The Poler Family Oxford Scholarship is a Blavatnik School of Government award, funded by the Poler Family Foundation, for the top Master of Public Policy (MPP) student ordinarily resident in Africa.
The recipient spends a full-time, one-year MPP in Oxford. Applications for 2027–28 entry are open, closing 2 December 2026.
Benefits & funding
- Full course fees (2027–28 MPP fee: £54,650 for every fee status).
- A contribution towards living expenses; the page does not say it covers them in full.
- Funding equal to at least the full fee lets the £8,200 offer deposit be waived.
Eligibility
- Ordinarily resident in an African country; no nationality rule is stated.
- Must apply for, and be offered a place on, Oxford’s MPP.
- The MPP usually expects a first-class or strong upper second-class undergraduate degree, any subject.
- No set work experience; most successful applicants have at least one or two years.
- Sought: commitment to serving others, to learning and to Africa through public service, plus leadership potential and high ethical standards.
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.
Residence required
Algeria · Angola · Benin · Botswana · Burkina Faso · Burundi · Cabo Verde · Cameroon · Central African Republic · Chad · Comoros · DR Congo
+ 43 more
Republic of the Congo · Côte d'Ivoire · Djibouti · Egypt · Equatorial Guinea · Eritrea · Eswatini · Ethiopia · Gabon · Gambia · Ghana · Guinea · Guinea-Bissau · Kenya · Lesotho · Liberia · Libya · Madagascar · Malawi · Mali · Mauritania · Mauritius · Morocco · Mozambique · Namibia · Niger · Nigeria · Rwanda · São Tomé and Príncipe · Senegal · Seychelles · Sierra Leone · Somalia · South Africa · South Sudan · Sudan · Tanzania · Togo · Tunisia · Uganda · Western Sahara · Zambia · Zimbabwe
Education required
Bachelor
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Application process
- 1Apply for the MPP through Oxford Graduate Admissions by 2 December 2026; there is no separate Poler application.
- 2Supply three references, a personal statement, a CV of up to 2 pages, a 1,200-word reflective policy essay and a 400-word public service essay.
- 3If offered a place, complete the School’s Scholarship Questionnaire to be considered for School-managed awards — usually within one week of the offer (funding page) or two weeks (FAQ).
Program timeline
Application deadline
2 December 2026
Admission decisions
Mid- to late March 2027
Deposit deadline for offer holders
31 May 2027
Program starts (provisional)
27 September 2027
Policy report window ends (provisional)
31 August 2028