Reach Oxford Scholarship 2027: Eligible Countries, Requirements and Deadline

Yes, the Reach Oxford Scholarship still runs. It is the University of Oxford’s undergraduate award for students from low-income countries who cannot study for a degree at home for financial or political reasons, or because the course does not exist there. It pays Oxford course fees, a yearly grant for living costs and one return flight a year for the full three or four years of a bachelor’s degree, in any subject except medicine.

Oxford gives only two or three Reach Oxford Scholarships a year, and you must hold an offer from Oxford before the award can be considered. For 2027 entry the scholarship form opens in January 2027 and the Reach Oxford Scholarship deadline is 12 noon UK time on 26 January 2027. If you did not apply to Oxford through UCAS by 15 October 2026, your route is 2028 entry, with a UCAS deadline of 15 October 2027. Below are the rules, the full list of 141 eligible countries and the steps in order.

Reach Oxford Scholarship at a glance

What the Reach Oxford Scholarship covers

• Course fees at the international rate, for the whole degree.
• A grant for living costs each year. Oxford does not publish the amount on the scholarship page.
• One return airfare a year between your home country and the UK.

Things to budget for yourself: the UCAS application fee, any admissions test fee, English test fees, the UK Student visa fee and the Immigration Health Surcharge, unless your award letter says otherwise. Ask the scholarships office about these once you hold an award.

Reach Oxford Scholarship eligibility

1. Nationality: you are a national of a country on the list below.
2. New undergraduate: priority goes to students who have not studied at undergraduate level before.
3. Offer: you hold an offer of a place at Oxford for an eligible course. Oxford cannot consider anyone without one.
4. Academic ability: the highest level, judged from your Oxford application.
5. Financial need: you cannot fund Oxford from family or other sources.
6. No option at home: you cannot study the degree in your own country for political or financial reasons, or because no equivalent course exists.
7. Social commitment: evidence that you contribute to your community.
8. Return: you intend to go back to your home country after the degree.

Edge cases

• Medicine: excluded. Every other subject in Oxford’s course listing is eligible.
• Deferred offers and Astrophoria Foundation Year students: apply in January of the year you start the undergraduate course.
• College choice: not every college offers the award each year, so a winner may be moved to a participating college.
• One try only: undergraduate scholarship applications can be considered once.
• Dual nationals: the page lists nationality as the test. If you also hold a non-listed nationality or live in a high-income country, ask the scholarships office before applying.

Reach Oxford Scholarship eligible countries

Oxford uses the OECD Development Assistance Committee list of countries that receive official development assistance. The current page lists 141 countries and territories, grouped here by region:

Every African country is on the list except the Seychelles, which the OECD no longer counts as an aid recipient. The list is reviewed by the OECD, so check Oxford’s page in January before you apply.

How to apply, in order

The scholarship sits at the end of Oxford’s admissions process. You win the place first, then the money.

2028 entry dates (based on this year’s date; confirm on the official page when the call opens).

Step by step

1. Pick your course: check the course page for entry grades, subject requirements and which admissions test applies.
2. Apply through UCAS by 15 October, 6pm UK time. You can name a college or make an open application.
3. Register for and sit the test in October, and send written work by 10 November if your course requires it.
4. Interview in December. Oxford has run its undergraduate interviews online in recent years; the interviews page confirms the format each year.
5. Receive your decision on 12 January.
6. Complete the undergraduate scholarships form on Oxford’s site once it opens in January, after reading the guidance notes, and submit by 12 noon UK time on 26 January.
7. Meet your offer conditions and apply for your visa if selected.

Getting the Oxford offer first

Because the award depends on an offer, most of your effort goes into the Oxford application itself. Oxford says it looks at your grades, admissions test, any written work, interview, reference and personal statement together, and each course weights them differently.

• Grades and qualifications: check the course page for the grades Oxford expects from your school system. Some national school-leaving certificates are not accepted on their own, so look up your country on Oxford’s international qualifications page early.
• Admissions test: many courses use the UAT-UK, law uses the LNAT and medicine the UCAT. Register well before the October test window.
• Personal statement: write about the subject, what you have read and done beyond the syllabus, and why it holds your interest. Oxford tutors care far more about the subject than about extracurricular lists.
• Reference: ask a teacher who knows your academic work well, and give them time before the October deadline.
• Interview: expect to think aloud through unfamiliar problems with tutors. Practise explaining your reasoning, not reciting answers.

About a third of Oxford students are international, from more than 170 countries, so the process is built for applicants outside the UK. The route is the same for everyone.

How to write the scholarship form answers

By the time you fill in this form, Oxford has already judged your academic ability through the offer. The form covers the other tests: need, social commitment and why you cannot study the degree at home.

• Financial need: give plain facts about household income and what your family could contribute. Vague hardship stories score worse than clear numbers.
• Why not at home: name the gap. For example, the course is not offered at any university in your country, or university closures have disrupted study there.
• Social commitment: one or two sustained activities, such as tutoring younger pupils every weekend for three years, carry more weight than a long list of one-off events.
• Return plan: say what you will do at home with the degree, in a sentence or two.

A sample opening (adapt it to your own facts): “No university in my country offers a degree in materials science, and my family’s income would cover less than a tenth of Oxford’s fees.”

Common mistakes

• Applying for the scholarship without first applying to Oxford through UCAS.
• Missing the 15 October UCAS deadline, which is earlier than most UK universities.
• Choosing medicine, which is not covered.
• Treating the January form as an afterthought. The deadline falls two weeks after decisions, so draft it in December.
• Assuming the award will come through. With two or three awards a year, have a backup plan.

Who should apply, and who should not

Apply if you are a national of a listed country, have top grades, can win an Oxford place on merit and genuinely cannot pay. Do not rely on it if you already have a degree, want to study medicine, can pay part of the cost, or are not set on Oxford in particular. Applying to Oxford still makes sense even if the scholarship goes to someone else, as long as you also apply elsewhere with funding.

Reach Oxford compared with other UK awards

Graduate awards like Chevening and Commonwealth are where most students from Africa find UK funding. Our list of scholarships for African students covers undergraduate options in Africa too.

Reach Oxford Scholarship FAQs

Is the Reach Oxford Scholarship still available?

Yes. Oxford’s page lists it for 2027 entry, with the form opening in January 2027 and closing at 12 noon UK time on 26 January 2027.

Can Nigerians apply for the Reach Oxford Scholarship?

Yes. Nigeria is on the list, along with almost every other African country. You still need an offer from Oxford first.

Does the Reach Oxford Scholarship cover medicine?

No. Medicine is excluded; every other undergraduate subject in Oxford’s course listing is eligible.

How many Reach Oxford Scholarships are given each year?

Oxford says around two to three a year, which makes it one of the most competitive undergraduate awards in the UK.

Sources and updates

Checked on 25 October 2026 against the University of Oxford’s Reach Oxford Scholarship page, its undergraduate bursaries and scholarships page, its applying page and its admissions timeline on ox.ac.uk. The Scholars4Dev listing says the countries are on the official site without naming them; the list above is copied from Oxford’s page. The living-costs grant amount is not published. We will update the page when Oxford publishes the 2028-entry details.

Jude Chinecherem

I am Jude Chinecherem, a final-year MBBS student at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. I know what it feels like to want an education your family cannot afford. When my parents could not pay for my schooling, I had to learn how to find scholarships and work the system out on my own, with nobody to guide me. I came out the other side, and now I share everything I learned so the next student does not have to figure it out alone. This is the advice I wish someone had given me back then.