University of Oxford MBA Skoll Scholarship for Top Scholars

The University of Oxford MBA Skoll Scholarship offers social entrepreneurs from all over the world full funding as well as a living stipend to complete an MBA at the Sad Business School of the University of Oxford.

Being awarded a Skoll Scholarship has many advantages, including the opportunity to study for your MBA at one of the most prestigious institutions in the world and join a global community of change leaders.

Overview

The Skoll Scholarship is a competitive scholarship for incoming MBA students at the University of Oxford’s Sad Business School who seek entrepreneurial solutions to urgent social and environmental challenges. The Scholarship covers the full cost of the MBA programme as well as a portion of the living expenses.

The Skoll Scholarship provides funding for entrepreneurs who have established or are currently working in entrepreneurial initiatives with a social purpose or have pursued an impact career and wish to improve their knowledge of market-oriented practises in order to be more effective in their subsequent social change pursuits.

Host Nationality

This scholarship is funded by Skoll for intending MBA students of Oxford University. Oxford is a global standard university in England.

Eligibility for the University of Oxford MBA Skoll Scholarship

1. Entrepreneurial action

• You have identified opportunities and taken action in order to make a positive social impact
• You have spent preferably at least 3 years driving change through entrepreneurial approaches. For example, you could have:
  • Started or grew a social venture
  • OR created and led the expansion of a social impact initiative within an organisation
  • OR been tackling a specific social/environmental issue, through a core thread that unites your work

2. Creating Impact with a focus on systems change

• You can demonstrate the outcomes and impact of your entrepreneurial action
• Your impact addresses unjust systems and practices in your area of work

3. Personal qualities of a social entrepreneur

• You are a force for positive change
• You are single-minded and persistent, with a willingness to fail and start again
• You have a bias toward action
• You have a tendency to explore your environment for opportunities and resources
• You have a willingness to take personal, and sometimes financial, risks
• You develop networks and leverage members to pursue mutual goals
• You have apprenticed with the problem* or experienced the problem you are trying to solve

4. The Oxford MBA is critical to your career trajectory

• You can demonstrate why business education is essential in helping to develop your work/impact at this stage

5. Financial need

• You are in a position where the cost of the programme is a significant financial burden
• You can demonstrate the need for the Scholarship (for example, due to previous work experiences or personal circumstances)

Deadline for the University of Oxford MBA Skoll Scholarship

This scholarship is bound to stop collecting applications every January.

How to Apply for the University of Oxford MBA Skoll Scholarship

Follow these steps to apply for the Skoll Scholarship:

1. Contact Skoll to express your interest in the Scholarship and to be kept up to date on announcements about upcoming deadlines.
2. Directly apply to Sad Business School for the Oxford MBA programme.
3. Upload your answers to the Skoll Scholarship essay questions as part of your MBA application and submit your MBA application! The Scholarship essay questions are located in the MBA application’s “Funding” section. We recommend that you give yourself about a week to answer the Skoll Scholarship essay questions.
4. The MBA Admissions Team will then review your application and decide whether or not you are accepted into the MBA programme.
5. If you have been accepted into the MBA programme, your application will be automatically forwarded to the Skoll Scholarship Selection Committee.
6. After each stage of MBA admissions, applications for the Scholarship are reviewed.
7. You will be notified of the status of your Scholarship application and whether it is being considered for final shortlisting shortly after MBA admission decisions have been made at each stage.
8. If you receive notification that your Scholarship application has been shortlisted for final consideration, look for an email from the Skoll Centre with a link to the Logistics and Reference Form. See the timelines below to determine when to expect this email.
9. Complete the Logistics and Reference Form once you have received the email. This consists of a series of short questions to confirm your contact information (in case you are invited to interview), how you heard about the Scholarship, and the contact information for your referees. Please keep in mind that your referees will not be contacted until you reach the final stages of the selection process.

Scholarship Award

The Scholarship is intended to cover the course fees for the Oxford Said MBA programme.

Additional funds are provided to help with living expenses. In exceptional circumstances, partial scholarships may be available.