RHODES SCHOLARSHIP

Contact Professor Edward Countryman in the Clements Department of History for more information

 Rhodes Scholarships are awarded to thirty-two U.S. students each year for two years of study in a degree program at the University of Oxford. The qualities required of applicants as noted in the Rhodes application are "proven intellectual and academic achievement of a high standard...integrity of character, interest in and respect for their fellow beings, the ability to lead, and the energy to use their talents to the full." To be eligible, applicants must not have passed their twenty-fourth birthday by October 1 of the year of application.

THE SCHOLARSHIP ADVISOR: 
Candidates for the Rhodes Scholarship apply as individuals rather than as nominees of the institution. It is the intention of the Rhodes Trust, however, that colleges and universities establish committees to encourage and assist qualified students to apply for the Scholarship. To this end, the Rhodes Trust requires an institutional letter of endorsement confirming that the "applicant has been selected to represent that institution in the state in which the applicant is applying." The Rhodes Scholarship Advisor, Professor Countryman, will provide this endorsement, based on evaluation of preliminary applications and interviews with students in September.

INFORMATION:
The Rhodes Scholarship web site is a comprehensive source of official information and application materials. In addition, Professor Countryman, who serves as the advisor to students applying to be a Rhodes Scholar, can provide more information.

PRELIMINARY APPLICATION (required):
SMU students and alumni/ae seeking endorsement to a Selection Committee by the Advisor must submit a preliminary application to Professor Countryman by the fall deadline for on-campus application. A preliminary application consists of the original and one (1) copy of the following: application form (signed in ink); college transcripts for each college/university attended; list of principal activities and honors in college; signed short personal statement describing academic and other interests plus a minimum of four of the five (5) - eight (8) required letters of recommendations (See Recommendations paragraph below). The advisor will use this information to evaluate the strength of the candidate.

Please print and use the pdf format application forms available on the Rhodes Scholarship web site [http://www.rhodesscholar.org/] and submit them to:

Edward Countryman
Professor, History Department
Southern Methodist University
PO Box 750176
Dallas, TX 75275-0176
ecountry@smu.edu
(214) 768-2907

RECOMMENDATIONS:
Five to eight letters of recommendation are required for the official application with at least four of these letters from faculty. Faculty letters are expected to be very detailed and to address the applicant's intellectual interests quite specifically, perhaps describing memorable in-class debates and/or outstanding scholarly papers from seminars and independent study projects. Applicants should not, therefore, select prospective referees solely on the basis of class standing.

FINAL APPLICATION:
Candidates who receive the endorsement of the Rhodes Scholarship Advisor will continue to meet with the advisor to help draft the institutional letter. Candidates are responsible for mailing their application by the postmark deadline and confirming that letters of recommendation have been mailed on time. Selected applicants will be invited to interview with a regional Rhodes committee. The regional committees will each elect finalists. Each of the eight districts will elect four Scholars. Top of Page

Information adapted from http://www.aas.duke.edu/trinity/scholarships/rhodes.html.

Official Web Site
http://www.rhodesscholar.org

History of the Rhodes Scholarship

The Rhodes Scholarships, the oldest international fellowships, were initiated after the death of Cecil Rhodes in 1902, and bring outstanding students from many countries around the world to the University of Oxford. The first American Scholars were elected in 1904.  American Rhodes Scholars are selected through a decentralized process by which regional selection committees choose 32 Scholars each year from among those nominated by selection committees in each of the fifty states. Through 2004, applicants from more than 300 American colleges and universities had been selected as Rhodes Scholars. In most years, a Rhodes Scholar is selected from an institution which has not formerly supplied a successful applicant.

Intellectual distinction is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for election to a Rhodes Scholarship. Selection committees are charged to seek excellence in qualities of mind and in qualities of person which, in combination, offer the promise of effective service to the world in the decades ahead. The Rhodes Scholarships, in short, are investments in individuals rather than in project proposals. Accordingly, applications are sought from talented students without restriction as to their field of academic specialization or career plans although the proposed course of study must be available at Oxford, and the applicant's undergraduate program must provide a sufficient basis for further study in the proposed field. Through the years, Rhodes Scholars have pursued studies in all of the varied fields available at the University of Oxford.

Rhodes Scholars are elected for two years of study at the University of Oxford, with the possibility of renewal for a third year. All educational costs, such as matriculation, tuition, laboratory and certain other fees, are paid on the Scholar's behalf by the Rhodes Trustees. Each Scholar receives in addition a maintenance allowance adequate to meet necessary expenses for term-time and vacations. The Rhodes Trustees cover the necessary costs of travel to and from Oxford, and upon application, may approve additional grants for research purposes or study-related travel.

Rhodes Scholars are selected from four criteria set by Mr. Rhodes' will:

1.    literary and scholastic attainments;

2.    energy to use one’s talents to the full, as exemplified by fondness for and success in sports;

3.    truth, courage, devotion to duty, sympathy for and protection of the weak, kindliness, unselfishness and fellowship;

4.    moral force of character and instincts to lead, and to take an interest in one’s fellow beings.

(taken from the Rhodes Scholarship website)