The Oxford Students Refugee Campaign Scholarship Fund is a university wide fund that offers scholarships to students with an asylum seeker status, or students who are in a similar situation.
The Oxford Student Scholarship Fund has been created in Trinity Term 2016, and is initially funded with contributions from the student body – the junior and middle common rooms of various Oxford colleges. The fund is governed by the university of Oxford. All contributions from the MCR go directly towards the scholarship.
The scholarship is still in the startup phase, therefore there is no clarity regarding what the scholarship covers. Application will open in Michaelmas term 2016, after which the Oxford Student Refugee Campaign will negotiate with the faculties and colleges to waive the university and college fees of the applicants, as well as the accommodation costs. This will be determined case by case.
The scholarship is open to graduate and undergraduate students; however, graduate students are more likely to meet the University’s academic requirements.
Eligibility Criteria
Eligible applicants must:
- Have been offered a place at the University of Oxford(this implies that the applicant must fulfil the adequate academic requirements, notably in terms of prior education, established by the University).
- Be in one of the following legal situations:
- Residing in the UK, under one of the following status:
- Asylum seeker status,
- Discretionary leave status granted as a result of a claim for asylum,
- Humanitarian protection status as a result of an asylum claim, (granted less than 3 years prior to receipt of the University offer of placement);
- Residing in their country of origin where their pursuit of education is hindered because of political and/or humanitarian crisis;
- Residing in a third country as a result of political and/or humanitarian crisis in their country of origin, and being in possession of a valid travel document (that will allow them to apply for a Tier 4 student visa)
- Residing in the UK, under one of the following status:
Selection guidelines
In allocating the scholarships, the three following criteria will be considered: the severity of barriers to pursuing higher education, financial need, and the quality of personal statements.
The Fund will provide full or partial costs depending on the number of both full and/or partial applicants, the availability of funding from other sponsors and the total availability of funds.
The selection panel for the Scholarship Fund will consist of representatives from the University, the Oxford University Students Union (OUSU), the Refugee Studies Centre, as well as representatives of the Oxford Students Refugee Campaign.
For more information about the campaign and scholarship, contact the campaign at oxrcampaign@gmail.com or see the OxSRC facebook page.