Refugee Academic Futures Scholarships

What it gives

full tuition waiver · living costs · application support

Full course fees + a living cost grant for the full course; exact GBP figure not published on the page

Who it is for

recognised refugee status · other categories — see terms

Level of study: taught postgraduate, research postgraduate

The student finance condition

Open to applicants who do receive student finance

Having no access to student finance is not a condition here: people with recognised refugee status who already receive a student loan can apply.

How to apply

You need a place first: apply to the programme and wait for an offer. Scholarship applications are only considered from people who already hold one.

Apply for an eligible graduate (taught or research) course by its relevant December or January application deadline and receive an offer
Tick the box on the graduate application form indicating you have a displacement background — you will not be invited to apply if you don't tick it, even if you mention displacement elsewhere in your application
If eligible but you forgot to tick the box, email academic.futures@admin.ox.ac.uk by 15 March 2026 to ask to be considered
Oxford's Refugee Academic Futures scheme will contact eligible offer-holders to invite them to complete a scholarship application
A cross-divisional panel of academics assesses your admissions application together with your scholarship application, based on academic merit/potential and the educational disruption caused by displacement
Most outcomes are emailed to applicants by mid-June; if you accept, your college placement is confirmed for awards tied to a specific college

How they select

application form

There is no interview — the decision is made on documents. On most routes there are no subject entrance exams either: the main hurdle on the way into university is proving your level of English. The exceptions are medicine, dentistry and creative courses, where tests and portfolios do appear.

Dates

Can you apply now · as of 6 September 2026

2026/27 round closed · next date not announced

Next year's round usually opens in winter or spring. Write to the university early: ask for the date and to be added to their mailing list.

Where the date comes from: “late requests...accepted by 15 March»

Deadline

For 2026-27 entry: apply to the course by its own Dec/Jan deadline and tick the displacement-background box; late option via email by 15 Mar 2026

When applications open

Course deadline each December/January; late requests to be added to the scheme accepted by 15 March; most outcomes announced by mid-June

For how many years

Renewed for the following years of the course, as long as you keep studying.

Ask before you apply

We do not fill in the gaps for the institution. Here is what its own page leaves unclear — these are normal questions, everyone asks them.

What happens to the payments if I am granted refugee status mid-year?

Who to write to: academic.futures@admin.ox.ac.uk

If this scheme is not for you

See the full list of schemes — it has a filter for your status and for whether student finance is available to you.
Check whether you are entitled to student finance — if it is, a scholarship stops being the only road.
Foundation year and Access to HE — routes for people who only have a school certificate.
Education hub — where to start if you have not chosen a route yet.

About the institution

University of Oxford operates a collegiate structure; Refugee Academic Futures scholars can be transferred to a specific college when an award is tenable only there, and the scheme is run by the Oxford Sanctuary Community as one strand of the wider Academic Futures programme.

There are adults, but they are a minority. 21.4% of students are over 30 and 37.5% are over 25 — an average picture for a UK university.

In detail about University of Oxford: all schemes, student ages, study modes →

Source

Every fact on this page we opened and read on the institution's own site, rather than taking it from an aggregator. Checked on: 22 August 2026.

The scheme page on the institution's site →

Not a standalone application — eligibility is triggered via a checkbox on the course application, then the applicant is invited to apply for the scholarship separately.