Rhodes Campus Application Instructions

Rhodes Scholarship Campus Application Instructions

For US and Canadian citizens, US permanent resident aliens, those from US territories, or those with US DACA status

APPLICANT CAMPUS DEADLINE: Last Friday of August 
RECOMMENDER CAMPUS DEADLINE: 1st Friday of September 

Applicants for the Global Rhodes must submit everything, including Letters of Recommendation by 14 July 2025! 

For all others, follow the country/Constituency instructions & contact Dean Goldberg for campus application dates/instructions

The following instructions pertain only to citizens, DACA, and permanent resident aliens  of the United States and US Territories; Canada; or those who fall under the GLOBAL Rhodes rubric.  

Step 1:  Ensure your eligibility and then  Register/Create a Rhodes Application Account

IMPT: Only create the account at this time. DO NOT submit anything, including the names of your recommenders, until your application is approved by Dean Goldberg! This is VERY IMPORTANT. We cannot provide you with the necessary letter of institutional endorsement without first approving your application prior to its submission!!!!

  • Once you have created an account, you may save your work, but DO NOT submit it using the electronic Rhodes application system, even if you believe it is complete. Dean Goldberg, on behalf of the Campus Selection Committee, will let you know when you may electronically submit your application. Until that time, we prefer that you work on your application off-line.
  • DO NOT register the names of your recommenders at this time. Once you submit their names/register them using the on-line application, the application program manager will contact those individuals requesting that they submit their letters of recommendation on-line. Once a letter is submitted on-line, it is very difficult for a recommender to retrieve and/or revise the letter.
    • VERY IMPT. NOTE: Recommenders MUST provide Dean Goldberg with copies of their letters in order for the College to endorse any Rhodes applicant applying under the Global, US or Canadian Rhodes constituency.

Step 2:  Submit the following materials to Dean Goldberg by the above noted deadlines (for US, Canadian, or Global Rhodes applicants) using the “Submit Materials” tab on our website.

  1. A signed/dated copy of the Nomination Permission Waiver Form found on our website’s Submit Materials
  2.  A detailed Resume/CV with Dates (no more than 2 pages)
    •  The resume/CV should include a pertinent list of college and other activities, leadership positions, honors (including prizes and scholarships), research, publications, conferences attended, etc.
  3. The names, email addresses and reasons for selecting each of your 5 – 8 individuals (6, if you are a Canadian citizen applying for Rhodes through Canada; 4 if you are applying for the Global Rhodes) who have agreed to write you STRONG letters of recommendation in support of your Rhodes application. For US applicants: at least 4 of those 5-8 LORs must be from individuals who have taught or supervised your work while in college. (For Canadian and Global Rhodes applicants, 3 of those letters must be from individuals who have supervised your work while in college). Those academic letters must comment on your academic preparation for study at Oxford.
  4. A Personal Statement  & Academic Statement of Study. The prompts and guidance/advice for both statements are NEW and can be found under your constituency’s “Information for Candidates” 
    •  Please note: This is important. You must adhere to the Scholarship’s rules/guidance on the types of assistance you may receive when writing both essays. 
    • Additional information and guidance on the essays can be found on the Scholarship’s Application Overview page
    • It is a good idea to make contact with potential research supervisor(s) for both the DPhil and research master’s courses BEFORE submitting your application.
    • Please be sure to read the conditions of tenure before selecting a course of study. As you will see, you can apply for a second BA degree, 2 1-year taught master’s programs, a 2-year research master’s or a DPhil program (doctoral study). If you wish to undertake a research masters, you may want to include your proposed research area and explain how the course and research contributes to your future career plans.
    • It is important that you have a firm idea of which course / courses are viable for you to study at Oxford – not all University of Oxford courses are covered by the Rhodes Scholarship.
    • Additional sources of information are available online at http://www.ox.ac.uk/admissions, as well as on individual faculty/departmental websites.

TRANSCRIPTS:  You will need to submit official transcripts from all institutions attended. If you studied abroad, you will need a copy of that transcript. If you do not have a copy, contact your study abroad provider for a copy.  Order electronic transcripts for yourself. Do NOT have them sent to Dean Goldberg.

Remember: Do not submit anything using the Rhodes on-line application at this time! Work off-line until told to do otherwise by Dean Goldberg.

Step 3:  This information is for your Recommenders.

Their draft LORs should be emailed directly to Dean Goldberg as WORD attachments and are due by the date noted at the beginning of this document (1st Friday of September for US and Canadian applicants; 14 July for Global applicants). 

Letters may be DRAFT/Preliminary letters, and are for the purposes of the Campus Selection Committee at this time. We ask that recommenders refrain from submitting their letters through the Rhodes electronic application program at this time. If, however, they mistakenly do so, please ask that they provide Dean Goldberg with a copy of their letter.

The reason we ask that they refrain from submitting their LORs directly onto the Rhodes application website is because this your application will probably be revised, sometimes substantially, after meeting with the Campus Committee and you will want your letters of recommendation to reflect your revised proposal.  Even minor discrepancies can hurt your application.

Moreover, once a letter has been electronically uploaded into the application program, it is difficult to retrieve and revise that letter. The best advice, therefore, is to have recommenders refrain from officially submitting their letters using the Rhodes application until later in the application process.

Information on what scholarship committees like to see in letters of recommendation is available on the Rhodes website. Additionally, Dean Goldberg will be happy to speak with recommenders regarding their Rhodes letter of recommendation.

Remember: Letters are a critically important component of both the Campus Selection and Endorsement process as well as the regional/official selection process. If the letter is submitted on-line using the Rhodes electronic application system prior to the campus selection process, your application will be disadvantaged. Therefore, PLEASE, PLEASE have your recommenders refrain from submitting their letters directly to the Rhodes Scholarship until the Campus Selection and Endorsement process is completed!!!

Questions:

If you or your recommenders have any questions about the Rhodes Scholarship or campus application process, please do not hesitate to contact Dean Goldberg at goldbeja@lafayette.edu, externalscholarships@lafayette.edu, or 610.330.5067.