Felix Scholarships

Who can apply

Indian scholarship: national of and ordinarily resident in India, with a first-class undergraduate or master's degree from an Indian institution, not already holding a degree from outside India (except one earned on a Felix Scholarship), and expected to return to India afterward
Non-Indian scholarship: national of and ordinarily resident in a country classed as Least Developed or Other Low Income on the OECD DAC list, with a first-class undergraduate degree, not already holding a degree from outside your home country, and expected to return home afterward
Must be starting a new full-time master's or doctoral course; already holding a degree at the same level as the one applied for makes you ineligible
Must be unable to take up the place without financial assistance; awarded on academic merit and financial need
Deferred offers are not eligible for consideration
At Oxford specifically: up to 7 awards a year for the Indian scholarship versus 1 a year for the non-Indian scholarship; shortlisted Indian-scholarship applicants complete a questionnaire and an interview in India, while the non-Indian scholarship has no interview stage
Reading also runs a master's-level award aimed primarily at candidates from Africa, under the same developing-country criteria
SOAS's non-Indian award is aimed primarily at nationals of Afghanistan, Syria, Iran, Iraq, and the Palestinian territories living in their country of origin
Nationals of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar or Sudan should check the UK government's current "visa brake" policy on gov.uk before applying: since 26 March 2026 it refuses Student visa applications made from outside the UK by nationals of those four countries, even where an offer or scholarship is already secured, and it is reviewed periodically rather than indefinite

A trust with over three decades of history at Oxford

Felix runs through three separate UK universities, each with its own eligibility quirks and application mechanics, tied together only by a shared trust and a shared applicant pool from India and a short list of low-income countries. The Oxford partnership alone has run since 1991, giving this trust a genuinely long track record rather than being a recent addition to Oxford’s scholarship list.

Three universities, three different application mechanics

Oxford has no separate Felix application at all: get your graduate course application in by that course’s own December/January funding deadline, and you’re automatically considered. Reading works the opposite way, you apply for the course first, then complete a separate Felix form on the me@reading portal, but only after you already hold an offer. SOAS keeps a hard clock: a specific noon deadline, currently showing 2 March 2026, for both the course application and a separate SOAS-specific scholarship form, and a firm, unconditional offer is required by the time its panel meets, not just an application.

At Oxford, the Indian and non-Indian tracks aren’t sized the same

At Oxford specifically, the two tracks aren’t sized the same: up to seven awards a year go to the Indian scholarship, against just one award a year for the separate non-Indian scholarship. The two tracks also differ in process, not just numbers: shortlisted Indian-scholarship applicants complete a short questionnaire before an interview held in India, while the non-Indian scholarship carries no interview stage at all.

The eligibility split matters more than it looks

The eligibility split matters more than it looks. The Indian scholarship at all three universities requires you to have never studied outside India, a stricter bar than simply being Indian; someone with a Western master’s degree is not eligible even as an Indian national, except for study completed on a previous Felix award itself. The non-Indian route is deliberately narrow and differs by university: Reading frames it as primarily for African candidates, while SOAS names Afghanistan, Syria, Iran, Iraq and the Palestinian territories specifically, and Oxford draws from the full OECD DAC list of Least Developed and Other Low Income countries. If you don’t fit the exact national list a given university names, check the other two before assuming the whole scheme is closed to you.

A couple of hard exclusions worth knowing upfront

Medicine is excluded under Felix’s own FAQ. Deferred offers, at any of the three, are not eligible.