Rhodes Scholarship

Estimated annual campus deadline: Mid-August

The Rhodes Scholarship funds two-or-three years of post-bachelor study at Oxford University in England, and seeks students who can demonstrate outstanding scholarly achievement, a commitment to others and to the common good, and the potential to be leaders in their chosen field.

Eligibily: Seniors or recent graduates under age 24; U.S. citizen OR admitted to the United States as a lawful permanent resident; GPA 3.9 or higher; all majors

Award amount: all costs for one, two, or three years of study at the University of Oxford; maintenance allowance; travel and research grants

Campus nomination: required for all UCSB applicants.

UCSB campus application information

Class Level: 

  • Senior

Scholarship Deadline: 

August 23, 2023

Expanded Scholarship Details: 

One of the most prestigious of scholarships available, the Rhodes Scholarship funds two-or-three years of post-bachelor study at Oxford University in England.  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 Scholarship requires students to be endorsed by their campuses. Students considering applying for the Rhodes Scholarship should send an email indicating their interest in the Rhodes to scholarships@ltsc.ucsb.edu well before the campus deadline, and they will be contacted by our office, which coordinates the nominations process for all applicants UCSB, regardless of college.

You may obtain scholarship information and access the on-line application at the Rhodes Scholarship Website in July.

Minimum eligibility requirements:

  • That the applicant is a citizen of the United States, or a lawful permanent resident of the United States prior to and including at least 5 years of the application deadline.
  • That the applicant is at least 18 but not yet 24 years of age (i.e., the applicant must still be 23 on October 1 in the year of application).
  • That the applicant is sufficiently advanced academically to assure completion of a bachelor’s degree before October 1 in the year following election for the scholarship.
  • That the applicant has demonstrated outstanding scholarly achievement (a cumulative UCSB GPA of at least 3.90 is required)

Campus Application Deadline: August 23, 2023

Please complete the following for campus endorsement:

  1. The online application, including the personal essay, answers to all application questions, and the uploading of all support documents. (DO NOT hit the SUBMIT button until told to do so by the UCSB Scholarship Coordinator.)
  2. A copy of your completed on-line application emailed to our office no later than the day of the above campus deadline. Please send a digital copy to scholarships@ltsc.ucsb.edu, with the application summary, your CV/Resume, your Personal Statement, and any non-UCSB transcripts each as separate attachments.
  3. No fewer than five and no more than eight recommendation letters submitted on-line to the Rhodes Trust by your reviewers. At least four of the writers must be persons from whom you have received undergraduate or graduate instruction. Separately from the application upload, your letter writers must forward copies of their final letters electronically to scholarships@ltsc.ucsb.edu, no later than the day of the campus deadline.

Note that our office does not have access to the online application system for the Rhodes Scholarship. Applicants must provide all materials to us in hard copy when the online application is complete, and letter writers must E-mail their recommendations to us separately. This enables us to evaluate your applciation for nomination and, if chosen, compose an endorsement letter.

If you have any questions, please contact our office at scholarships@ltsc.ucsb.edu.