What is the Clarendon Fund and what does it pay for?
The Clarendon Fund is a scholarship scheme run by the University of Oxford. It awards roughly 140 new scholarships every year to graduate students from any country, and that number is increasing each year. The award is not tied to one subject: it applies across all degree-bearing graduate courses at Oxford.
Every Clarendon Scholarship covers tuition and college fees in full. Full-time scholars also receive a generous annual grant for living costs, at least £18,622 for 2023-24. Part-time scholars receive a study support grant to help with non-fee costs instead.
The scholarship normally runs for the full period in which you owe tuition fees to the University, which usually matches the length of your course. The official page has the current figures for your intake year.
Clarendon Scholarship Oxford: which courses and levels qualify?
Any degree-bearing graduate course in any subject qualifies. That covers all full-time and part-time master's courses and all DPhil courses. You can check the full list of graduate courses on the University of Oxford Courses page.
Postgraduate Certificate or Diploma courses are not eligible. If your plan is a short certificate or diploma, look at other funding routes instead.
Who can apply
- Applicants from any country, with no nationality restriction.
- Candidates applying for a new full-time or part-time master's course.
- Candidates applying for a new DPhil course.
- Applicants who submit their course application by the December 2026 or January 2027 deadline for their course.
Selection is based on academic excellence and potential. There is no separate test and no interview stage run by the Clarendon Fund itself.
Open scholarships that match
United KingdomClarendon Fund Scholarships 2027 at University of Oxford (Masters/PhD)
Oxford University Press
Clarendon Fund deadlines and timeline for 2026
The Clarendon deadline is not one date. It is the December 2026 or January 2027 admissions deadline for your specific course, so the exact date depends on what you apply for. The course starts in October 2027.
| Stage | What happens | When |
|---|---|---|
| Prepare documents | Transcripts, references, research proposal, English test | Months before your course deadline |
| Submit course application | Your Oxford application counts as your scholarship application | December 2026 or January 2027, depending on course |
| Selection | Academic merit and potential assessed through your course application | After the course deadline |
| Course start | Study begins at Oxford | October 2027 |
Because the course deadline is also your scholarship deadline, treat the earliest date that applies to you as the real cutoff. Check the official Clarendon and course pages before you plan anything.
How to apply for the Clarendon Scholarship, step by step
- Choose your master's or DPhil course on the University of Oxford Courses page and note its December or January deadline.
- Read the official Clarendon page and the selection criteria page so you know what academic merit and potential mean in practice.
- Prepare your transcripts, references and, for a DPhil, your research proposal well ahead of the deadline.
- Check the English language requirement for your course and book any test early enough to have results in time.
- Complete the Oxford course application. There is no separate scholarship application form and no extra Clarendon documents.
- Submit before the deadline, not on the day, in case documents need to be uploaded again.
- Wait for the outcome through the normal admissions process and confirm your funding status with the University.
That is the whole process. The scholarship decision rides on the quality of your course application, so the application itself is where the work goes. You can browse the filtered list for this page to see the current Clarendon opening alongside other options.
Documents you need for a Clarendon application
Oxford does not ask for Clarendon-specific paperwork. What you need is whatever your chosen course requires, submitted by the course deadline.
- Academic transcripts and degree certificates.
- References, requested early so your referees have time.
- A research proposal for DPhil applicants, where the course asks for one.
- English language test results if your course requires them.
- Any written work or portfolio the course specifies.
Because selection rests on academic merit and potential, these documents carry the weight. A strong transcript and a clear, specific proposal do more than any separate funding statement could.
How Clarendon selection works
Clarendon Scholarships go to graduate students from around the world with outstanding academic merit and potential. They are tenable in all subject areas and open to candidates who apply for a new master's or DPhil course by the January admissions deadline.
In practice, the assessors read your course application: grades, references, proposal and fit with the department. There is no separate Clarendon interview and no funding essay. The full selection criteria are set out on the official Clarendon page, and that page has the current wording for your intake.
Who the Clarendon Fund suits, and who should look elsewhere
This award suits strong graduate applicants from any country who are ready to apply to a full-time or part-time master's or DPhil course at Oxford and want tuition and college fees covered. It also fits candidates who can meet the December or January admissions deadline for their chosen course, since applying to the course is the only way to be considered.
Look elsewhere if you are applying for a Postgraduate Certificate or Diploma, because this scholarship is not open to you. Look elsewhere too if you need funding confirmed before you can commit to a full Oxford application, or if your plan is undergraduate study, which Clarendon does not cover. Our scholarships in the United Kingdom page lists other UK routes.
Common mistakes with the Clarendon Fund scholarship
- Searching for a separate Clarendon application form. There is none, and time spent on one is wasted.
- Missing the course deadline because you treated the scholarship as a later step. The course deadline is the scholarship deadline.
- Applying for a Postgraduate Certificate or Diploma and expecting to be considered.
- Leaving references and English tests to the final week, when late documents can sink an otherwise strong file.
- Submitting on the deadline day with no margin for upload problems.
- Assuming the living-costs grant applies to part-time study. Part-time scholars receive a study support grant for non-fee costs instead.
Clarendon Fund alternatives and related funding
If Clarendon does not fit, the same Oxford application can sometimes be considered for other graduate funding, and other countries run large schemes for international students. Our guides to scholarships in the United States, scholarships in Germany, scholarships in Canada and scholarships in Australia cover the main options.
Subject-specific funding is worth checking too, for example social sciences scholarships, natural sciences scholarships, engineering scholarships and humanities scholarships. For a wider view, start from the scholarship finder or the full guides index.
The main listing for this award is Clarendon Fund Scholarships at University of Oxford, which carries the deadline for the current round.