Weidenfeld-Hoffmann Scholarships and Leadership Programme

The Oxford-Weidenfeld and Hoffmann Scholarships and Leadership Programme was established in 2015 thanks to generous donations from multiple donors to mark the 95th birthday of Lord Weidenfeld. In June 2017, Trustee and Chairman André Hoffmann made an additional donation of £9m to the Trust which, thanks to matched funding of £6m from Oxford University, doubled the size of the Oxford-Weidenfeld and Hoffmann Scholarships and Leadership Programme.

This scholarship is part of the Oxford Graduate Scholarships, which were established through a ground-breaking matched funding initiative to create fully-funded scholarships for graduate students of the highest calibre from across the world. The University contributes 40% of the funds for these scholarships, together with 60% from generous donations provided by supporters of the Weidenfeld-Hoffmann Trust, including Fondation Hoffmann. 

The Leadership Programme is a unique part of these scholarships, and over the course of a year scholars take part in philosophical discussions, learn business skills and receive communication training within a supportive community. More information on this can be found on the Weidenfeld-Hoffmann Trust website. 

The scholarship will cover 100% of course fees and a grant for living costs (of at least £20,780). Awards are made to cover the full duration of your fee liability for the agreed course.

Partnership Schemes 

In addition to the Oxford-Weidenfeld and Hoffmann Scholarship and Leadership Programme the Weidenfeld-Hoffmann Trust also has a partnership with the Oxford Pakistan Partnership and Chevening. The scholarships also benefit from partnerships with multiple colleges where the college contributes a portion of the funding and therefore successful candidates will be transferred to one of the partner colleges when taking up the scholarship.

Scholarship outcomes

Decisions are expected to be made by the end of May 2026. If you have not heard from us by this time, then please assume that your application has been unsuccessful. Due to the volume of applications we receive, we regret that we are unable to contact unsuccessful applicants individually or provide feedback on applications.

The scholarships aim to support outstanding university graduates and professionals, mainly from developing and emerging economies, and who would not otherwise be able to support themselves to study at Oxford.  

To be considered for the scholarship you must meet all of the criteria below. These will be assessed during the selection process, including using your graduate application form, your Weidenfeld-Hoffmann Scholarships Statement and (if relevant) your interview.

• You must be applying to start a new full-time graduate course at Oxford.
• You should be intending to return to your country of ordinary residence once your course is completed.
• You must be able to demonstrate a connection between your subject of study and your longer-term career objectives, explaining how you see your professional work contributing to the improvement of public life in your country of origin or at a wider regional or international level.
• This scholarship is not open to applications from candidates who hold deferred offers to start in 2026-27.
• Students currently at Oxford are not eligible to apply unless they are already Weidenfeld-Hoffmann scholars.

You must also be offered a place to study on a eligible course, as well as being ordinarily resident in one of the eligible countries. Please note, if you indicated that you are a refugee/displaced when you applied for your course, you will be considered eligible if your nationality meets the below country eligibility criteria. 

In order to be considered for this scholarship, you must select the Weidenfeld-Hoffmann Scholarships and Leadership Programme in the University of Oxford Scholarships section of the University's graduate application form and submit your application for graduate study by the relevant December or January deadline for your course. See the relevant course page for the deadline applicable to your course.  

You must also complete a Weidenfeld-Hoffmann Scholarships Statement and upload it, together with your graduate application form, by the deadline.

We will use the details you insert in the ‘Nationality and ordinary residence’ section of the graduate application form to assess your country of ordinary residence. For a definition of ordinary residency and further details on how to complete this section of the graduate application form, please see the Nationality and Ordinary residence sections of the graduate application form and the advice contained with the Application Guide.

To be eligible for consideration for this scholarship, applicants must be successful in being offered a place on their course after consideration of applications received by the relevant December or January deadline for the course. Course applications which are held over after the December or January deadline to be re-evaluated against applications received by the March deadline or course applications which have been put on a waiting list are not eligible for scholarship consideration.

If you are shortlisted for the scholarship, you will be required to participate in an interview, which is likely to be held online in April 2026.

College preference

All graduate students at the University of Oxford benefit from membership not only of their department, but also of one of our multi-disciplinary colleges. Applicants may select a preferred college as part of their application or leave the allocation of a college to the University. The Weidenfeld and Hoffmann scholarships and leadership programme benefit from partnerships with multiple colleges where the college contributes a portion of the scholarship and therefore successful candidates will be transferred to a partner college in order to take up the scholarship. 

Other Schemes

The Weidenfeld Hoffmann Trust has partnership awards with the Oxford Pakistan Partnership and Chevening. Please note that the selection process for these scholarships is managed by the Weidenfeld-Hoffmann Trust and their respective partners, and is not managed by the University of Oxford. 

For more information please visit the Weidenfeld-Hoffmann Trust website or contact [email protected].

Applications for the Chevening-Weidenfeld-Hoffmann Scholarships must be made via the Chevening website. To be considered as an award recipient, applicants must list the University of Oxford as their first preference university choice. Chevening-Weidenfeld-Hoffmann Scholars will also be subject to the terms and conditions of the Chevening Scholarship.