ScholarshipUnion Guides scholarshipunion.com →
← All Guides

University of Oxford

The Clarendon Handbook

An independent guide to Oxford’s flagship graduate scholarship

Questions

The answers Oxford already published — gathered in one place.

No invented stipend year. No invented closing date. If the University site and this page ever differ, follow ox.ac.uk/clarendon.

Home / Clarendon / FAQ

Questions applicants actually ask

Straight answers from official wording

Accordion below. These answers are a planning aid, not an Oxford or Clarendon Fund decision. Combined tracker: checklist.

No. If you apply for a new eligible Master’s or DPhil by the December or January deadline relevant to your course, you are automatically considered. Official pages state there are no additional Clarendon documents and no separate scholarship forms.
The last official full-time figure on ox.ac.uk is for 2025–26: at least £20,780, and at least the UKRI minimum doctoral stipend. This handbook will not invent a 2026–27 or 2027 number. Recheck the full-time applicants page before you put a figure in a visa budget or a blog.
Yes. There are no restrictions on nationality or ordinary residence. Home and Overseas fees are both covered in full. About 70 nations are typically represented among the roughly 700 scholars on course.
Clarendon does not publish a hard cut-off. Official guidance says the majority of successful scholars have at least a first or equivalent, and cites 3.7/4.0 as an illustration, with many scholars higher. An outstanding Master’s can compensate for a moderate first degree. A 3.5 is not a formal ban; it is a weaker merit file in a competition that is only about merit.
Yes. Official pages include all full-time and part-time DPhil and Master’s courses. PGCert and PGDip courses are not eligible. Part-time living support is a study-support grant of a sixth, a third, or half of the UKRI minimum, specified in the offer letter.
No. Official full-time and part-time pages state that applicants who hold a deferred graduate offer are not eligible to be considered for this scholarship.
Yes, for the new DPhil. Official pages say this includes students currently studying for a Master’s at Oxford who will re-apply for a DPhil. You are not eligible if you are simply continuing the same degree.
No. Clarendon is normally for the period of fee liability. Continuation charges are not covered. Some divisions may extend the living grant beyond fee liability at their discretion; even then, continuation charges themselves are not paid.
Divisions review nominations in February or March. Most initial CB1 offers are sent by the end of April. Unsuccessful applicants are not contacted. Official guidance: if you have not heard by mid-June, assume you were not awarded. Silence is the rejection letter.
Official Clarendon pages do not ask you to tick a Clarendon box. Automatic consideration is the rule. Weidenfeld-Hoffmann is the award that requires a tick plus a statement. If the live Oxford form later shows a Clarendon checkbox, follow the form — but do not skip applying because you cannot find one.
You can apply to more than one scheme. Holding two full awards for the same fees is a different question: universities and funders typically will not double-pay the same fee. Read each offer letter. Rhodes and Chevening have their own rules about combining awards. Clarendon partnership awards are how Oxford often packages the same scholarship, not a second stipend on top.
Clarendon selection is a paper process through departments and divisions. Your course may interview you for admission. That admission interview is not branded as a Clarendon interview. Rhodes and Weidenfeld shortlists do interview.

Answers last aligned with official Clarendon and graduate-admissions wording on 21 September 2026. If ox.ac.uk disagrees with this page, ox.ac.uk wins.