Weidenfeld-Hoffmann Scholarships and Leadership Programme at the University of Oxford

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, Chairman André Hoffmann pledged an additional donation of £9m to the Trust which, thanks to matched funding of £6m from Oxford University, will double 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 new matched funding initiative to enable the creation of 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. Fondation Hoffmann is a Swiss-based grant making institution supporting the emergence and expansion of concrete projects which address global problems in today's societies.

Partnership Schemes 

In addition to the Oxford-Weidenfeld and Hoffmann Scholarship and Leadership Programme the Weidenfeld-Hoffmann Trust also has a partnership with the Louis Dreyfus Foundation 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 a partner college when taking up the scholarship.

Scholarship outcomes

Decisions are expected to be made by the end of May 2024. 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.

Eligible courses 

• BCL Bachelor of Civil Law
• MBA Master of Business Administration
• MJur Magister Juris
• MPP Master of Public Administration and Policy
• MSc African Studies
• MSc Biodiversity, Conservation and Management
• MSc Comparative Social Policy
• MSc Computer Science
• MSc Contemporary Chinese Studies
• MPhil in Development Studies
• MSt Diplomatic Studies
• MSc Economics for Development
• MSc Education (Comparative and International Education)
• MSc Education (Higher Education)
• MSc Energy Systems
• MSc Environmental Change and Management
• MSc Evidence-Based Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation
• MSc Financial Economics
• MSc Global Governance and Diplomacy
• MSc Global Health Science
• MSc International Health and Tropical Medicine
• MSt Islamic Studies and History
• MSt Jewish Studies
• MSt Korean Studies
• MSc Latin American Studies
• MSc Law and Finance
• MSc Mathematical Modelling and Scientific Computing
• MSc Migration Studies
• MSc Modern Middle Eastern Studies
• MSc Modern South Asian Studies
• MSc Nature, Society and Environmental Governance
• MSc Refugee and Forced Migration Studies
• MSc Social Science of the Internet
• MSc Sustainability, Enterprise and the Environment
• MSc Water Science, Policy and Management

OXFORD UNIVERSITY

As the oldest university in the English-speaking world, Oxford is a unique and historic institution. There is no clear date of foundation, but teaching existed at Oxford in some form in 1096 and developed rapidly from 1167, when Henry II banned English students from attending the University of Paris.

Oxford has a distinctive collegiate structure. Students and academics benefit from belonging both to the University, a large, internationally-renowned institution, and to a college or hall, a small, interdisciplinary academic community.

The colleges and halls

There are 38 Oxford colleges, which are financially independent and self-governing, but relate to the central University in a kind of federal system. There are also six permanent private halls, which are similar to colleges except that they tend to be smaller, and were founded by particular Christian denominations. The colleges and halls are close academic communities, which bring together students and researchers from different disciplines, cultures and countries. This helps to foster the outstanding research achievement that has made Oxford a leader in so many fields.

The colleges and the University work together to organise teaching and research, and many staff at Oxford will hold both a college and a University post.

If you are interested in undergraduate study at Oxford, please consult our information on colleges for prospective undergraduates.

Did you know?

• Oxford was ranked first in the world in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings for 2021 and 2022.
• There are nearly 24,000 students at Oxford, including 11,747 undergraduates and 11,687 postgraduates.
• Oxford is very competitive: nearly 20,000 people applied for around 3,200 undergraduate places for entry in 2022. That means that Oxford receives, on average, more than 6 applications for each available place.
• The majority of Oxford’s UK undergraduates come from state schools. The latest figures show that, of places offered to UK applicants, over 58% of undergraduate places went to students from the state sector.
• Oxford offers more than 350 different graduate degree programmes.
• International students make up almost 43% of our total student body - over 10,000 students. Students come to Oxford from more than 150 countries and territories. 
• According to the 2014 Research Excellence Framework, the official UK-wide assessment of all university research, Oxford has the largest volume of world-leading research in the country.
• The University, including the colleges and Oxford University Press, is the largest employer in Oxfordshire, supporting around more than 30,000 jobs in the county and injecting more than £2.3bn annually into the regional economy.