The most prestigious of international awards for undergraduates, Rhodes Scholarships provide funding for two or three years of study in any field at Oxford University. They open doors to an international network and to opportunities heretofore unimagined.
Eligibility – United States: Open to U.S. citizens who are at least 18 and not yet 24 years old by October 1 of the application year; must hold a bachelor’s degree before beginning study on the Rhodes. Rhodes Scholarships United States.
Eligibility – International: select international students may apply through their home countries (see this Rhodes Trust page of Rhodes countries for details); and there are now two Global Scholarships Rhodes Global Scholarships for students who do not meet existing selection criteria for the current Rhodes constituencies. These awards have different application timelines and deadlines. Advising Strongly Encouraged!
Intent to Apply Deadline: Friday, May 26, 2023. If you miss this deadline, immediately make an appointment with Ann Landstrom in Handshake, or contact her via email.
Intent to Apply URL: Fall 2023 UK/Ireland Scholarships Intent to Apply
Campus Deadline: Wednesday, August 16, 2023 from 1 – 5 p.m. CST or earlier by appointment; all application materials from the candidate and recommenders are due to CLS – Global Fellowships and Awards.
National Deadline: Wednesday, October 4, 2023, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time
Campus Application Checklist: Rhodes Application Checklist, Fall 2023
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About the Award
The Rhodes Scholarships, the oldest international educational fellowships, were initiated after the death of Cecil Rhodes in 1902, and bring outstanding students from many countries around the world to the University of Oxford. The first American Scholars entered Oxford in 1904, and an alumnus of Grinnell College was part of that inaugural class of Rhodes Scholars (see list below). American Rhodes Scholars are selected through a decentralized process by which regional selection committees choose 32 Scholars each year representing the 50 states. To date, applicants from more than 300 American colleges and universities have been selected as Rhodes Scholars. In most years, even after a century of competition, a Rhodes Scholar is selected from an institution which has not formerly supplied a successful applicant.
Extraordinary intellectual distinction is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for election to a Rhodes Scholarship. Selection committees are charged to seek excellence in qualities of mind and in qualities of person which, in combination, offer the promise of effective service to the world in the decades ahead. The Rhodes Scholarships, in short, are investments in individuals rather than in project proposals. Accordingly, applications are sought from talented students without restriction as to their field of academic specialization or career plans, although the proposed course of study must be available at Oxford, and the applicant’s undergraduate program must have provided a sufficient basis for study in the proposed field. Through the years, Rhodes Scholars have pursued studied in all of the varied fields available at the University of Oxford.
Election to the Scholarship is normally for two or three years, depending upon the degree program pursued by the Scholar. A Scholarship, including required University and college fees and a stipend for living expenses, may be renewed, at the complete discretion of the Rhodes Trustees, for a third year for those pursuing a doctoral degree and whose progress is deemed satisfactory. For those for whom the University requires fees in a fourth year for the completion of a doctorate, and when no other external funding is offered, again at the discretion of the Trustees, those fees will be paid, although not an additional stipend. (College and University jobs are often available to those remaining in Oxford in such fourth years.) The Trustees will not pay fourth-year fees in either the Division of the Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences or the Division of Medical Sciences, as Scholars may enter directly to work for a doctorate in these divisions in three years. Scholars applying for a master’s degree in one of these two science divisions should not, therefore, expect to be able to use the scholarship to go on to a doctorate. Rhodes Scholars may not apply for the MBA or the Master in Financial Economics (MFE) in their first year but may pursue either of these one-year degrees in their second year, following the completion of a different one-year master’s degree.
All educational costs, such as matriculation, tuition, laboratory and certain other fees, are paid on the Scholar’s behalf by the Rhodes Trustees. Each Scholar receives in addition a maintenance allowance adequate to meet necessary expenses for term-time and vacations. The Rhodes Trustees cover the necessary costs of travel to and from Oxford. Mr. Rhodes’ Will contains four criteria by which prospective Rhodes Scholars are to be selected:
- literary and scholastic achievements;
- energy to use one’s talents to the full, as demonstrated by mastery in areas such as sports, music, debate, dance, theatre, and artistic pursuits, including where teamwork is involved;
- truth, courage, devotion to duty, sympathy for and protection of the weak, kindliness, unselfishness, and fellowship;
- moral force of character and instincts to lead, and to take an interest in one’s fellow human beings.
Underlying these standards is the aim that Scholars be physically, intellectually, and morally capable of leadership, that is, persons who, in Mr. Rhodes’ phrase, will “esteem performance of public duties as [their] highest aim.” From this statement one may infer he expected his Scholars to play an influential part in the betterment of society, wherever their careers might lead them. Much of the distinctiveness of the Rhodes Scholarships stems from this comprehensive set of criteria. Intellectual excellence is obviously required, but not in isolation of other qualities. Mr. Rhodes sought Scholars who were more than “mere bookworms;” he wanted their intellectual talents to be combined with concern for others. Thus the Selection Committees assign the highest importance to this blend of character with intellect.
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How to Apply
Grinnell may annually endorse students and alumni who meet the eligibility criteria for this award. Follow the directions on the Campus Application Checklist (see above). If you are interested in seeking nomination for the Rhodes Scholarship, please carefully and thoroughly review the Rhodes Scholarship website, including all of the embedded .pdfs (Frequently Asked Questions, U.S. Rhodes Trust brochure, Memorandum of Regulations; expect to spend several hours engaging with the site).
Applicants should meet with Ann Landstrom for an advising appointment to discuss their backgrounds and fit for the Rhodes Scholarship in spring semester. Over the summer, applicants should continue with their advising appointments and they will receive instructions for how to proceed for the final vetting of their applications in early fall.
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Ethical Guidelines
All applicants are expected to adhere to these ethical guidelines. Please note that applicants to the Rhodes Scholarship will be required to include and sign the following pledge as part of their applications (regarding the personal statement): “I attest that this essay is my own work and is wholly truthful. Neither it nor any earlier draft has been edited by anyone other than me, nor has anyone else reviewed it to provide me with suggestions to improve it. I understand that any such editing or review would disqualify my application.”
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Grinnell College Rhodes Scholars, 1904-Present
- Kendra (Young) Harris ’02 (2002)
- David White ’90 (1990)
- Susan Duffey Campbell ’78 (1978)
- Thomas W. Merril ’71 (1971)
- Grant E. Crandell ’69 (1969)
- Duane Krohnke ’61 (1961)
- John R. Price ’60 (1960)
- George A. Drake ’56 (1956)
- Neil L. Crone ’25 (1925)
- Maxwell H. Herriot ’20 (1919)
- James H. St. John ’12 (1914)
- Paul G. Williams ’13 (1913)
- William A. Ziegler ’10 (1910)
- Joseph G. Walleser ’03 (1903)