Oxford and the Rhodes Scholarships
Welcome to the microsite of the United States Rhodes Scholarships. The Rhodes Scholarships are the oldest and most celebrated international fellowship awards in the world. Each year 32 young students from the United States are selected as Rhodes Scholars, through a decentralized process representing the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories. Applicants from more than 320 American colleges and universities have been selected as Rhodes Scholars. In most years, even after a century of competition, a Rhodes Scholar is selected from an institution which has not formerly supplied a successful applicant.
Rhodes Scholars are chosen not only for their outstanding scholarly achievements, but for their character, commitment to others and to the common good, and for their potential for leadership in whatever domains their careers may lead. The Rhodes Trust, a British charity established to honor the will and bequest of Cecil J. Rhodes, provides full financial support for Rhodes Scholars to pursue a degree or degrees at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom in partnership with the Second Century Founder, John McCall MacBain and other generous benefactors. Upon Cecil Rhodes' death, the scholarships were created in 1902. The first Rhodes Scholars arrived at Oxford in 1903 and the first U.S. Rhodes Scholars entered Oxford in 1904.
This website provides information about the annual competition for the Rhodes Scholarships available to United States citizens and lawful permanent residents, and is an introduction to the community of U.S. Rhodes Scholars. Rhodes Scholarships are also available to citizens of certain other countries. For information about the global Rhodes Scholarships, and further information about the Rhodes Trust and Oxford University generally, see the links below. There you will also find a link for further information about U.S. Rhodes Scholars and their alumni community.