Established through the Will of Cecil John Rhodes in 1902, the Rhodes Scholarship was a truly visionary project for its time. Over a hundred years later, the Rhodes Scholarships are the oldest and perhaps most prestigious 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 (ranked first internationally by Times Higher Education for the ninth consecutive year in 2025).
One of the founding aims of the Scholarship was to identify young leaders from around the world who, through the pursuit of education together at Oxford, would forge bonds of mutual understanding and fellowship for the betterment of mankind.
Our reputation as the world's most distinguished academic scholarship rests not on the controversial life of our founder Cecil Rhodes, but on the enormous contributions our Scholars have made to the world, and the qualities sought in a Rhodes Scholar — intellectual distinction combined with concern for others, energy to lead, and a focus on public service — remain as compelling as they were over a century ago.
