Care-Experienced Academic Futures Scholarship — Master's Scholarship

The Care-Experienced Academic Futures Scholarship is a University of Oxford award for people who have been in care in the UK and want to pursue graduate study at Oxford. It belongs to Oxford’s Academic Futures series, which began in 2020.

The award is open to every subject area across the University. The Blavatnik School of Government lists it among the funding options for its Master of Public Policy (MPP).

One named award within the scheme, the Oxford-Rees Graduate Scholarship, supports Social Sciences candidates. It is funded by Jan Rees OBE, founder and chair of the Rees Foundation.

Benefits & funding

Covers course fees in full plus a grant for living costs.
Social Sciences candidates can receive the Oxford-Rees Graduate Scholarship, a named award within the scheme.

Eligibility

You must have been in care in the UK at some point in your life.
You must have faced barriers to progressing your education.
You must apply for an Oxford master’s or DPhil course; every subject area is eligible.
No nationality rule is stated; the Humanities Division describes the award as being for UK students with care experience.
You must declare your care experience on the Oxford graduate application form.

Can you apply?

Here's who can apply

Decoded from the official rules. A free account checks them against your passport, degree and age in seconds.

Education required
Bachelor · Master

Check my eligibility — free

Circlebreaker is a free database of global fellowships, scholarships and programs — every one decoded like this.

We only check the criteria we have data for. Always confirm full eligibility on the official page before applying.

Application process

1
Apply for an Oxford master’s or DPhil course by that course’s deadline (2 December 2026 for 2027–28 MPP entry).
2
Declare your care experience in the graduate application form.
3
The University contacts eligible applicants separately and invites them to submit a scholarship application.
4
The Academic Futures selection panel considers the applications.
5
MPP applicants who also want School-managed funding complete the Blavatnik School Scholarship Questionnaire, usually within a week of their offer.

Program timeline

September 2026
Applications for 2027–28 MPP entry open.
MPP application deadline; other courses follow their own deadline.
2 December 2026
After your course application
The University invites declared applicants to submit the scholarship application.
Graduate study begins in Oxford.
2027–28 academic year