attributes.

Cecil Rhodes directed selectors to have regard to each candidate's literary and scholastic attainments; fondness of and success in outdoor sports; qualities of truth, courage, devotion to duty, sympathy for and protection of the weak, kindliness, unselfishness and fellowship; exhibition of moral force of character and of instincts to lead and to take an interest in their contemporaries. He considered that these latter attributes “will be likely in afterlife to guide [Rhodes Scholars] to esteem the performance of public duties as [their] highest aim”.

Rules governing applications for Rhodes Scholarships in Southern Africa:

1.		Closing date
		Your application must be hand delivered, couriered or posted on or before 15 August 2009.
2		Eligibility criteria
2.1		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.
2.2		You must live permanently in 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 .
2.3		Unless you are a medical student or medical doctor, you must be at least 19 years and younger than 25 years on 1 October in the yearafter selection. This means that 2009 applicants must have been born after 30 September 1985 and on or before 1 October, 1991.
2.4		For medical students and medical doctors the age limit is extended by two years. The intention is to:
2.4.1		Avoid successful medical school applicants having to postpone taking up the Scholarship;
2.4.2		Enable applicants to complete their medical internships before going to Oxford and to take up the Scholarship before completing their post-internship medical residency.
2.5		If you are registered for an MBBCh or an MBChB degree you may apply during your internship, provided that you are younger than 27 on 1 October in the year after selection, i.e. the year you would start at Oxford.
2.6		You shall not be qualified or disqualified for election to a Scholarship on account of race or religious opinions.
2.7		A selection committee will make no nomination if there is no sufficiently qualified candidate.
2.8		You must undertake a commitment to work for the benefit of Africa in general or Southern Africa in particular after finishing at Oxford .
3.		Study at Oxford University
3.1		The basic tenure of the Scholarships is for two years at Oxford University , subject always to satisfactory academic performance and personal conduct; but you may hold the Scholarship for one year only, depending on your particular degree programme.
3.2		A Scholarship may possibly be renewed for a third and final year for those who were initially admitted to Oxford to pursue a doctoral degree (see 3.10 below), but this is at the discretion of the Trustees.
3.3		Holding other awards in conjunction with a Rhodes Scholarship is not allowed without prior permission from the Warden.
3.4		Selection is for entry in the October following selection, and if a Scholar-elect fails to find a place in Oxford , or cannot for some other reason take up the Scholarship, then the Trustees will not normally confirm the Scholarship. Deferrals to another year are not allowed.
3.5		All candidates elected must go into residence at Oxford no later than October of the next year, save in exceptional circumstances disclosed in the candidate's application and subject to the approval of the Warden after election. Failure to do so will result in forfeiture of the Scholarship.
3.6		It is not permitted for Scholars to go “off stipend” to resume the Scholarship at a later date.
3.7		Scholars may pursue undergraduate or post-graduate studies. (The trend is for Scholars to pursue graduate studies in a field that is the same as or related to their first degree. It is also possible, though unusual, for Scholars to read for a second undergraduate degree, see 3.11 below.)
3.8		Admission to a postgraduate degree depends on your particular qualifications and requires the consent of your college and the relevant faculty.
3.9		The Trustees may allow you to do two one-year Master's degrees, subject to adequate performance in the first degree.
3.10		The Trustees may also allow Scholars to do a one-year taught MSc or a two-year MPhil and then convert it to a DPhil although the Trust will not pay a fourth year of fees if you do not complete the DPhil in the maximum three year period of the Scholarship. (Scholars who are on track to successfully complete a DPhil have generally b een able in the past to source other funds for their final year – but this is not the Trust's undertaking or responsibility.)
3.11		Those who read for an undergraduate degree will usually qualify for “senior status”, which allows them to complete a three-year undergraduate degree in two years, but the Trust will not allow another year on Trust funding for a further degree. Nor will the Trust permit the undergraduate degree over three years.
3.12		Scholars will only be supported for the Masters in Financial Economics (MFE) or the MBA programme in their second year of the Rhodes Scholarship (i.e. scholars will need to read for a different programme or degree in their first year).
3.13		Instructions will be given to applicants who are elected to Rhodes Scholarships about the two samples of recent written work which are required for admission to most graduate programmes.
4.		Application procedure
4.1		You may apply to one country only and, in South Africa , in one region only . If you are from one of the four schools Rhodes nominated, however, you may in addition apply to South Africa-at-Large (i.e. including KZN) or to the BLMNS. If you intend applying to both your school and the South Africa-at-Large or BLMNS regional selection committee, you should send your application to both of these committees.
4.2		The final election is made by the Rhodes Trust ees, who rely on selection procedures undertaken by selection committees in each constituency.
4.3		South Africa-at-Large Scholarships
		You should apply to the committee in whose area you permanently live or in which you have received or are currently receiving any considerable part of your education. (The regional selection committee reviews all completed applications. A short-list is drawn up, and these candidates are invited to attend an interview. Those candidates whom the committee feel are most suitable are referred to the South Africa-at-Large Selection Committee, which makes the final recommendations to the Rhodes Trust .)
4.4		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 . (The KwaZulu-Natal Selection Committee makes one direct election of a Rhodes Scholar each year, and also acts as a regional short-listing committee for the South Africa-at-Large Scholarships. The KwaZulu-Natal committee has an extended system of individual interviews before the final committee interview. You can find out more about this from the regional secretary.)
4.5		Botswana , Lesotho , Malawi , Namibia and Swaziland Scholarship
		You may apply to the BLMNS selection committee if you reside permanently in one of the mentioned countries. (The procedure followed is the same as that for the South Africa-at-Large Scholarships.)
5.		Expenses
5.1		Reasonable travel expenses to the nearest selection committee for the purpose of interviews will be paid.
5.2		Accommodation within South Africa will be supplied and paid for by the Trust.
5.3		If you are invited to a preliminary interview in KwaZulu-Natal but are living outside the province, the Trust will on demonstrated need consider assisting you in covering your expenses.
6.		Information to be submitted with application.
6.1		You must submit a completed application form (available from your regional secretary or on-line at www.rhodestrust.org.za ) plus the documents and information detailed below:
6.1.1		A certified copy of your birth certificate, to show that you are in the correct age group.
6.1.2		Certified copies of your degree certificates.
6.1.3		A certified official record of your academic results.
6.1.4		Details of any employment or enterprise you have undertaken during your studies or thereafter.
6.1.5		Curriculum vitae, showing details of what you have achieved: your high school career; your college or university career; your involvement in student or community affairs, cultural, sporting or political activities; your leadership roles; and any other significant achievements or involvements.
6.1.6		A signed statement divided into parts A and B:
		Part A
		•  Explain your general interests and activities and what you plan to do with your life once you have completed your studies.
		•  In this statement you get a chance to discuss your aims and priorities and the contribution you have made and would like to make to society .
		•  It is expected that Part A will be no more than three typed pages.
		Part B
		•  Indicate the course of study and degree you wish to follow at Oxford.
		•  Also demonstrate that you are able to meet the requirements of the specific course you have chosen.
		•  Applicants wishing to undertake a DPhil must provide a brief outline of their proposed research.
		(Your personal statement, and Part B in particular, is a very important part of your application. If you are selected as a Rhodes Scholar, Part B will be read and evaluated by the Tutor for Admissions of the Oxford college to which your application is submitted and also by the Director of Graduate Studies in the relevant faculty. So it is very important for you to have considered what course and degree you wish to follow at Oxford before you submit your application. It is a good idea to discuss your proposed course of study with your professors or lecturers in that field, and, if possible, with someone who has knowledge of United Kingdom universities. Additional sources of information are the current issues of the University of Oxford Undergraduate Prospectus and Graduate Studies Prospectus w hich are available online at www.admin.ox.ac.uk/usp and at www.admin.ox.ac.uk/gsp )
6.1.7		A list of six people (your referees) who can be contacted by the selection committee for further detailed information about you:
		•  Note that you should not furnish references from your referees as they will be contacted to furnish confidential references directly to the selection committee.
		•  Furnish the business and home (or mobile) telephone and fax numbers as well as the postal and e-mail addresses of all your referees.
		•  Choose reliable people who are likely to respond to requests for written reports as their written reports will be crucial to your application. Ask their permission before listing them as referees.
		•  At least four of your referees should be university academics who have taught you and who can comment on your academic ability and how well they feel you would fare at Oxford.
		•  Other referees can include teachers and other persons who are able to comment critically on whether you fulfil the requirements Rhodes set in his Will. A good referee is one who knows you well, rather than a well-known person who only knows you superficially. It is not advisable to get close contemporaries or personal friends to be referees.
6.1.8		Two 15cm × 10cm (6” × 4”) head-and-shoulder colour photographs – i.e. not passport photograph size.
6.1.9		Include your home address, phone and fax numbers, and e-mail address .
6.1.10		All documents must be in English or English translations must be provided.
6.1.11		Applications must be in hard copy. CD-Rom and e-mailed applications will not be accepted.
6.1.12		All documents you submit have to be photocopied, so do not bind, staple or clip them in a folder.
7.		Interviews
		Applicants who cannot be at the relevant selection committee interviews will not be considered. For your guidance:
7.1		The regional and school Selection Committees usually meet in October/November.
7.2		The BLMNS Selection Committee will hold its meeting on 21 and 22 November and the South Africa-at-Large selections will be held on 28, 29 and 30 November.

The addresses of the South African regional selection committee secretaries:

Western Cape and Northern Cape

Dr Chris Maske
P.O. Box 41468
Craighall 2024
E-mail: Rhotrust@pixie.co.za

Gauteng, North-West, Limpopo and Mpumalanga

Dr Lisa Klein
P.O. Box 41468
Craighall 2024
E-mail: Rhotrust@pixie.co.za

KwaZulu-Natal

Mr Angus Stewart SC
12 th Floor
6 Durban Club Place
Durban 4001
E-mail: stewart@law.co.za

Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia and Swaziland

Mr Omphemetse Mooki
P.O. Box 41468
Craighall 2024
E-mail: Rhotrust@pixie.co.za

Free State and Eastern Cape

Mrs Merridy Wilson-Strydom
Centre for Higher Education Studies and Development
University of the Free State
PO Box 4345
Bloemfontein
9300
E-mail: wilsonstrydommg.rd@ufs.ac.za

The four named schools

Enquire from the Headmaster about special procedures and conditions.

General Secretary for the Rhodes Scholarships in Southern Africa

Justice Edwin Cameron

Assistant General Secretaries

Dr Lisa Klein and Mr Ndumiso Luthuli

Secretary

Mrs Annette Gibson
P.O. Box 41468
Craighall 2024
Tel: (011) 794 4693
Cell: 082 770 0515
E-mail: Rhotrust@pixie.co.za

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