Funding

The Oxford-Exeter College Coltart and Bagby Scholarship in Anthropology (OECB)

This Scholarship is not available in 2024/2025

The College seeks to elect an OECB Scholar from among students who have an offer of admission to study for the DPhil in Anthropology degree within the School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography (SAME) at the University of Oxford.

This scholarship was created through partnership of Exeter College’s Alan Coltart scholarship, and the School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography’s Bagby Trust (established for the “study of urban literate societies”). Where a suitable candidate is identified, the OECB scholarship will fund course fees (at the Home/ROI rate) and a grant to cover living expenses for the duration of the scholar’s fee liability (three years full time).

The successful candidate will:

• be an applicant to the University of Oxford for admission to the DPhil in Anthropology degree within the School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography;
• become a member of Exeter College and commit to remaining at Exeter College for the duration of their degree.

How to apply

Note: you cannot select Exeter College when applying for the DPhil in Anthropology at Oxford. (Except for the OECB scholar, the College does not normally accept students to read for higher degrees in Anthropology.)  You should, when applying to Oxford, choose any available College, or choose to make an open application, as you wish. Exeter College will work in conjunction the School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography to identify all eligible candidates regardless of the College to which they have been assigned.

If we offer you this Scholarship we will also offer you a place at Exeter College, which will take the place of any earlier college offer you may have.  There is no separate application process for this Scholarship; you simply need to apply for your graduate course by the relevant deadline.

The ESRC is the UK’s largest organisation for funding research on social and economic issues. The University, in collaboration with Brunel University and the Open University, hosts the Grand Union Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP) - one of fourteen Doctoral Training Partnerships accredited by the ESRC as part of a Doctoral Training Network. 

In order to be considered for a Grand Union DTP ESRC studentship, you must select ‘ESRC Grand Union DTP’ in the University of Oxford scholarships section of the University's graduate application form.  You must also complete a Grand Union DTP Application Form and upload it, together with your graduate application form, by the relevant funding deadline for your course. 

Information about ESRC studentships at Oxford and the DTP application form can be found on the Grand Union DTP website. Please ensure you have read all of the guidance available on the website before completing the DTP application form. Questions can be directed to the Grand Union DTP Office.

To find out about the ESRC Migration Studies Studentships please click on this link and note you must apply for the studentship at the same time as you apply for your degree. 

The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) provides public funding in support of research into the arts and humanities. This includes some subjects formally based in the Social Sciences Division at Oxford, including Law, Archaeology, Anthropology and Politics. Oxford participates in the Open-Oxford-Cambridge AHRC Doctoral Training Partnership (DTP), providing a number of scholarships each year for doctoral students. Information about applying for AHRC scholarships at Oxford can be found on the OOC DTP website.

Clarendon is Oxford’s flagship graduate scholarship scheme, open to all applicants for DPhil and Master’s courses. Clarendon scholarships are competitive, prestigious and highly sought-after. Like all fully funded Oxford scholarships, Clarendon covers course fees, and provides a grant for living expenses. If you apply by the funding deadline for a full or part-time Master's or DPhil course at Oxford, you will automatically be considered for a Clarendon Scholarship. Funding deadlines can be found on individual course pages on the Graduate Admissions website. 

Colleges may offer scholarships to candidates in anthropology. Careful searches of the websites of those colleges that admit for anthropology are recommended.

Academic Futures 

Academic Futures is a series of scholarship programmes that will address under-representation and help improve equality, diversity and inclusion in our graduate student body. Up to 50 full awards are available across the three programme streams, and you can find further information on each stream on their individual tabs.

The University relies on bringing the very best minds from across the world together, whatever their race, gender, religion or background to create new ideas, insights and innovations to change the world for the better.

Further information here.  

Swire Scholarships - St Antony's College

Swire Scholarships are open to applicants who are permanent residents of Japan, Chinese mainland or Hong Kong SAR and have completed the majority of their formal education in their country/region of permanent residency. They cover 100% of the course fees, a grant for living costs of £17,442 per year (2025/26 rate). Economic airfares to and from London are provided at the beginning and end of the scholarship. MSc, MPhils and DPhils are all eligible for these scholarships.

These scholarships require a separate application and candidates would need to complete an online form and submit it by the deadline set at 5pm (UK time) on 4th March 2025. Further information below:

Swire Scholarships | St Antony's College (ox.ac.uk)

Oriel College Graduate Scholarship in Science and Religion

Not running for 2025 intake. 

In addition to the awards detailed above, the following awards are advertised here when available:

The Boise Trust Scholarship 2024

Details to follow

Academic Futures 

Academic Futures is a series of scholarship programmes that will address under-representation and help improve equality, diversity and inclusion in our graduate student body. Up to 50 full awards are available across the three programme streams, and you can find further information on each stream on their individual tabs.

The University relies on bringing the very best minds from across the world together, whatever their race, gender, religion or background to create new ideas, insights and innovations to change the world for the better.

Further information here.  

Swire Scholarships - St Antony's College

Swire Scholarships are open to applicants who are permanent residents of Japan, Chinese mainland or Hong Kong SAR and have completed the majority of their formal education in their country/region of permanent residency. They cover 100% of the course fees, a grant for living costs of £17,442 per year (2025/26 rate). Economic airfares to and from London are provided at the beginning and end of the scholarship. MSc, MPhils and DPhils are all eligible for these scholarships.

These scholarships require a separate application and candidates would need to complete an online form and submit it by the deadline set at 5pm (UK time) on 4th March 2025. Further information below:

Swire Scholarships | St Antony's College (ox.ac.uk)

Oriel College Graduate Scholarship in Science and Religion

Not running for 2025 intake.

1. What departmental funding is available for doctoral students?  

The School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography has its own scholarships, usually up to two in number (value usually around £30,000 per annum). These are sometimes paired with additional named scholarships, including the Philip Bagby Studentship for 'the study of the development of urban literate culture’ and the Rausing Scholarship (Linacre College) and, more occasionally, the Alan Coltart Scholarship (Exeter College) and the Alun Hughes Graduate Scholarship (Jesus College). None of these awards should be taken as providing full funding, and they are limited to three years of funding (reapplication may be necessary in year three for the Bagby and Rausing awards). See also the section above “Support for Prospective DPhils”.

2. What funding is available for master’s students? 

The only funding available for master’s students within the School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography is through the Clarendon scheme. For the Clarendon scheme suitable applicants are nominated by departments, they do not have to apply directly (see Clarendon Scholarship above)

3. Can I apply for the above funding if I am already on a degree programme, i.e. as a continuer? 

The major grants are restricted to students starting a doctorate, with the exception that eligible on-course DPhil students may submit an application for consideration for AHRC nomination by the deadline. For consideration for the following academic year, and existing holders of the Philip Bagby and Rausing awards may reapply for up to three years once their initial funding has come to an end. Only the travel funds are open to all students.