“St Catherine’s offers an impressive range of scholarships, bursaries and other support. I have greatly benefited from some of these, which made my time at Oxford truly incredible. Honestly, words cannot convey how grateful I am to the College for its brilliant support.”  

Reza, DPhil Clinical Medicine

 

Scholarship applications for the 2026/27 academic year will open in January 2026.

This year’s Graduate Scholarship schedule will be as follows:

• Scholarships application deadline: 27th February 2026
• Interview invitations to be sent to shortlisted candidates: From 23rd March 2026
• Interviews to take place, in person/hybrid: 20th (Medicine and Music), 21st (Sciences), 22nd (Arts) April  2026

Applicants who will be commencing a new graduate course in October 2026 can still apply for St Catherine’s Graduate Scholarships before they have confirmed a college offer.

Candidates who are applying from another college, or who are offered a place at another college, will be expected to migrate to St Catherine’s in order to take up a scholarship if awarded. You must check with your original college that you would be allowed to migrate before applying. Please check your student handbook, or contact your senior tutor, for information regarding migration.

Students must be full-time students enrolled at the University of Oxford to be eligible for St Catherine’s Scholarships.

St Catherine’s College expects to be able to award the following:

Before applying for any of these scholarships, please consult the overview of scholarship eligibility and the list of courses for which St Catherine’s accepts graduate students. You only need to submit one application for these scholarships and will be a section in the application cover form where you can indicate all the scholarships for which you wish to apply.

All of these scholarships may be held in conjunction with an award from another body, other than another Oxford College, and carry entitlement to limited High Table dining rights. With the exception of the Light Senior Scholarships, the scholarships listed above also carry entitlement to up to two years single accommodation on the main college site or in St Catherine’s House (to be paid for by the recipient at the current room charge rate), which should be taken in the first two years of the scholarship. Please note this is only possible for students who are studying full-time.

Students at other colleges are eligible to apply for all of these scholarships apart from the Light Senior Scholarships, but would need to migrate to St Catherine’s to take up the scholarship if their application was successful. You must check with your original college that you would be allowed to migrate before applying. If you are unable to migrate you will not be able to take up any scholarship you may be awarded. Applicants who will be commencing a new graduate course in October 2026 can apply for St Catherine’s Graduate Scholarships before they have confirmed a college offer.

All of these scholarships, apart from the Light Senior Scholarships, are open to new graduate students commencing graduate study at Oxford in October 2026, and to current graduate students who will have completed no more than two years of graduate research degree study at Oxford in October 2026.

Before awarding any scholarship, the College must be satisfied that sufficient funding is available to cover course fees.

How to Apply

Applications for 2026/27 will open in January 2026.

Applications will be made by filling out an Application Form, which will be linked below. There is a separate form for current Oxford University students and one for new students who are applying from outside the university.

Applications will be completed by filling out a Microsoft form and by submitting the correct supplementary material. The supplementary material should be in a single PDF file, if possible, and should be single-spaced and in at least a 12 point font. This material should be named in the following format: SURNAME, GIVEN NAME, Scholarship Application.

Supplementary material must include, in the following order:

• A personal statement (one page maximum)
• A research outline accessible to non-specialists (up to 1,200 words). The word count will not include references/citations, figure captions, tables or a bibliography if you choose to include them.
  For taught courses, applicants may provide a statement of their academic interests and motivation for undertaking their course in place of a research outline. Alternatively, applicants for taught courses may provide a two-page personal statement in place of a one-page personal statement and research outline.
• A full curriculum vitae (two pages maximum)

For current Oxford Students (those with an Oxford email address) there will be a place to upload this document on the Application Form. For new students applying from outside the University (external applicants) you can submit this material by sending it by email to graduate.scholarships@stcatz.ox.ac.uk.

Candidates should provide contact details for two people acquainted with their recent academic work who have agreed to be approached and can produce a reference letter within three weeks. Referees will not be contacted to send references until after shortlisting. Alternatively, applicants who will be commencing a new graduate course in October 2026, may request in their application that the references submitted in support of their application to Oxford are used.

Any queries or concerns should be sent to graduate.scholarships@stcatz.ox.ac.uk.

Guidance for your Application

Our Tutor for Graduates has provided the following advice for your applications:

Successful applicants will have demonstrated academic excellence in their subject discipline, with clear individual achievements that extend beyond high grades, such as awards, public presentations, leadership roles, or publications of research findings in reputable peer-reviewed journals or conference proceedings, commensurate with their career stage. Applicants should also be able to communicate their research interests and future plans effectively to a broad academic audience that may not be composed of subject specialists. The panel will also be interested in learning about any adverse circumstances you may have faced that have limited your ability to reach your full potential to date. Graduate scholars are expected to play an active role in the College, and the panel will be keen to understand how you would contribute to the College community.

Candidates are invited to enclose a one-page supporting statement outlining how you match those selection criteria.