There is nothing separate to apply for — that is the key point. Apply to an Oxford graduate course by its stated funding deadline and you are considered for Clarendon automatically, so put all your effort into the course application. Message us on WhatsApp for help strengthening the SOP and references.
United Kingdom · Fully funded
Clarendon Scholarship — Full Funding at Oxford
Oxford’s largest graduate scholarship programme. The most important thing about it is the part most applicants miss — you cannot apply for it separately, and you do not need to.
- 100%
- Course fees
- £15k+
- Annual living grant
- ~140
- New awards a year
- 4
- Academic divisions
Overview
The Clarendon Fund is a merit-based graduate scholarship programme supported by Oxford University Press, and it is Oxford’s largest. Around 140 new awards are made each year across the four academic divisions: Humanities, Social Sciences, Mathematical Physical and Life Sciences, and Medical Sciences.
The process is unusually simple, which is exactly why it confuses people: there is no separate Clarendon form or essay. Apply to an Oxford graduate course by the relevant deadline and you are considered automatically. So the real work is making the course application as strong as possible — it is the only document that will be assessed.
What the scholarship covers
- Full course fees for your entire period of fee liability
- An annual grant for living costs, above £15,000 in recent cycles
- Available at both master’s and DPhil level
- The Clarendon scholar community, plus benefits attached to your Oxford college
Eligibility
- Any applicant to a full-time or part-time graduate course at Oxford
- No nationality restriction — candidates from every country are eligible
- A complete application submitted by the course’s stated funding deadline
- Ranking at the top of the departmental assessment on academic excellence and potential
How to apply
The step-by-step application process for the Clarendon Scholarship (Oxford).
01.Check the course funding deadline
Consideration requires applying by the earlier, stated funding deadline.
02.Put everything into the course application
It is the only document — your SOP, references and transcripts are the whole case.
03.No separate form
Nothing extra is submitted for Clarendon; consideration is automatic.
04.Departmental nomination and result
Departments nominate their strongest candidates; results usually arrive in spring.
Application cycles
Each cycle has its own page with that round’s dates, figures and changes — kept in step with the official notice.
Frequently asked questions
No — it is awarded at master’s level too. But the places are distributed across all courses in the four divisions, so how many fall to any one subject is not known in advance, and competition is severe at every level.
Want help winning the Clarendon Scholarship (Oxford)?
Our counsellors help with course selection, essays and the application. Message us on WhatsApp for free guidance.