The Rhodes Trust is delighted to announce its Rhodes Scholar class of 2023, who plan to start their studies at the University of Oxford in the autumn of 2023.
The class of 104 exceptional young people selected for the world’s oldest, and pre-eminent post-graduate scholarship programme are submitting applications to the university . They intend to pursue 71 different courses, from Energy Systems and Theoretical Physics through to English and Art History.
Scholars-Elect this year come from 31 different countries and speak 40 languages, highlighting the diversity and global reach of the Rhodes Scholarship, which brings future leaders together from across the world to foster international understanding and cross-border friendships.
The class of 2023 come to Oxford from undergraduate studies at 77 institutions in 25 countries. A majority are women. These outstanding young people will come to study for postgraduate degrees for two or more years at the University of Oxford, the world’s number one ranked higher education institution. They include, doctors, lawyers, astrophysicists, serving military personnel, social scientists, chemists, and data scientists. The courses they aim to study range from attempts to understand and combat misinformation to climate policy, medical advances and neuroscience.
The diversity of thinking represented by Rhodes Scholars is illustrated by just some of the Scholars-Elect selected from our constituencies across the world.
Dorcas Tuitoek
Dorcas Tuitoek from Kenya is a graduate chemical engineer currently working at Deloitte East Africa in the Risk Advisory Department as a business analyst. Dorcas, a graduate of the Technical University of Kenya, is passionate about energy, sustainability, and environmental management. At Oxford, she hopes to study systems engineering and do research on decarbonization technologies.
Marah Grace Chibwana
Marah Grace Chibwana is a doctor trained at Kamuzu University of Health Sciences in her home country of Malawi who also holds an MSc from Oxford University. She is passionate about training the next generation of scientists; she runs a science club and mentors young people in her country to pursue careers in science. As a Rhodes Scholar she aims to undertake a doctorate to increase our understanding of immune cells during inflammation.
James Leigh
James Leigh, selected from our Australia-At-Large constituency, is a doctor with a strong interest in equitable healthcare for patients in rural and isolated areas. Graduating from Curtin Medical School in Perth, he plans to research digital health technology to shorten the length of hospital stay after surgery, and thereby reduce isolation of rural patients during this vulnerable period
Nuzaina Faisal Khan
Nuzaina Faisal Khan, from Pakistan, aims to research how misinformation is spread, in order to develop stronger internet governance in her country and around the world. Nuzaina, who double majors in economics and psychology at Wellesley College outside Boston, has also worked at MIT’s Human Cooperation Lab, and is currently writing her senior thesis on how already existing biases play out online and affect belief formation.
They will be among the first cohort to experience the renovated and expanded Rhodes House in Oxford, which reopens this year as a state-of-the-art conferencing and convening centre. A full list of Scholars-Elect and biographies of Rhodes Scholars currently studying at Oxford is available online.
The announcement comes after months of virtual and in-person selection meetings and interviews involving hundreds of volunteers around the world. Rhodes Scholars are chosen entirely on merit after a rigorous selection process including review of application essays and transcripts, recommendations from professors, and panel interviews.
Dr Elizabeth Kiss, Warden of Rhodes House and CEO of the Rhodes Trust, said: “We are so excited to welcome our class of 2023 Scholars. These amazing young people have impressed our selectors with their intellectual ability and their commitment to building a better world. The diversity of countries and institutions in this class is testament to our dedicated volunteer selectors and their commitment to choosing candidates on merit from the widest possible pool of applicants. The range of courses and disciplines Scholars-elect wish to study is tremendous. What unites them, is a huge energy and a restless desire to change things for the better. When people come together from different backgrounds and perspectives with that shared spirit, exciting things happen.
To those who were not successful I say: you have impressed us with your tenacity and willingness to aim high. Don’t forget the things which spurred you to apply, and I hope this experience will build your skills and help you achieve great success.”