Weidenfeld-Hoffmann Trust

Fully funded

Weidenfeld-Hoffmann Scholarships and Leadership Programme

Weidenfeld-Hoffmann Trust, United Kingdom

Scholarship overview

The Weidenfeld-Hoffmann Scholarships and Leadership Programme funds outstanding graduates and early-career professionals, mainly from low and middle income countries, to take a one-year master's course at the University of Oxford. The scholarship is combined with a Leadership Programme of about 200 hours of professional training, discussion and cultural activities across the academic year.

The Leadership Programme covers personal skills development, business and entrepreneurship, ethical leadership and political and moral philosophy, and builds a lasting peer network. Taking part is compulsory and is written into the scholarship offer letter. Scholars must be in Oxford from mid-September, before term starts, until early July.

Awards are made in partnership with Oxford colleges (Keble, Lincoln, Mansfield, St Edmund Hall, Trinity, Worcester, St Antony's, and St John's from 2026-27), Chevening (three WHT-Chevening scholarships a year), the Saïd Business School and Blavatnik School of Government (for MBA and MPP Scholars) and, from 2026, the Oxford Pakistan Programme. Successful candidates are moved to a partner college. A Scholarship for Afghan Women Leaders, for women of first- or second-generation Afghan descent, is offered each year within the programme.

The Oxford-Weidenfeld and Hoffmann Scholarships are part of the Oxford Graduate Scholarships: the University contributes 40% of the funds and supporters of the Trust, including Fondation Hoffmann, 60%. The Trust supports people who intend to return to their home country or region and make a difference in their field.

Award Information

  • Be ordinarily resident in one of the eligible countries (2027-28 list): Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, China Tibet, China Hong Kong SAR, China Macau SAR, Colombia, Comoros, Congo (Dem. Rep.), Congo (Rep.), Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, French Guiana, Gabon, The Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Korea (North), Korea (South), Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lao PDR, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Marshall Islands, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar (Burma), Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Palestinian territories, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Réunion, Romania, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saint Helena, Samoa, São Tomé and Príncipe, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Spain, Sri Lanka, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Sudan, Suriname, Sweden, Syria, Taiwan (Republic of China), Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Western Sahara, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe. Refugee or displaced applicants are eligible if their nationality is on this list.
  • Apply to start a new full-time eligible course at the University of Oxford. DPhil study is not funded. Eligible courses for 2027-28: BCL; MBA; MJur; MPP; MSc Advanced Computer Science; MSc African Studies; MSt Asian and Middle Eastern Studies; MSc Biodiversity, Conservation and Nature Recovery; MSc Clinical and Therapeutic Neuroscience; MSc Comparative Social Policy; MSc Contemporary Chinese Studies; MSc Criminology and Criminal Justice; MSt Diplomatic Studies; MSc Economics for Development; MSc Education (Comparative and International Education); MSc Education (Digital and Social Change); MSc Education (Higher Education); MSc Energy Systems; MSc Environmental Change and Policy; MSc Evidence-Based Social Intervention and Policy Evaluation; MSc Financial Economics; MSc Global Governance and Diplomacy; MSc Global Health Science and Epidemiology; MSc Health Service Improvement and Evaluation; MSc International Health and Tropical Medicine; MSt Islamic Studies and History; MSt Jewish 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 Russian and East European Studies; MSc Social Data Science; MSc Social Science of the Internet; MSc Sustainability, Enterprise and the Environment; MSc Water Science, Policy and Management.
  • Receive the course offer from applications considered at the December or January deadline; applications held over to the March deadline or wait-listed are not eligible. Deferred offers for 2027-28 are not eligible.
  • Current Oxford students may apply only if they are already Weidenfeld-Hoffmann Scholars.
  • Intend to return to your country of ordinary residence after the course, and show how your subject links to career goals that improve public life in your country or region.
  • Receive an offer of a place on the course from the University of Oxford.
  • Pass the required English language test to meet Oxford's English language requirements.
  • Show a genuine commitment to helping your country or community develop and an intention to use your Oxford skills there after your year in Oxford.
  • Commit to all core requirements of the Leadership Programme, including dates outside the academic terms.
  • No age limit. Work experience is not required, although most Scholars are early-career professionals with five or more years of work experience.
  • Scholarship for Afghan Women Leaders: open to Afghan women of first- or second-generation descent. UK government restrictions on student visas for Afghan nationals currently apply.
  • Family members cannot join WHT Scholars as student dependants unless the Scholar is government funded or meets other UK visa exceptions.
  • 100% of course fees for the full fee liability of the agreed course (9-12 months).
  • Grant for living costs of at least £21,805 (£21,805 in 2026-27).
  • The full cost of the Scholar's place on the Leadership Programme, from mid-September to early July.
  • WHT-Chevening and other partner scholarships may offer a different package with separate conditions.
  • Accommodation and expenses for the compulsory introductory days in September are paid from the stipend.
  • September: applications open for Oxford graduate entry and the scholarship.
  • November to January: submit the Oxford course application by the course deadline (the December or January deadline, depending on the course).
  • Interviews for shortlisted candidates are likely to be held online in April 2027. Decisions are expected by the end of May 2027; applicants not contacted by then should assume they were unsuccessful. Chevening awards often come in June.
  • August: scholarship offer letter.
  • September/October: compulsory introduction to the Leadership Programme in Oxford.

The application process for the Scholarship for Afghan Women Leaders will be published by early November 2026.

  1. Check the eligible countries and courses on the University of Oxford list.
  2. Apply for an eligible course through the University of Oxford graduate application form by your course's deadline (December or January).
  3. In the University of Oxford Scholarships section of the form, select the Weidenfeld-Hoffmann Scholarships and Leadership Programme.
  4. Download and complete the Weidenfeld-Hoffmann Scholarships Statement 2027/28 and upload it with your graduate application by the deadline. Do not send applications directly to the Trust.
  5. If shortlisted after receiving a course offer, attend an online interview.
  6. For a Chevening-Weidenfeld-Hoffmann scholarship, also apply through the Chevening website, listing the University of Oxford as first-choice university; you must be selected by both.

Official links

Documents you will need

  • University of Oxford graduate application form with the course's required documents.
  • Weidenfeld-Hoffmann Scholarships Statement 2027/28 (downloadable form), covering your commitment to change, impact so far, career goals, how the course and Leadership Programme support them, and your leadership skills.
  • Evidence of English language proficiency as required by Oxford.

How selection works

Only applicants offered a place by the University of Oxford are considered. Academic departments make the course decisions; shortlisted candidates are then interviewed online by a panel of University academics from partner colleges and departments, WHT staff and advisers, and alumni. Assessment criteria:

  • Motivation and purpose: evidence of commitment to social, economic or political change at local, regional or international level, impact already achieved, and plans to use new skills in your country or region.
  • Relevance of the course to your career goals, and excellence and impact in your professional path.
  • Leadership potential: communication and interpersonal skills, strategic thinking, enterprise and teamwork, plus initiative, commitment, responsibility, originality, creativity and risk-taking.
  • Ability to manage the extra commitments of the intensive Leadership Programme alongside study.

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