The Rhodes Scholarships for West Africa has commenced for 2017. This Scholarship is generously supported by Miles Morland and the Cohen Charitable Trust.
The Rhodes Scholarship is administered by the Rhodes Trust, Oxford, United Kingdom. Scholarships are awarded in 20 Rhodes constituencies (64 different countries) around the world. Selection Committees for the Rhodes Scholarship are looking for outstanding leaders who are motivated to engage with global challenges, to ‘esteem the performance of public duties as their highest aim’, and to promote international understanding and peace.
In short, Selection Committees seek young women and men of outstanding intellect, character, leadership, and commitment to service, and who demonstrate a strong propensity to emerge as ‘leaders for the world’s future’.
Eligibility Criteria:
a. You must be a citizen of one of the following countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, the island of Saint Helena, Senegal, Sierra Leone, São Tomé and Principe and Togo.
b. You must have been resident in one or more of the countries listed above for at least five of the last ten years.
c. You must have completed an undergraduate degree from a college or university (normally a Bachelor’s degree) with the highest classification your University awards, eg First Class or Upper Second Class Honours.
d. You must have reached your 19th and not have passed your 26th birthday on 1 October 2018. This means candidates must have been born after 30 September 1992 and on or before 1 October 1999.
e. You must have a sufficiently high standard of English to meet the English language proficiency requirements (at the Higher Level listed) of the University of Oxford.
Application Procedure:
- Applicants may apply online at www.rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk via the scholarships tab (from 1 June 2017).
- All candidates are required to ensure that their completed electronic application is received online by midnight,
GMT, 30 September 2017. Candidates are responsible for ensuring that referees submit their references online
no later than midnight, GMT, 14 October 2017. - In preparation for making their application, all candidates should read carefully the general information for
candidates on the Rhodes website, the Conditions of Tenure for the Rhodes Scholarship, the information in this document and the graduate admissions pages of the University of Oxford: www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/graduate. - Shortlisted candidates will be invited to interview. No candidate will be selected without interview. You must be available to attend the interview, in person, as no accommodations can be made on date and time of interview.
The interviews will take the format of a Dinner with the Selection Committee, followed by a Panel Interview the following day, most likely on a Friday evening/Saturday between mid-November/early December. Interviews will be held in Lagos. Overnight accommodation will be provided if necessary. Travel expenses are not normally provided. However, candidates who need to travel to the interview location from their country of origin within the West Africa region, may apply to the National Secretary for financial assistance to travel. - Candidates who do not receive further communication by the end of November should assume that their application has been unsuccessful.
Information to be submitted with application;
You must submit a completed application form on-line (please see 3a) with the documents and information detailed
below. All documents must be submitted in English, or English translations provided. Please note that, if you are
invited to interview, you will be asked to bring the originals of some of these documents with you:
a. One or more of the following documents to confirm that you meet the citizenship criterion (see 2a above), the
residency criterion (see 2b above), and the age criterion (2d above):
i. A certified copy of your birth certificate (or an affidavit of birth)
ii. A National Identity Card
iii. A valid passport (with translation, if necessary)
b. Evidence of residency within the region for at least five of the last ten years, for example official school records.
c. An official transcript from the university at which you studied, showing the grades achieved.
d. A head and shoulders photograph in jpg format. Please note that your photo will not be available to reviewers until after candidates have been shortlisted for interview.
e. Curriculum vitae, showing details of what you have achieved: any employment or enterprise you have undertaken during your studies or thereafter; 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. This should not exceed two pages of 12-point Times Roman font and should not include supporting documents.
f. If English is not your first language, an IELTS or TOEFL certificate as evidence of English language proficiency (see 2e above). (If you have studied at an English-language university, you may apply for a waiver from this language test requirement. To obtain the waiver, you must demonstrate that by the time your studies at Oxford commence, you will have completed a full-time course of at least nine months, undertaken at a recognised institution where the medium of instruction and assessment throughout the course is entirely in English.)
g. A signed personal statement of no more than 1,000 words which:
i. Addresses your general interests and activities and what you plan to do with your life once you have completed your studies;
ii. Discusses your aims and priorities and the contribution you have made and would like to make to your home country and the region;
iii. Indicates the course of study and degree you wish to follow at Oxford.
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 available online at www.ox.ac.uk/admissions, as well as on individual faculty /departmental websites;
Closing Date:
Your application must be submitted online by midnight, GMT, 30 September 2017.
