Applications for the Rhodes Scholarship 2026 are open! Click here to learn more.

Applications for the Rhodes Scholarship 2026 are open! Click here to learn more.

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The Rhodes Scholarship is the oldest international scholarship programme in the world, enabling outstanding young people from around the world to undertake full-time postgraduate study at the University of Oxford.

Navigate below to understand each stage of the application process.

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Application Process

Navigate below to understand each stage of the application process.

New Zealand

You can use the Eligibility Checker below to find out if you are eligible for the Rhodes Scholarship for this constituency.

The ‘Your Constituency’ box will have been automatically completed for you based on the country you selected on the previous page. You should then answer 'Yes' or 'No' to each of the eligibility questions. Once you have answered each question please click continue to find out if you are eligible and what to do next!

Constituency Step 1 / 5

Your Constituency

New Zealand

Nationality Step 2 / 5

Your Nationality or citizenship

By 1 August in the year of application, will you hold New Zealand citizenship or hold a New Zealand Permanent Resident Visa?

Applications from refugees/asylum seekers currently residing in New Zealand will also be considered in this constituency.

Inter-jurisdictional Scholarship

If you have a strong connection to two or more Rhodes constituencies, but don't meet the Nationality or Citizenship criteria, you may be able to apply for the Rhodes Scholarship via Inter-Jurisdictional Consideration. To find out more please visit our page here.

If you have read our information page about Inter-Jurisdictional Consideration and meet the requirements, please choose 'Yes' below. If you don't, click 'No'.

Education Step 3 / 5

Your Education / residency

By 1 August in the year of application, will you have spent at least five of the previous ten years residing in New Zealand?

Inter-jurisdictional Scholarship

If you have a strong connection to two or more Rhodes constituencies, but don't meet the Education/Residency criteria, you may still be able to apply for the Rhodes Scholarship via Inter-Jurisdictional Consideration. To find out more please visit our page here.

If you have read our information page about Inter-Jurisdictional Consideration and meet the requirements, please choose 'Yes' below. If you don't, click 'No'.

Age Step 4 / 5

Your Age Criteria

Do you meet either of the below criteria?

i. You must be aged 18-24 on 1st October 2025 (i.e. you must have been born after 1 October 2000 and before 2 October 2007).

OR (for older candidates who completed their first undergraduate degree later than usual)

ii. You must be under the age of 27 on 1st October 2025 (i.e. have been born after 1 October 1998) AND you must also have completed your first undergraduate degree on or after 1 October 2024*.

A first degree for this purpose is the earliest of:

  • Any bachelors degree (including conjoint bachelors degrees once the requirements of both degrees have been met).
  • Any bachelors degree (including conjoint bachelors degrees once the requirements of both degrees have been met) with honours when the honours year is integral to the bachelors qualification e.g. BE(Hons) or LLB(Hons). Note that an honours degree that is intercalated within another degree (e.g. BHSc(Hons) within MBChB) is not considered a first degree for these purposes.
  • The equivalent of these degrees from a non-New Zealand university

* A university's policy determines the date of completion of academic requirement for a degree and this may be different from when a degree is considered awarded by the university or the date of a graduation ceremony. In ambiguous cases, the decision of the National Secretary is final.

Age Step 5 / 5

Your Academic Achievement

By July 2026, will you have completed an undergraduate degree (normally a Bachelor’s degree) with First-Class Honours or a Masters degree with First-Class Honours, or equivalent (unless you qualify for an exemption*)? You must also meet or exceed the specific requirements of your chosen course at the University of Oxford.

*Exemption: If your institution does not offer Honours in the degree(s) in which you are or were enrolled, or if completing Honours would preclude you from applying because of the age criterion, you may apply if you will have completed, by July 2026, a Bachelors degree or equivalent, with academic results and other indicators of performance comparable to a First-Class Honours degree.

Given the intense competition for Rhodes Scholarships and for places at the University of Oxford, you will be more competitive for selection and have a greater chance of successful admission to Oxford if you have:

  •  A high GPA (greater than 3.7/4 or 7.5/9 or equivalent), in your degree(s), and;
  • Other indicators of academic achievement, such as awards or prizes

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