The Rhodes Scholarship Application Form | South African Nationals (2025)

Rhodes Trust Scholarship for South African Nationals (2025) | How to apply online, how to get the application form in PDF format, what is required, who is eligible, and when is the deadline for Rhodes Trust bursary applications (2025/2025)?

Concerning The Rhodes Trust

The Rhodes Scholarship was established by Cecil Rhodes’ will and is overseen by the Rhodes Trust. The Scholarship is an initiative of the Trust to support African leadership development. Through its collaboration with kind sponsors like The Atlantic Philanthropies, John McCall MacBain O.C., and the Second Century Founders, the Rhodes Trust is able to offer the Rhodes Scholarships.

The Rhodes Trust Scholarship

Founded in 1903, the Rhodes Scholarship scheme is an international scholarship programme worldwide. More than 100 fully-funded scholarships for postgraduate study at the University of Oxford in the UK are offered under the programme each year. The selection of scholars will be predicated on the applicants’ intelligence and moral character, as well as their willingness to serve others, their commitment to global challenges, and their potential for leadership in the future.

Candidates from a variety of backgrounds are encouraged to apply for the Rhodes Trust Scholarship, and the selection of scholars will take place without regard to factors such as gender, sexual orientation, marital status, race, ethnicity, religion, social class, or handicap.

The scholarship will cover living expenses, one economy class ticket to Oxford at the beginning of the programme, all college and university fees, the university application cost, and one economy flight from Oxford back to the student’s home country at the end of the programme.

Rhodes Scholarship Bursary Requirements and Eligibility

• Citizen or legal permanent resident of South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia or Swaziland.
• Resident for at least five years within the period of ten years before your application in South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia or Swaziland.
• Between the ages of 19 – 25 years old on October 2025
• Between the ages of 20 – 29 years old on October 2025, for medical students.
• 2nd-year Intern students of not more than 28 years of age on October 2025, if registered for an MBBCh or an MBChB degree
• Undergraduate degree completion by June 30, 2025, to a high-standard college or university
• Academic excellence (First Class Honours or minimum 3.7/4.0/any equivalent GPA)
• Please also note of the other eligibility of the Scholarship:
  • Master in sports, music and arts, especially where teamwork is practiced
  • Honesty, Courage, Passion, Compassion, Kindness, Unselfishness and Fellowship
  • Initiative and interest in other people’s being

For information about Rhodes Scholarship terms, please check the Conditions of Tenure of the Rhodes Scholarship.

How to Apply and Application Details

1. Bursaries online applications will only open starting 1st June at Rhodes Trust’s official website scholarships tab. Applications are only done vai online, no other application method will be accepted.
2. Include in your application, certified copies of the following required documents, in English or with English translations provided:
   • Birth certificate or proof of valid citizenship/legal permanent residency, for applicants not born in one of the required countries.
   • School leaving certificate
   • University transcript of records showing results.
   • Degree certificates
   • Details of any employment or enterprise you have undertaken during your studies or thereafter, if applicable
   • Complete curriculum vitae including details about your academic qualifications, achievements, scholarships, positions of leadership, employment, student, community and political activities as well as any other accomplishments. CVs should only be a maximum of two A4 (12pt) pages in length and no photo.
   • A head-and-shoulders color photograph in jpg format
   • Personal statement of no more than 1,000 words. Include details about yourself, things that matter to you, why you wish to study at Oxford as well as what you wish to do for the better. The personal statement must be your own work and without any external help included. For more information about the personal statement guidance, please watch this video. The following must be included in your personal statement:
     • Details about yourself
     • Things that matter to you, your general interests, things that inspire you as well as your passions
     • Your aims and priorities and what you wish to do for the betterment of the world
     • What course you wish to pursue and why you wish to study at Oxford
     • Describe and explain that you meet the application requirements of the course that you have chosen. For more information about these requirements, please visit: http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/graduate
     • If you wish to study DPhil, provide a brief outline of your proposed research area, how it will contribute to your career path and cite one or more researchers who you would like to work within Oxford.
   • Provide a list of six people as your willing referees. Their statements are important to your application, and incomplete references will disqualify your application. For this, you should ask their permission before including them as referees. For more information about the referees, please review Guidance for Referees – South Africa. You should also forward this document to your listed referees. Referees should:
     • Have complete contact information more specifically, their email addresses.
     • At least four of the referees should be academically relevant such as teachers or professors who can describe your academic ability and how well they think you would prove at Oxford. While the other remaining referees should attest your character as well as your extra-curricular involvement or community/leadership activities.
     • If your referees are your friends or relatives, they should clearly indicate the connection with you within the reference.
     • Referees recommendations should be submitted by September 14, 2018.

Please don’t submit any more files or unnecessary links or URLs.

Candidates who have made the short list must be available for both an interview and a social event, like a dinner or lunch reception. There will be lodging available inside South Africa; however, the Trust is not in charge of covering the expense of travel abroad. The outcome of each applicant’s application will be sent to them via email.

Closing Date

Applications for Southern Africa must be received by midnight, SAST,  15 August Every Year. 

Contact Details

General Secretary for the Rhodes Scholarships in Southern Africa
Mr Ndumiso Luthuli
Assistant General Secretaries

Mr Nick Ferreira and Ms Trudi Makhaya
Secretary

Mrs Annette Gibson
Post: PO Box 41468, Craighall 2025
Tel: (011) 794 4693 Fax: 086 606 2545
Cell: 082 770 0515
Email: rhotrust@pixie.co.za

Southern African regional selection committee secretaries:
Western Cape and Northern Cape
Dr Salih Solomon
Address: 39 Fairway Avenue Fairways

SOUTHERN AFRICA

Cape Town 7800
Email: salihsolomon@gmail.com

Gauteng, Limpopo and Mpumalanga and North-West
Dr Chris Maske
Post: PO Box 41468, Craighall 2025
Email: Rhotrust@pixie.co.za

KwaZulu-Natal
Mr Andreas Coutsoudis
Advocates Group 21
Address: 21st Floor, The Marine 22 Dorothy Nyembe Street

Durban 4001
Email: coutsoudis@kznlaw.com

Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia and Swaziland
Mr Omphemetse Mooki
Post: PO Box 41468, Craighall 2025
Email: Rhotrust@pixie.co.za

Free State and Eastern Cape
Ms Marisa de Bruyn
Post: PO Box 63, Ladybrand, 9745
Email: marisa@ntelekom.co.za

However, if you have queries regarding the Rhodes Trust bursary application 2025, Please kindly DROP A COMMENT below and we will respond to it as soon as possible.

BE SOCIAL BY SHARING THIS POST WITH OTHERS!