The Rhodes Scholarship

For the 2026 competition (for the 2027 Rhodes Scholarship), the following eligibility criteria apply:

1. Nationality/Citizenship: You must be a citizen or permanent resident of Canada. Applications from refugees or asylum seekers currently residing in Canada will also be considered.

2. Residency: You must be domiciled in Canada. For candidates who were born outside of Canada, or who are currently living or attending university outside of Canada, evidence of domicile in Canada will be required.

3. Age: You must meet one of the following criteria:

i. You must be aged 18–23 on October 1, 2026 (i.e., born after October 1, 2002, and before October 2, 2008).

OR (for older candidates who completed their first undergraduate degree later than usual)

ii. You must be under age 27 on October 1, 2026 (i.e., born after October 1, 1999) and must have completed your first undergraduate degree on or after October 1, 2025.

4. Academic Achievement: You must have completed an undergraduate degree (usually a Bachelor’s) by July 2027, and you must meet or exceed the entry requirements for your chosen Oxford program. Course requirements can be found here:
   https://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions/graduate/courses/find-your-course

Candidates will have a stronger chance of admission to Oxford if they have:

• a First-Class Honours degree (or equivalent), or

• a GPA of 3.70/4.0 or higher 

Once you have noted the entry requirements for your chosen course(s), you can check international grade equivalencies here.
 

Rhodes Selection Criteria

The Rhodes selection criteria are longstanding and have remained largely unchanged for more than a century, based directly on the founder’s Will:

• Academic excellence
• Energy to use your talents to the full, demonstrated through achievement in areas such as sports, music, debate, dance, theatre, and artistic pursuits (including teamwork)
• Truth, courage, devotion to duty, sympathy for and protection of the weak, kindliness, unselfishness, and fellowship
• Moral force of character, including instincts to lead and a genuine interest in others

In short, Rhodes Scholars are young leaders of outstanding intellect and character who are motivated to engage with global challenges and committed to serving others. They show strong promise as principled, value-driven leaders, regardless of career path or field of study.

Our institution has implemented an internal selection process to identify applicants who will be officially endorsed by the University of Manitoba (UM) for consideration for a Rhodes Scholarship. To be eligible for consideration for an institutional endorsement, please submit a complete copy of the following Rhodes application materials via email to Mr. Brent Deere, Associate Director, Research Awards (brent.deere@umanitoba.ca), by 4:30 p.m. (CDT) on Monday, August 17, 2026:

i.    A copy of your birth certificate confirming that you meet the age criterion (in JPEG or PDF); in the case of candidates born outside of Canada, an English translation must be provided;

ii.    A copy of a valid passport (with translation, if necessary), confirming that you meet the citizenship criterion (in JPEG or PDF). For candidates who were born outside of Canada, or currently living or attending university outside of Canada, evidence of domicile in Canada will be required. Customarily accepted forms of evidence include a Canadian driver’s license, Canadian health insurance registration, or Canadian tax filing.

iii.    A copy of your official transcript (certified by the UM Registrar’s Office), showing grades achieved to date (in JPEG or PDF);

iv.    A full curriculum vitae (in PDF) should include specific details about academic qualifications, publications, prizes, scholarships, positions of leadership, employment positions, involvement in student, voluntary, community or political activities, and any cultural, musical, or sporting accomplishments. If you have an ORCID ID, you may wish to include this. This should not exceed two letter size pages in length with a minimum 12 pt. font. Note: Please do not include a photograph in your CV. Your CV should be wholly accurate and a fair representation of your achievements.

v.    The names and contact details of six referees who are willing to submit references on your behalf (in PDF). Professional or institutional affiliation, mailing address, email address, and telephone number must be included for all referees:

     a)    Academic Referees: At least three of your referees should be academics who have formally taught and graded you in your undergraduate (or, if relevant, postgraduate) studies and who can comment in detail on your academic ability and how well they think you would fare at Oxford.

     b)    Character Referees: You will also need two or more character referees who should write about your character and involvement in extra-curricular, service or leadership activities. These referees should be able to comment critically on whether you fulfil the extra-curricular, non-academic requirements of the Scholarship and who can speak in detail to your character.

     c)    You should forward the Guidance for Referees to your referees. This includes key instructions for your referees on what they will need to write about in their letter.

     d)    Remember, a good referee is someone who knows you well, rather than a well-known person who only knows you superficially. Please note that Rhodes Scholarship referees should not normally be personal friends, peers or relatives, or have any other conflict of interest. If a referee fits into one of these categories, they should make the connection clear within the reference.

     e)    You should choose reliable people who are likely to respond to your request for a detailed reference, as their letters will be crucial to your application.

Note: It is highly recommended that your six referees provide letters of reference. Referees should email their letters (maximum two pages each, on headed paper, signed, in PDF format) directly to Brent Deere, Associate Director, Research Awards (brent.deere@umanitoba.ca) by 4:30 p.m. (CDT) on Monday, August 17, 2026.

Support with your application and generative AI: Important guidance:

The Rhodes Trust has issued guidance covering the types of assistance you may receive when putting together your personal and academic statements for the scholarship. Please ensure you read this guidance, available here, before submitting your application materials.

We encourage you to consult mentors and peers; however, while they may provide general feedback, they must not write or edit your personal or academic statements. You must indicate which of the following have assisted you: You must tell us tell us which of the following has assisted you in preparing your statement(s):
•    Faculty advisors
•    Fellowship/scholarship advisors
•    Friends and family
•    Current Rhodes Scholars or alumni
•    GenAI tools such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Grammarly etc.
      o   If you used GenAI, tell us which tool was used, and how you asked it to help
•    I did not receive any help
•    Other (please specify)

Seeking appropriate advice will not disadvantage you; however, you must be transparent about how you prepared your application.

vi.    A personal statement of no more than 1000 words (in PDF). This is your opportunity to tell your story in your own voice: Who are you? While your transcript, CV, academic statement, and references provide detail, the personal statement allows you to present an authentic portrait of yourself.

Guiding Questions:
In your personal statement of 1000 words, we ask you to address each of the following prompts by weaving them into the narrative of your statement (the word allocation across the three is up to you): 
     1.    Which Rhodes Scholar quality do you display most strongly, and how are different contexts and people helping you to develop the other qualities?
     2.    Drawing on your past experience of community engagement, how do you hope to contribute to and learn from communities at Oxford? 
     3.    From your place in the world, how will you use your energy and talents to address humanity’s pressing challenges?

Every statement is individual; there is no single, “right” model. For over 120 years, personal statements have been diverse and ever-changing. We are looking for an original portrait of you as a candidate for the Rhodes Scholarship.

Guidance
In your personal statement we are asking you to reflect on your experiences, influences and intentions through the lens of the Rhodes Scholar qualities outlined in the three criteria: “Energy to use one’s talents to the full, as demonstrated by success in areas such as sports, music, debate, dance, theatre, and artistic pursuits, including where teamwork is involved”; “Truth, courage, devotion to duty, sympathy for and protection of the weak, kindliness, unselfishness and fellowship”; “Moral force of character and instincts to lead, and to take an interest in one’s fellow human beings”. (Note that the fourth selection criterion of “Literary and scholastic attainments (academic excellence)” are evidenced in your transcript, academic statement of study and academic reference letters.)

The three guiding questions are set within the Rhodes leadership development framework that informs the Scholar Programme at Rhodes House in Oxford. They ask you to consider your candidacy for and the opportunity of the Scholarship within three interrelated spheres in your own voice: ‘self, others, and world’.

Here are a few general pointers to consider when drafting your statement: 
     •    We do not expect you to be the ‘finished product’—we want to hear how you intend to evolve, and the part the Scholarship plays in that evolution;
     •    Be personal, not generic—we want to hear from you; your ideas, your voice, your authentic self;
     •    As well as telling your story, look beyond yourself and your experiences to the contributions you want to make, both to the communities at Oxford and the challenges faced by humanity today, from your own context.

You can find further guidance on the personal statement on the ‘Application Overview’ page of Rhodes’ website.

The Rhodes Scholarships cover at least two years of study at the University of Oxford and in the application form, you will need to choose a course, or a combination of courses that covers this period.

You should use the University of Oxford’s website to find out about the different course options, their content and their entry requirements. Make sure that you research your planned course(s) thoroughly.

vii.    An academic statement of study of no more than 450 words (in PDF) presenting a clear and coherent academic plan for the two years of the Rhodes Scholarship. It should demonstrate to selectors your academic goals, the logic of your course choices, and your preparedness and competitiveness for graduate study at Oxford. Researching and writing this statement will also help you prepare for your application to Oxford, if you are selected.

Your statement should address the following three areas: 
a)    Academic direction, motivation, and long-term goals: Explain the academic direction you wish to pursue and how this connects to your long-term personal, professional, or research goals. What impact do you ultimately hope to achieve through further study? Why is graduate study at Oxford—and in your chosen field—essential to reaching your goals? This section should convey both your seriousness of intent and your motivation for undertaking this academic path.

b)    Course plan and academic trajectory: Discuss each course you have listed and explain:
     •    Why each course is academically necessary for your goals;
     •    How the course(s) fit together as a coherent trajectory.

You should demonstrate that you have researched your chosen course(s) carefully and understand their academic focus and structure. Where relevant, you may refer to particular subject areas, options, or departmental strengths that align with your interests. For MPhil or DPhil candidates, briefly outline your proposed research area, the department in which you propose to work, and one or more Oxford academics you would like to work with.

c)    Preparation and readiness: Demonstrate that you are well prepared for the demands of your proposed course(s). You may want to think about:
     •    Relevant academic background, training, or research experience;
     •    Skills, methods, or specific knowledge relevant to the course(s);
     •    For some courses, professional or voluntary experience is expected (check the Entry Requirements tab of the course page for details).

If one of your proposed courses differs significantly from your previous field of study, explain how you are fully prepared for this transition.

Both your personal statement and academic statement must be clearly signed by you and must state under your signature that: “I attest that this is my own work and is a wholly accurate and fair representation of my story and academic trajectory. I understand that any material misrepresentation would disqualify my application and, where appropriate, result in the rescinding of a scholarship.”

The above statement does not count toward your allowable word counts.

After August 17, 2026, the UM Rhodes Selection Committee will review applications and select candidates for endorsement. Selected applicants who are unsuccessful may reapply once more (if still eligible) in the same constituency. Therefore, the UM committee will endorse an applicant a maximum of two times.

Monday, September 7th, 2026
All applicants will be notified of results. Selected candidates will have approximately two weeks to complete and submit their applications to the Rhodes Prairie Office. Brent Deere will support endorsed applicants and advise on completing remaining requirements (e.g., institutional certification).

Thursday, September 24, 2026 (before 23:59 Pacific Time (PDT))
External deadline for endorsed applicants to submit applications via the Rhodes online portal: https://www.rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk/scholarships/applications/canada/#apply-now.

The Rhodes Prairies Office will shortlist 12–14 applicants from across Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba for interviews, with notifications sent in early November 2026. Shortlisted candidates may receive a mock interview from UM in preparation for final interviews (typically mid-November).

Please contact Brent Deere, Associate Director, Research Awards (brent.deere@umanitoba.ca), if you have any questions.

Revised: April 21, 2026