Find out more about the funding you can apply for to support you in your study
Fees
You can find information about fees on the Oxford University Fees and Funding webpages. You will need to ensure you have enough funds to cover your fees and expenses for the whole period of study; MPhil and doctoral students will possibly need to allow for fieldwork expenses where the thesis topic requires it and where fieldwork is approved. Unfortunately, opportunities to raise funding through teaching or research assistantships are not available within the department. All our courses are full time and have a heavy workload, so you will be only be able to take on up to a maximum of eight hours per week of paid employment during term time.
Information about your fee status, including for applicants from the EU, EEA and Switzerland, can be found on the University website.
Funding & studentships
Below is a list of a small number of the awards that are available for students applying to all or some of our courses. You are advised to explore as many funding opportunities as possible both within and outside the University.
You should ensure that your course application has been submitted together with all required supporting materials before the final deadline for your course in order to be considered for admission and also for University and college scholarships.
For the majority of Oxford scholarships, nothing more than the standard course application, made in time for the course’s deadline, is usually required. If you fulfil the eligibility criteria, you will automatically be considered. However, there are some scholarships for which you need to submit a separate application, and they may use different deadlines. Check the deadlines and other instructions through the Fees, Funding and Scholarship Search, where there is a page for each scholarship in the "A-Z of scholarships" section.
English language certificates must be submitted by any applicant whose first language is not English who has not successfully completed a degree course in the UK within the two years prior to the start of the course for which they are applying. For the MSc in Economics for Development, a GRE certificate must be submitted by all applicants. These items can arrive after the deadline.
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Departmental Awards
We offer a full scholarship (covering course fees, plus an amount towards living costs) to one student on each of our courses each year.
The criteria for selection will normally be outstanding academic ability and citizenship of (and normal residence in) a developing country as defined by the United Nations, with a preference for candidates from Sub-Saharan Africa. Continuation of scholarships in the case of multi-year courses (MPhil and DPhil) will be conditional upon a high standard of academic performance.
No separate application is required. All eligible candidates who are offered a place on the course will be considered.
Decisions are normally sent by email around the end of May or beginning of June.
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Black Academic Futures Scholarships
These scholarships are available to applicants who are ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom, who are of Black or Mixed-Black ethnicity and who hold an offer for any of our degrees.
To apply, all you have to do is submit your completed graduate course application, including ethnicity information, by the January deadline and you will automatically be considered. No separate application is required.
Each scholarship covers course fees and a grant for living costs. Further information is available here.
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Clarendon Scholarships
Clarendon Scholarships are awarded to academically excellent students with the best proven and future potential. They cover course fees in full, along with a generous grant for living expenses.
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Commonwealth Scholarships
The Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK (CSC) awards over 800 scholarships and fellowships for postgraduate study and professional development to Commonwealth citizens each year.
Commonwealth Shared Scholarship
Applicants for the MSc in Economics for Development only who are from least developed and lower middle income Commonwealth countries and who complete a separate application form available from the Commonwealth Shared Scholarships website. Only those who submit the application by the advertised deadline can be considered for the Commonwealth Shared scholarship.
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ECB Women in Economics Scholarships
These scholarships from the European Central Bank (ECB) offer grants of €10,000 to women who are EU citizens who are planning to enrol on a master’s in economics at a university or business school in Europe.
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Economics Department Scholarships
The Economics Department provides funding of up to £15,000 to be allocated to any successful candidate offered a place on the MSc in Economics for Development. The funding is open to any candidate for the course, irrespective of nationality or background; all applications will be considered on merit only. In the event of multiple strong candidates applying, some with partial funding from other sources, the department will share the award between more than one candidate. No separate application is required. All eligible candidates who are offered a place on the course will be considered. Successful candidates will be notified by the second half of May.
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ESRC Studentships
The ESRC is the UK’s largest organisation for funding research on social and economic issues. The University, in collaboration with Brunel University and the Open University, hosts the Grand Union Doctoral Training Partnership – one of 14 Doctoral Training Partnerships accredited by the ESRC as part of a Doctoral Training Network.
In order to be considered for a Grand Union DTP ESRC studentship, you must select ‘ESRC Grand Union DTP Studentships in Social Sciences’ in the University of Oxford scholarships section of the University's graduate application form. You must also complete a Grand Union DTP Application Form and upload it, together with your graduate application form, by the relevant deadline for your course.
Information about ESRC studentships at Oxford can be found on the Grand Union DTP website. Please ensure you have read all of the guidance available on the website before completing the Grand Union DTP Application Form. Questions can be directed to the Grand Union DTP Office.
Please note that the studentships are not availabel for taught master’s degrees on their own – all applicants should envisage continuing with a doctorate.
In all cases, you must apply for the studentship at the same time as you apply for your degree, and if there is more than one application deadline for your course, you should apply no later than the January deadline.
Most of the information you will need about these studentships, for example whether you are eligible and how to apply, can be found on the DTP website. Questions can be directed to the Grand Union DTP Office.
For those applying for a studentship through the Migration Pathway, applicants must also email andrea.smith@qeh.ox.ac.uk after they have applied to flag up that they wish to be considered for a studentship.
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Felix Scholarships
The Felix Scholarship enables outstanding students from India to pursue graduate studies in any subject. It covers 100 per cent of University and college fees, a grant for living costs and one return flight from India to the UK.
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Oxford-Catharine French Graduate Scholarship
One Oxford-Catharine French Graduate Scholarship is available for African applicants who demonstrate exceptional academic merit and potential, who are commencing an MSc Economics for Development or MPhil Economics, or a master’s course in the fields of global, social, environmental or political studies.
The Oxford-Catharine French Graduate Scholarship was established to support the next generation of change-makers in Africa to undertake graduate studies at the University of Oxford. Catharine French (1966-2020) read History and Economics at Lincoln College, Oxford, and was a trailblazer for the advancement of women in business, an advocate for financial inclusion and diversity, and a supporter of development in Africa. The Dodd/French family, supported by Barclays Bank, Lincoln College, and the Social Sciences Division at the University of Oxford, created the scholarship to honour Catharine’s memory and vision.
The scholarship covers course fees and a grant for living costs. Awards are made for the full duration of your fee liability for the agreed course. The scholarship is only tenable at Lincoln College. All eligible applicants will be considered for this scholarship, regardless of which college (if any) you state as your preference on the graduate application form. However, successful applicants will be transferred to Lincoln College in order to take up the scholarship.
Selection is expected to take place by July 2025.
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Rotary Scholarships
The Rotary Foundation offers scholarships for graduates and professionals to study peace and conflict resolution. Find out more from their website. Individual Rotary Clubs offer scholarships for graduate study – check with your local Club.
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Swire and Oxford & Cambridge Society of Kenya Scholarship
This scholarship is for an applicant who is a Kenyan citizen to study for a one-year Master’s degree in the academic year 2024-25 at St Antony’s College. The scholarship will be for a value of up to £40k.
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Swire Scholarships
Four fully funded scholarships are available for applicants who are permanent residents of Japan, Chinese mainland or Hong Kong SAR and have completed the majority of their formal education in their country/region of permanent residency. For all those who will commence study on a course offered by St Antony's College in 2024/25 (DPhils, MPhils and MSc are all eligible).
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Weidenfeld Scholarships
The Weidenfeld-Hoffmann Scholarships and Leadership Programme cultivates the leaders of tomorrow by providing outstanding university graduates and professionals from developing and emerging economies with the opportunity to pursue fully funded graduate studies at the University of Oxford, combined with a comprehensive programme of leadership development, long-term mentoring and networking.
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Other funding opportunities
A range of other scholarships are available, for example through the British Council, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Fulbright Trust, the Rhodes Trust, and University bursaries and college awards. Separate application may be required and students are advised to consult the University's Fees & Funding webpage for further information or contact the Student Funding Office for help: student.funding@admin.ox.ac.uk.