You must have heard of the University of Oxford, one of the most famous universities in the world. The good news is that studying at the University of Oxford is not so far-fetched anymore. With the Clarendon Scholarships, your dream of studying in Oxford can now become a reality. 

In this post, I’ll be taking you through the necessary steps you need to secure the Clarendon scholarships. You will increase your chances of getting your scholarship when you have every knowledge, so stick with this post.

Also Read: Edinburgh Global Research Scholarships

What is Clarendon?

If you’re ever asked, or perhaps you’re just curious, Clarendon is a place well-known as the Clarendon Palace. It is a medieval ruin sited 3.6km east of Salisbury in Wiltshire, England.

During the medieval ages, this palace was the residence of Assize of Clarendon, the developer of the Constitutions of Clarendon. It is present within the grounds of the Clarendon park and probably the inspiration behind the Clarendon Commission.

About Clarendon Commission

In 1861, the 4th Earl of Clarendon chaired a gathering that established a royal commission. This commission was to investigate the state of nine leading schools in England with rising complaints of Eton College. It was the Clarendon Commission. 

 The commission sat even until 1864, when it published its report with general recommendations on questions of curriculum and governance. It gave details of life in the nine schools and eventually led to the Public Schools Act in 1868.

The nine schools were Eton, Harrow, Rugby, Charterhouse, Shrewsbury, Westminster and Winchester, St. Paul’s, and Merchant Taylors’. The first seven were boarding schools, while two were day schools. However, the 1868 act itself put more concern on the boarding schools.

What is the Clarendon Scholarship at the University of Oxford?

Clarendon scholarship offers 160 new, fully-funded scholarships to assist graduate scholars every year. It also provides a chance to join a top multidisciplinary community at Oxford, building a community for you, by you. 

The scholars are selected for their high intellectual capability and potential, making it merit-based. It is one of the highly competitive scholarships out there.

Why Clarendon Scholarship?

The following are some of the benefits of opting for a Clarendon scholarship:

• It offers a fully-funded scholarship that covers your course fees. Additionally, it provides a grant for living expenses for the period of fee liability.
• Scholars on a full-time course receive an annual grant for living costs, about 15,009 euros. Scholars on a part-time course receive a study support grant to assist non-fee costs. This grant is about 2,502 euros for DPhil Scholars and about 5,003 euros for Master’s scholars.
• It pays no respect to your nationality, present residence, or the field of study you propose. It supports students across the university with no preference for courses or any subject area.
• Once you apply within the given time, the platform automatically considers you in the way relevant to your course. You don’t need a separate application for your course.

Scholarship Eligibility

To qualify for the Clarendon scholarship, a student must meet the following criteria. The scholar must:

• Speak English as this is the language required by the scholarship
• Be putting in for graduate studies at the University of Oxford. This study includes DPhil and Masters. All degree-bearing courses are eligible as long as it is at the graduate level. You can re-apply for DPhil funding if you’re currently studying for a master’s degree at Oxford

Also, they must not:

• Be putting in for Diploma courses or Postgraduate Certificate
• Hold deferred offers, which will start within the session
• Be a current student at the University of Oxford who wishes to continue studying for the same degree.

How to Apply for the Clarendon Scholarships at the University of Oxford

Remember, you don’t need a separate application for this scholarship once you’ve put in to study at the university. There are no separate documents necessary for your application. To apply for the scholarship, use the following steps:

• Apply within the relevant timeline for your course. Check out the application deadline for each course on the scholarship site.
• The academics in your proposed field of study will consider your application. The assessment will look deeply into your credibility and academic quality.
• After the assessment, the department will notify you of the outcome of your application. Based on the selection criteria available on their site, the academics are totally in charge of who comes in.
• The top-ranked departmental nominees for Clarendon enter a shortlist.
• Once the shortlist completes, the Clarendon Fund Administrator will contact successful applicants. The scholarship offer letter will arrive at all those chosen.
• Accept the offer once you’ve got this letter and secure your funding.
• Clarendon Partnership Awards compares to scholars depending on the award requirements. This process will require no information from any of the offer holders. 
• Once they have confirmed the scholar’s unique funding package, they will receive a funding breakdown letter. The letter will outline the funding arrangements. 
• Always remember the body will contact all successful candidates through email. Also, they wouldn’t contact all successful students due to the number of applicants.
• If there is any withdrawal from nominated students – which is practically very rare – there’ll be a few nominations later on.

About the University of Oxford

You cannot completely understand the scholarship without a little discussion about the University of Oxford. Standing tall in Oxford, England, this is the oldest university in English-speaking countries and the second-oldest surviving university worldwide. 

It has the oldest university museum and the largest university press globally. These attributes also include the most extensive academic library system nationwide. As of July 31, it had a total income of 2.5 billion euros with 624.8 million from grants.

The university comprises 39 semi-autonomous constituent colleges. Colleges are independent and govern their institutions within the university. They also individually control their structures, membership, and activities.

It doesn’t have the main campus but has building and study facilities all over the country. Every student is a member of the college. 

Coupled with intense teaching and a beautiful learning scenery, Oxford is top-notch. It is among the most prestigious universities in the world.