MSc in African Studies Scholarships

The African Studies Centre is offering three full scholarships for the MSc in African Studies for the 2013-2014 academic year:

Students from Angola, Ghana and Nigeria are also eligible to apply for the Eni Scholarships offered by St Antony's College in partnership with the energy company Eni. Outstanding postgraduate students from transition and emerging economies in Africa, Asia and South America can apply for the the Louis Dreyfus-Weidenfeld Scholarship and Leadership Programme.

Waverley-ORISHA Scholarship

The Waverley Fund was established in 2001. It aims to assist academically excellent students from disadvantaged backgrounds who have shown the potential to make a significant contribution in their future careers. ORISHA (Oxford Research in the Scholarship and Humanities of Africa) is administered by the African Studies Committee and provides funding for postgraduate study of Africa in the Humanities. A Waverley-ORISHA joint scholarship will be awarded in 2013-14 for an MSc in African Studies.

The scholarship is open to applicants who ordinarily reside in sub-Saharan Africa and intend on returning to their home country at the end of their studies. It will be awarded on the basis of outstanding academic merit and will cover all university and college fees as well as a grant for living expenses which should be sufficient to cover the costs of accommodation, food, utility bills and general living costs.

All eligible candidates that apply for the MSc in African Studies by the second application deadline (18 January 2013) will be considered, you do not need to submit a separate application form. The successful candidate will be notified by email in early May 2013.

Please see the University of Oxford's Postgraduate Funding pages for further details.

Ioma Evans-Pritchard/Commonwealth Scholarship

As part of the development of African and Interdisciplinary Studies, St Anne’s College is offering the Ioma Evans-Pritchard Scholarship in conjunction with the Commonwealth Shared Scholarship Scheme and the African Studies Centre. The Scholarship will cover the full university and college fees and a maintenance allowance for a suitably qualified student applying for the MSc African Studies.

To be eligible for the scholarship candidates must:

• Be nationals of a Commonwealth developing country,* and not at present living or studying in a developed country;
• Have not undertaken studies lasting one year or more in a developed country;
• Be able to confirm in writing that neither they or their families are able to pay for them to study in the UK;
• Be willing to return to their home country as soon as their award comes to an end (the Commonwealth Commission will only consider requests to extend leave to remain in the UK post-award for those wishing to progress from Master's to PhD study and strict conditions will apply).

In order to be considered for the Scholarship candidates must indicate in the funding section of your admissions application that you intend to apply for Ioma Evans-Pritchard/Commonwealth Scholarship and you must name St. Anne’s your first college choice.  Your application for admission to the course must be submitted to the Graduate Admissions office by the closing date of the 2nd application deadline (18 January 2013), incomplete applications received by this deadline will not be considered for this award.

Results will be announced by the end of April 2013.

Further information is available from the African Studies Administrator, 13 Bevington Road, Oxford OX2 6LH, or by email to african.studies@africa.ox.ac.uk.

*Awards are open to students from Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Botswana, British Virgin Islands, Cameroon, Dominica, Falkland Islands, Fiji, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guyana, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Montserrat, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Pitcairn, Rwanda, St Helena, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Tanzania, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tristan da Cunha, Turks and Caicos, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Western Samoa Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The Canon Collins/African Studies Scholarship in association with Linacre College

The African Studies Centre is offering a Canon Collins/African Studies scholarship in association with Linacre College for the MSc in African Studies for the 2013-2014 academic year.

The scholarship is open to applicants who ordinarily reside in southern Africa. Applicants for the scholarship should be a national of, or have refugee status, in one of the following countries: Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Applicants should intend on returning to their home country or to the region at the end of their studies. The scholarship will be awarded on the basis of outstanding academic merit and will cover all university and college fees as well as a grant for living expenses which should be sufficient to cover the costs of accommodation, food, utility bills and general living costs.

In order to be considered for the Scholarship candidates must indicate in the funding section of the admissions application that they intend to apply for the scholarship and must name Linacre as their college of choice. Applications for admission to the course must be submitted to the Graduate Admissions office by 15th March 2013.

This scholarship is supported by the Canon Collins Educational and Legal Assistance Trust, Linacre College and the African Studies Centre.

Eni Scholarships

St Antony's College, Oxford in partnership with the international integrated energy company Eni, is offering three students from African universities the opportunity of fully funded scholarships, including fees and living expenses, to undertake postgraduate study at Master's level at the University of Oxford commencing in October 2013.

The scholarships are open to applicants of the MSc in African Studies who are ordinarily resident in Angola, Ghana or Nigeria. The scholarships will be awarded on the basis of both academic merit and potential, and financial need. Preference will be given to applicants whose first degree is from an African university and who have clear ambitions to use their accumulated learning to benefit their home country after graduation.

How to apply

In order to be considered for this scholarship, you must submit your application for the MSc in African Studies by the March deadline (8 March 2013) and you must have secured a conditional or unconditional place by the expected final decision date. It would help if you select St Antony's College in the college choice section of the application form, though this is not compulsory.

You must also complete an Eni Scholarships application form, available on the St Antony's College website, and email it to Kirsty Norton, Assistant College Registrar at assistant.registrar@sant.ox.ac.uk by 22 March 2013. Following a meeting of the Eni selection committee at St Antonys College, successful candidates should expect to be notified by email by 30 April 2013.

To receive the Scholarship, candidates must satisfy any academic conditions placed by the University on their offers of admission, including providing evidence of their linguistic competence if English is not their first language. Please note that continued funding of any course supported by an Eni Scholarship is subject to satisfactory academic progress and appropriate personal conduct.

St Antony's and Eni are equally keen to provide encouragement and where possible, structured incentives for Eni Scholars to continue their studies or find useful employment back in their home country after graduating from Oxford. Discussions about this are ongoing and scholars will be informed of relevant contacts and partnerships as they emerge. 

Further information about the Eni Scholarship can be found through the Oxford Funding Search and on the St Antony's College website.

Louis Dreyfus-Weidenfeld Scholarship and Leadership Programme

The Louis Dreyfus - Weidenfeld Scholarship and Leadership Programme provides outstanding postgraduate students from transition and emerging economies throughout Africa, Asia and South America with the opportunity to pursue fully funded graduate studies at the University of Oxford. The scholarships are available for a range of postgraduate courses at the University of Oxford, including the MSc in African Studies.

The scholarship is complemented by a comprehensive programme of leadership skills development, long-term mentoring and networking. The Leadership Programme includes:

  • An annual Leadership and Public Policy Seminar - including moderated discussions and workshops on political philosophy and leadership development. Each Seminar is designed to focus on a relevant global issue with forthcoming themes including environment and sustainable development issues;
  • Practical skills training in presentation, exam-writing  and interviewing techniques;
  • A London Leadership Forum at the end of the academic year;
  • Engagement in the Institute for Strategic Dialogue’s projects and conferences;
  • Organisation of an annual Weidenfeld Debate; and
  • Numerous networking opportunities throughout the year.

The Programme is managed by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD). ISD is an independent think tank working with leaders in government, business, academia and the media to develop multi-country responses to the major security and socio-economic challenges of our time and to enhance Europe’s capacity to act effectively in the global arena.

Eligible candidates must hold an undergraduate degree and be an ordinary resident of a country in Africa, Asia or South America, as listed on the Eligible Countries List. Successful applicants must have an interest in serving the global community through their chosen field of work, including but not limited to, agriculture, health care, environmental and water management, economic, public and foreign policy. They should have a commitment to pursuing diverse careers within the agro-business sector with a focus on improving food security and sustainability. Applicants should be able to demonstrate a connection between their subject of study and their longer-term career objectives, explaining how they see their professional work contributing to the improvement of public life in their countries of origin or at a wider regional or international level.

Further information on this scholarship programme, including how to apply, can be found on University of Oxford’s Graduate Funding pages.