Postgraduate Funding

Several funding sources are available to students of the Faculty of Theology and Religion. Applicants are advised to research the funding opportunities available for their course before applying. Most of the scholarships that provide full funding are available only to those starting a new course. Funding opportunities available to students who have already started their course are usually much more limited.

Information about the fees charged for each course can be found on the Graduate Fees and Funding website. 

Opportunities to seek employment during term time are normally limited by the full-time requirements of most of the Faculty’s courses and course-related commitments during the Christmas, Easter and summer vacations. Please note that the demand for part-time paid work in Oxford often exceeds the amount of paid work that is available, whether academic or non-academic paid work.

University Scholarships for New Students

Every year, a significant proportion of the Faculty’s graduate applicants secure support for their studies from a range of public and private funding bodies and scholarship schemes.

Information about the scholarships available for those applying for, or currently studying, any one particular course or programme of study, including details of the scholarship amount, duration, eligibility and closing date, can be found by using the Fees, Funding and Scholarship search facility.

All applicants who apply by the Early January Application Deadline and are offered a place on a graduate course will be considered automatically for those University scholarships for which they are eligible. Some scholarships require additional application materials, and applicants are advised to read the details of the application requirements for each scholarship carefully.

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The Black Academic Futures 

The Black Academic Futures Scholarships offer UK Black and mixed Black students financial support to pursue graduate study at Oxford.The scholarships are open to all academic subjects.

Each scholarship will cover your course fees in full and will provide you with a grant for living costs. 

These scholarships are available for applicants who are ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom, who are of Black or mixed Black ethnicity and who hold an offer for either a taught or research postgraduate degree, starting in the 2026-27 academic year.

To apply for the Black Academic Futures Scholarship, you must submit your completed graduate course application, including ethnicity information, by the January deadline and you will automatically be considered.

For more information, visit the page the Black Academic Futures Scholarships page.

 

The Care-Experienced Academic Futures

The Care-Experienced Academic Futures scholarships are open to applications from those who have been in care in the UK at some point in their life, and faced barriers to progressing their education. Applicants must hold an offer to commence a postgraduate degree, starting in the 2026-27 academic year. 

You will be contacted to ask you to apply for these scholarships and complete a separate scholarship form if you have:

  1. applied for an eligible course by the relevant November, December or January application deadline for your course and received an offer; and
  2. you have ticked the ‘care-experienced’ box on the graduate application form.

For more information, please visit the Care-Experienced Academic Futures scheme. 

 

The Refugee Academic Futures

The Refugee Academic Futures Scholarships offer financial support to pursue graduate study at Oxford to students who are refugees or other people with lived experience of displacement.

The scholarships are open to all academic subjects. Each scholarship will cover your course fees in full and will provide you with a grant for living costs.

For more information, please see the Refugee Academic Futures page. 

You will be automatically considered for Clarendon if you apply by the relevant January deadline for your course. You do not need to submit a separate application. Clarendon offers fully-funded scholarships covering course fees, as well as a grant for living expenses for the period of fee liability. There are no restrictions on nationality, ordinary residence or field of study. All full-time and part-time DPhil and Master’s courses are eligible. Clarendon scholars are selected for their outstanding academic merit and potential, and scholarships are highly competitive.

All applicants for graduate study are eligible for a Clarendon scholarship.

 

Applications for Commonwealth Shared Scholarships for the 2026/27 academic year open at 16:30 GMT on Wednesday 12 November 2025. The scholarships are for study in the UK beginning in September/October 2026  and are subject to course applicability. 

The closing date for applications is Tuesday 9 December at 16:00 GMT.

Applications to the CSC must be made using the application system, CSC Central.

To be considered for these scholarships, candidates must:

  • Be a citizen of or have been granted refugee status by an eligible Commonwealth country.
  • Be permanently resident in an eligible Commonwealth country.
  • Be available to start academic studies in the UK by the start of the UK academic year in September 2026.
  • By September 2026, hold a first degree of at least upper second-class (2:1) honours standard, or a lower second-class degree and a relevant postgraduate qualification (usually a Master’s degree).
  • Not have studied or worked for more than one (academic) year or more in a high income country
  • Be unable to afford to study in the UK without this scholarship.
  • Have provided all supporting documentation in the required format.

Applicants for most graduate courses in the Humanities may be considered for an Ertegun Scholarship, but in order to be considered, they must complete the Ertegun application form and submit it with their general application by the 7th January 2026 deadline. Ertegun Scholarships are highly competitive, and cover course fees in full. Scholars also receive an annual grant for living costs which is normally sufficient to cover the living costs of a single student living in Oxford. Ertegun Scholars also enjoy dedicated use of Ertegun House, which provides space for each Scholar for writing and research, as well as opportunities to participate in social occasions, lectures, performances and other activities developed expressly for the Scholars. Awards are made for the full duration of a student's fee liability for the agreed course, subject to satisfactory academic progress.

 

The Felix Scholarship will cover 100% of course fees, a grant for living costs (around £19,000) and one return flight from India to the UK. Awards are made for the full duration of your fee liability for the agreed course.

You must be applying to start a new full-time Master's course or full-time DPhil course at Oxford. You must not have previously studied a course at the same level as the course to which you are applying (i.e. if you already have a Master's degree, you will not be considered for this scholarship if you are applying for another Master's course). You must be unable to take up your place at Oxford without financial assistance.

In addition, for the Indian scholarship, the following eligibility criteria apply:

  • You must be a national of and ordinarily resident in India;
  • You must have a first-class undergraduate or master's degree from an Indian university;
  • You must not hold a degree from a university outside of India (this rule does not apply to study undertaken whilst in receipt of a Felix Scholarship); and
  • You are expected to return to India after completing your studies.

 

Non-Indian scholarship

One award is made each year to a non-Indian student who is a national of and ordinarily resident in a country (outside of India) which is categorized as Other Low Income Countries or Least Developed Countries on the DAC List of ODA Recipients.

In addition, for the non-Indian scholarship, the following eligibility criteria apply:

You should have a first-class undergraduate degree;
You must not already hold a degree from a university outside of your home country (this rule does not apply to study undertaken whilst in receipt of a Felix Scholarship); and 
You are expected to return to your home county after completing your studies.

Both scholarships will be awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need.

 

 

The first scholarship is open to students from any discipline, provided their research adopts a humanities-based approach relevant to the Institute.

For more information, visit see Institute for Ethics in AI page. 

 

The scholarships are available for applicants who are ordinarily resident and have permanent residency in Hong Kong. DPhil courses with four years of fee liability are not eligible.

Selection will be based on the following criteria: academic merit; evidence of outstanding leadership and teamwork; commitment to service and improving the lives of others; and strength of character, including integrity, courage, responsibility, empathy, social awareness, and humility. 

Please see The Hong Kong Jockey Club Graduate Scholarships page for more information. 

 

To be eligible for the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies (OCIS) scholarship, you must be applying to start a new full-time Master's or DPhil course at Oxford.

You must be either:

  • ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom and from a Muslim community (with preference given to those from a financially disadvantaged household), or
  • a national of, and ordinarily resident in, Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Benin, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, Comoros, Cote d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Egypt, Gabon, Gambia, Guinea, Guyana, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Suriname, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Yemen.

You should be intending to return to your country of ordinary residence once your course is completed.  

Scholarships will be awarded on the basis of academic merit and financial need. 

 

The scholarship offers a fully-funded scholarship for research students whose studies have an interdisciplinary component engaging at least two of Reuben College's research themes - Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning; Cellular Life; Environmental Change; Innovation & Entrepreneurship; Public Engagement with Research, Culture & Heritage; and Values & Society.

For more information, please visit the Oxford-Reuben Interdisciplinary Scholarships page. 

 

 

Open-Oxford-Cambridge Doctoral Training Partnership studentships are open to applicants holding an offer of a place or already enrolled on a DPhil course at Oxford whose main research focus falls within one of the AHRC's primary research subject areas which is supported by the Open-Oxford-Cambridge AHRC DTP. While international students may apply, please note that awards to international students are capped at 30% of overall awards.

For more information please see the Open-Oxford-Cambridge Doctoral Training Partnership website.

Current DPhil students may also be eligible for funding, for more information please click here

 

 

Candidates who have been accepted for graduate study at Oxford on certain courses offered by the Humanities Division or the Mathematical, Physical and Life Sciences Division and are ordinarily resident in the following countries:

Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen

For more information, please see the Oxford Thatcher Graduate Scholarships page. 

 

Candidates applying to read a post-graduate degree in Late Antique and Byzantine Studies at Oxford are eligible to apply for the Leventis Graduate Scholarship in Byzantine Studies.

The scholarship covers 100% of university and college fees, and offers a generous grant towards living costs. Awards are valid for up to three years depending on the length of the course.

If the scholarship is offered for a course lasting more than one year, the continuation of the scholarship each year is subject to an annual renewal process based on satisfactory academic progress

 

The Wolfson Postgraduate Scholarships in the Humanities are jointly funded by the University of Oxford and the Wolfson Foundation. The scholarships are available for applicants who are ordinarily resident in the UK and applying to study a DPhil course in the Humanities Division in the broad areas of history, literature and languages.

Faculty Scholarships for New Students

A range of postgraduate scholarships will be available for courses in the Faculty of Theology and Religion beginning in October 2025.  Funded from a variety of sources including Trust Funds, grants from philanthropic organisations and other benefactors, these awards will partly or wholly cover fees and/or a maintenance stipend.

All awards will be made on the basis of academic excellence as demonstrated by past performance and potential future achievement.

Those applying for admission who wish to be considered for a Faculty scholarship, should add the code ‘THEO’ to the ‘Departmental studentship applications’ section of the University’s online graduate course application form.

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The Caird New Testament Scholarship is funding jointly by the GB Caird Memorial Trust at Mansfield College and the Faculty of Theology & Religion, and is awarded to one new student every year who has been accepted by the Faculty to study in the area of New Testament scholarship.

 

To be eligible, you must be an incoming student with the interest of theological or the philosophical study within the area of mysticism and religious experience.

 

To be eligible, you must be an incoming student studying the Greek Testament, of the Septuagint version of the Hebrew Scriptures in its relation to the Hebrew Bible and the Greek Testament, and of the Syriac versions of the Holy Scriptures. 

 

Offered in conjuction with Keble College, a Wills Philpott Shawcross Divinity Scholarship of approximately £14,000 for one year only will be available for entry in 2025 to an applicant for the DPhil in Theology. Eligible applicants who apply by the Early January Application Deadline and are offered a place on the DPhil in Theology course will be considered automatically for this scholarship.

For more information, please see https://www.keble.ox.ac.uk/admissions/graduates/scholarships/

The electors propose, if suitable candidates present themselves, to award two or more bursaries on this foundation. The statutory conditions require that applicants must have the intention of offering themselves for ordination in the Church of England or any church in communion therewith and be in need of financial assistance for their university education. In addition, the electors have discretion to make bursaries available, after Anglican candidates have been considered, to matriculated students of the University intending ministry in churches with which the Church of England has ecumenical relations, or who as lay men or women intend to serve their church as theologians.

The bursaries are of such annual value as the Board of the Faculty of Theology and Religion shall determine, and are tenable at any college or hall in the University. Candidates shall be required to provide the electors with evidence of their scholastic attainments and financial need together with testimonials to their character and ability. Selected candidates will be interviewed before the elections are made.

Enquiries should be directed to the Convener, the Revd Dr Peter Groves, via e-mail:

peter.groves@theology.ox.ac.uk

 

Application form here

Financial Assistance for Continuing Students

Graduate students currently studying one of the Faculty’s courses who will be on the same course in 2025-26 - i.e. taught postgraduate students in the first year of two, or continuing DPhil students - may apply to the Faculty for financial assistance using the Application form for Financial Assistance. Most applications are usually considered in early March, but we will send all students information about any other deadlines through the year. Applicants must also ask two referees to email an academic reference on their behalf to the Faculty’s Graduate Studies Administrator at graduate.studies@theology.ox.ac.uk.

Criteria for the awards are:

  • Academic Excellence
  • Financial hardship due to a change in circumstances or, in the case of DPhils, overrunning the funded years of their course.

 

 
In line with the regulations governing the Grinfield Lecturership, the Electors propose to use some of the current surplus in the fund towards the support of any Oxford graduate student working in Septuagint studies, broadly conceived, including research expenses but excluding tuition fees.
 
Applicants are encouraged to apply to the Grinfield Trust, with a breakdown of their current living costs. Grants of up to £3,000 for the present academic year will be considered. Applications should be sent to alison.salvesen@ames.ox.ac.uk, by 1st April 2025.
The board of electors may apply any surplus income and balance on the fund to the furtherance of Septuagint Studies within the University, subject to the provisions of clause 6 below.
 
This decree may, but with the consent of the founder during his life, be amended from time to time; so nevertheless, that the main object of the founder, namely the promotion of the study of the LXX version, and, through this, the just interpretation of the New Testament, shall be in no wise set aside.

Other Funding Sources

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To be eligible, you must be an applicant for DPhil in History of Art. 

For more information, please see https://www.trinity.ox.ac.uk/postgraduate-scholarships

A new resource on the Fees and Funding website is now available to help current graduates in their quest for funding. The 'Alternative Guide to Postgraduate Funding' is an independent guide written by two UK-based PhD students who have between them won over £45,000 in funding from the charity/voluntary sector. The Guide shows where to find charities, how to approach them, and how to complete strong applications in the correct manner. It contains model personal and financial statements, and over 100 links to voluntary sector funding sources. The Guide, which is a password protected pdf document, and instructions on how to obtain the password, are available here.

Applications for awards (of up to two thousand pounds) from the Crewdson Trust are invited from Oxford students doing advanced degrees in Theology. The aims of the trust are to promote study and research in Christian theology relevant to the production of contemporary re-statements of the Christian faith or its application, and also to encourage research into the role of religion in eliminating violence and promoting peace. Further information can be found here.

 

Applicants who meet the remit of the scholarship are nominated and selected as part of admissions process. It is open to home and international students. 

 

 

This scholarship is open to candidates who are currently studying or who will be studying at Oxford University towards a higher degree.

 

For more information, visit https://www.mansfield.ox.ac.uk/study-here/postgraduate/graduate-scholarships/

 

 

To be eligible, you must be a student studying in early church history. 

 

The scholarship is intended for those applying for the course Doctor of Philosophy (DPhil) in Theology and Religion at the University of Oxford, which is one of the world’s leading programmes for advanced research in the study of religion, faith, and theological traditions. Applicants must be working in the scholarly field of ecotheology, defined as any branch of theology that explores the relationship between religion, faith, and the natural environment. The research project must include engagement either with systematic theology or with political theology (or other areas of applied theology). 

The LSRI Ecotheology Scholarship covers full fees (at current Home student rates only) and offers a stiped of £3,000 per year for three years. The scholar would be required to matriculate at Campion Hall and be a registered student at Campion Hall for the duration of the scholarship.

Applications for the DPhil Theology and Religion must be made through the University of Oxford Graduate Admissions portal. 

Deadline: January 2026

 

The Holwell Studentship in Theology are open to Home applicants for the MSt in Theology. The studentship is confined to those who by 1 October of the academic year following their election shall have passed all examinations for the Bachelor’s Degree at an approved University and will not have exceeded the thirty-first term from their matriculation.

 

 

This scholarship is available to both on-course and incoming students who work in the fields of Patristics, systematic theology, or Philosophy of Religion. This £3,400 scholarship will be awarded annually for up to three years to a DPhil student in Theology at Oriel College, subject to satisfactory academic progress. 

For more information, please see https://www.oriel.ox.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Current-Students-Advert_TF-Torrance-Scholarship-in-Theology-2025.pdf

 

Trinity College Scholarship is open for DPhil applicants in Theology and Religion for entry in October 2025. This scholarship will be combined with funding from another scholarship fund (e.g. Clarendon or Faculty funds) to cover full fees (either home or international) at the level of the Research Council stipend for the duration of the award-holder’s period of fee liability (i.e. up to three academic years). All applicants offered a placed for entry in October 2025 for the DPhil Theology and Religion will automatically be eligible for this scholarship, whether or not they originally applied to Trinity College; there is no additional application form. 

 

The Scovil Scholarship is open to an incoming student studying the topic of christian theology and art. 

 

To be eligible, your research should focus on the intersection of theology and scientific thought, bridging the gap between scientific knowledge and christian theology. For more information, please see https://www.oriel.ox.ac.uk/study-with-us/postgraduates/postgraduate-scho...

 

 

To be eligible, you must be a DPhil applicant in A DPhil applicant in philosophy or theology. 

The scholarship is worth £114K over the three-year duration of the DPhil course for living costs and fees, and is tenable only at Blackfriars Hall. The Oxford-Bede Jarrett Graduate Scholarship is jointly funded by the University and by generous donors to Blackfriars Hall.

 

Mansfield College provides full funding for up to five graduate students at any one time, supporting study in the Humanities—English, History, Philosophy, and Theology—and in Politics, an area of particular strength and demand at Mansfield. The scholarships will be awarded on the basis of academic excellence, and the first Oxford-Foster Scholars will begin their studies in the 2026–27 academic year.

For further information, please see https://www.mansfield.ox.ac.uk/news-events/news-features/transformational-new-graduate-scholarships-at-mansfield-college/#:~:text=The%20Oxford%2DFoster%20Scholarships%20respond,strength%20and%20demand%20at%20Mansfield.

 

The scholarships are jointly funded by the University of Oxford and the Wolfson Foundation. The Wolfson Postgraduate Scholarships in the Humanities are available for applicants who are ordinarily resident in the UK and applying to study a DPhil course in the Humanities Division in the broad areas of history, literature and languages.

 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.