Funding

It is important to note that the below is not an exhaustive list and you should check the main University website and college websites for more funding opportunities, including those where a separate application may be required. The fees, funding and scholarship search tool is a helpful way to find these.

Graduate applicants

Please note, these are only available for graduate courses. 

For the majority of Oxford scholarships, all you need to do is submit your graduate application by the January deadline for your course. There’s no separate scholarship application process or extra supporting documentation required for funding. Based on the information supplied in your graduate application, you will be automatically considered for scholarships where you meet the eligibility criteria with most scholarships using academic merit and/or potential as the basis on which award decisions are made.

However, please note, in addition to submitting an application form for your chosen course, the scholarships listed on the following page also require an additional application to be considered for them.

Armenian Benevolent General Union (ABGU) London Trust Scholarship - MSt Classical Armenian Studies

A scholarship programme for graduate students pursuing a master’s degree in Classical Armenian Studies at Oxford has been established, following a substantial gift from the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) London Trust.

One scholarship of £20,000 is available each year. Awards are made for the full duration of your fee liability for the agreed course. 

Oxford is the leading university for Armenian studies in the UK, where the subject has been pursued since the mid-nineteenth century. By providing support for one graduate student per year for five years, this scholarship programme will play a key role in helping to foster greater understanding of Armenian culture and heritage.

The creation of the AGBU London Trust Scholarship represents the next stage in an already fruitful partnership between Oxford and the organisation, which has, for the past seven years, provided financial support to Armenian students reading a range of subjects at the University. The new scholarship programme, which will be open to students from all over the world, aligns with the AGBU’s mission to uphold Armenian heritage through educational, cultural and humanitarian programmes.

How to apply

If you fulfill the eligibility criteria and apply for your course by the January deadline you will automatically be considered. 

Eligible course(s)

Ewin Davis Arnold and Run Run Shaw Graduate Scholarship

This is a joint award offered by University College and the Faulty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies for an award of £12,000 p.a. for the period of fee liability and is available for those applying to a graduate course in the area of Chinese Studies.

College

The scholarship is only tenable at University College. All eligible applicants will be considered for this scholarship, regardless of which college (if any) you state as your preference on the graduate application form. However, successful applicants will be transferred to University College in order to take up the scholarship.

Please see here for further details of funding offered by University College.

How to apply

If you fulfill the eligibility criteria and apply for your course by the relevant January deadline you will automatically be considered. 

Eligible course(s)

Glorisun Graduate Scholarship in Buddhist Studies

The Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies is pleased to offer, in 2024-25, one or more graduate scholarships of between £8,000 - £15,000 for MPhil or DPhil students whose study or research focuses on Buddhist Studies (including all areas, historical periods, and aspects of this field). The scholarships have been established thanks to a generous donation made by the GS Charity Foundation in support of Buddhist Studies at Oxford.

Applications are invited from suitably qualified individuals who are applying to an MPhil or DPhil course at the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies for entry in October 2024, or current students studying for an MPhil or DPhil at the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies. This scholarship may be held in conjunction with other partial awards, but the total value of your scholarships should not exceed the combined cost of course fees in full and a grant for living costs at a rate agreed with Graduate Admissions and Recruitment.

The scholarship will be awarded on the basis of academic merit and potential. In making a decision between equally qualified applications, preference will be given to students with a research interest in Chinese Buddhism, or in Chinese Buddhist sources.

The scholarship is open to UK, EU, or Overseas students and will be tenable only for one year at a time. Students holding the scholarship who would wish to reapply for it for the following year would be required to submit a new application for that year, which would be considered competitively alongside other applications for that year.

Renewal is contingent on satisfactory progress: MPhil students must pass all their Qualifying Examinations with no mark lower than 65; evidence of satisfactory progress will be sought from supervisor(s) of DPhil students.

How to apply
Prospective applicants for graduate study

Applicants applying for a new course for entry in October 2024, and who submit their application to the University by the January deadline at the latest, will automatically be considered.

Current students

On-course students should submit an application form to graduate.administrator@ames.ox.ac.uk by Wednesday 8 May 2024 at the latest.

Eligible course(s)

 

H.H. Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani Graduate Studentship in Contemporary Islamic Studies

The Graduate Studentship in Contemporary Islamic Studies is open to all applicants for postgraduate research in Contemporary Islamic Studies.

The studentship comprises the equivalent of the course fees at the Home rate and a maintenance grant following the University standard rate of approximately £19,237 per annum (2024-25 academic year) for up to four years. The award is tenable from October 2025 for one year in the first instance, renewable for up to a maximum of three further years subject to receipt of a satisfactory report from the supervisor. The award is intended for any postgraduate student who has applied for and received a DPhil offer in any field of Contemporary Islamic Studies under the supervision of the current His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani Professor, Raihan Ismail.

The award is tenable at any Oxford college, and may only be held in the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies. The award is funded by the H.H. Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani Endowment Fund Programme for Islamic Studies, established at Oxford by a generous benefaction from H.H. Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani.

Eligible candidates will be contacted after the January 2025 DPhil application deadline and be asked to provide a statement of any other sources of funding held or being applied for by the candidate.

Selection will be based on academic merit, considered by a panel of representatives from the Faculty of Asian and Modern Middle Eastern Studies. The panel will include the current H.H. Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani Professor, Raihan Ismail.

If a suitable candidate presents him or herself, an election will be made to the Graduate Studentship in Contemporary Islamic Studies with effect from 5 October 2025.

How to apply

If you fulfill the eligibility criteria and apply for your course by the January deadline you will automatically be considered. 

Your proposed field of research should fall within any field of Contemporary Islamic Studies and you should indicate Prof. Raihan Ismail as the proposed supervisor on your application form.

Eligible course(s)

Oxford-Ko Cheuk Hung Graduate Scholarship

The Oxford-Ko Cheuk Hung Graduate Scholarship is available for applicants who are ordinarily resident in UK and who are applying to the MSt Traditional China. The scholarship covers course fees and a grant for living costs. Awards are made for the full duration of your fee liability for the agreed course. 

College

The scholarship is only tenable at St Cross College. All eligible applicants will be considered for this scholarship, regardless of which college (if any) you state as your preference on the graduate application form. However, successful applicants will be transferred to St Cross College in order to take up the scholarship.

How to apply

If you fulfill the eligibility criteria and apply for your course by the relevant January deadline you will automatically be considered. 

Eligible course(s)

Oxford-Nizami Ganjavi Graduate Scholarship

The Oxford-Nizami Ganjavi Graduate Scholarships are available for applicants who are applying to any full-time or part-time DPhil or Master’s course offered by the Humanities or Social Sciences Division, where their proposed research relates to the study of the history, languages and cultures of Azerbaijan, the Caucasus and Central Asia.

The scholarships have been jointly funded by the University and the Oxford Nizami Ganjavi Programme.

The scholarship covers course fees and a grant for living costs for both UK and International Students. Awards are made for the full duration of your fee liability for the agreed course.

Selection is expected to take place in April 2025. 

How to apply

If you fulfill the eligibility criteria and apply for your course by the relevant January deadline you will automatically be considered. 

Eligible course(s)

Sasakawa Fund Scholarship - Master's or Doctoral degrees - Japan

The Sasakawa Fund is pleased to offer scholarships for students who have been accepted by the University to undertake a graduate degree in October 2024 or who are currently undertaking such a course. The scholarships will be awarded to (a) applicants who are Japanese nationals currently on a course or starting a course at Oxford University, or alternatively (b) students from the UK or other countries currently on a course or starting a course at Oxford University which requires some period of study in Japan. Please note that students on the fourth year of a DPhil programme are not eligible to apply.

The awards, of up to £12,500, will be made for one year in the first instance and may be renewed for one or two further years, subject to satisfactory progress and the length of your study. Eligibility for a full or partial Sasakawa Fund Scholarship will take account of any substantial funding from another source.

The Sasakawa Fund Scholarship has been established thanks to a generous donation made by the Japan Shipbuilding Industry Foundation.

How to apply

Please complete the Scholarship Application Form, along with:

  • one reference (to be sent by the referee directly)
  • a Curriculum Vitae
  • a statement of research interests (of no more than six pages) including an outline and research proposal (for research degree applicants only) OR
  • a personal statement (of no more than six pages - for taught degree applicants only).

Please send your application as a PDF directly to the Trust Funds Administrator on trustfunds@ames.ox.ac.uk, with all documents included in the same PDF, if possible, to arrive by Friday 31 March 2024.

Eligible course(s)
Undergraduates

Please find information for funding through the university scholarships and search page. The Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies does not maintain any specific funding options for undergraduate students. 

On-course graduates

Graduate Research Support

All graduate research students (PRS/DPhil) in the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies who are within full fee liability are entitled to apply for research support costs of up to £200 per annum in each full year of their study for as long as they continue to pay full fees.  They may apply instead for one grant of up to £600 during their research degree, normally in the second year of study, but could be at any time during the student’s period of fee liability. 

The purpose of the allowance is to fund attendance at conferences provided the student will be giving a paper; travel and subsistence costs associated with field research; and/or to purchase materials necessary for research.  Allowances may not be carried forward beyond the period of fee liability.

Further information, including who to contact with queries, is provided at the top of the application form and must be consulted before any expenditure is incurred.

 

How to apply

An application form for a graduate research support grant should be completed by the student and signed by their main supervisor before any expenditure is incurred.  The form should be returned to the Assistant Administrator (Resources), Trudi Pinkerton, Faculty of Asian & Middle Eastern Studies, 1 Pusey Lane, Oxford, OX1 2LE.     

Graduate Language Study Support

All taught graduate students recommended to attend a language course between the first and second years of their MPhil shall be entitled to apply for up to £500 towards the cost of this study abroad.  

The key courses for which this is applicable are the MPhil courses in: Modern Middle Eastern Studies, Islamic Studies & History, Islamic Art & Archaeology, Modern South Asian Studies, and Tibetan & Himalayan Studies.  In addition, since 2012, any MPhil student needing to travel or undertake fieldwork between the first and second years of their course may claim an allowance, provided their supervisor verifies that purpose of the travel is integral to their course.

 

How to apply

An application form for a graduate language study grant should be completed by the student and signed by their main supervisor before any expenditure is incurred.  

Further information, including who to contact with queries, is provided at the top of the application form and must be consulted before any expenditure is incurred