West Africa

Your Constituency

Your Nationality or citizenship

Are you a citizen of one of the following countries?

Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, the island of Saint Helena, Senegal, Sierra Leone, São Tomé and Principe and Togo.

Your Education / residency

Have you been resident in one or more of the countries listed above for at least five of the last ten years?

Your Age Criteria

Do you meet either of the below criteria?

i. You must be aged 18-24 on 1st October 2024 (i.e. you must have been born after 1 October 1999 and before 2 October 2006).

OR for medical, dental, pharmaceutical, law and engineering students, to allow you to complete your professional internship

ii. You must be aged 18-25 on 1st October 2024 (i.e. you must have been born after 1 October 1998 and before 2 October 2006)

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

iii. You must be under the age of 27 on 1st October 2024 (i.e. have been born after 1 October 1997) AND you must also have completed your first undergraduate degree on or after 1 October 2023*.

* 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.

Your Academic Achievement

Will you have completed an undergraduate degree (normally a Bachelor’s degree) by the application deadline with an academic background and grade that is a First Class Honours Degree or equivalent which meets or exceeds the specific entry requirements of your chosen full-time course at the University of Oxford?

• in the case of Medicine, Dentistry and Pharmacy courses, the highest classification your University awards, e.g. a Distinction would be considered equivalent to a First Class Honours Degree.

Given the very intense international competition for places at the University of Oxford, candidates will have a greater chance of successful admission to Oxford if you have:

• an Honours degree (or have taken an Honours year) from a University outside of your country or if you have studied to Masters level within your country (with the exception of those studying in Nigeria and Ghana, and, for some countries, those studying medicine). Candidates may wish to consider applying to the Rhodes Trust’s sister Foundation, The Mandela Rhodes Foundation, to pursue an Honour’s year or a Master’s degree prior to making an application for the Rhodes Scholarship.

English Language Criteria

Do you have a sufficiently high standard of English to meet the University of Oxford's English language proficiency requirements (at the Higher Level listed)?

Alternatively, if you meet the University of Oxford’s requirements for an English Language test waiver, you may request a waiver.