Graduate Ellison Scholars at Oxford: Funded DPhil 2027

Who can apply

Meet the University of Oxford's entry requirements for the DPhil linked to your chosen project, including the guidance on international qualifications and English language
Doctoral study only (DPhil/PhD); master's degrees are not funded
You can apply during the final year of your degree, before your qualification is awarded; any offer is conditional on meeting Oxford's entry requirements
Applicants may submit up to two applications to the graduate programme in total
Three referees: two academic referees and one character referee, none a family member or peer, with references in English; the character referee must be a different person from both academic referees
Selection is merit-based and not means-tested; EIT says decisions are not made on gender, race, ethnicity, religion, social background, disability or other demographic grounds

Two applications, in a fixed order

For four research areas this scholarship does not start with an Oxford application. You first apply to the Ellison Institute of Technology (EIT) through its application portal, by 5pm UK time on 1 December 2026. If EIT selects you, it gives you conditional funding and invites you to apply to the University of Oxford, where you are considered through the normal graduate admissions process. You become a Graduate Ellison Scholar only once you also hold an Oxford place, and EIT makes the final funding decisions. EIT’s pages say applications are for October 2027 entry, and that early applications are reviewed as they arrive, so applying well before 1 December is sensible. The EIT pages we read do not give a date for the Oxford stage.

Which route you use depends on your research area

According to EIT’s research areas page, four areas use the EIT portal and the 1 December deadline: the Pathogen Programme, Materials and Devices for Life Sciences, the Plant Biology Institute, and Economics. The others work differently. AI and Robotics runs through Oxford’s Centre for Doctoral Training in Fundamentals of AI, whose applications go directly to Oxford. Generative Biology runs through Oxford’s Doctoral Training Programme in Generative Biology, also applied for directly to Oxford. For both, EIT’s guide says selected applicants may be nominated by EIT to the Graduate Ellison Scholars programme. Correlates of Immunity has its own application, due on 16 November, with the same nomination step. Check the route for your area before you start anything.

Published project or your own proposal

For the Pathogen, Plant Biology and Materials and Devices areas you can apply either for one of the published projects or with your own research proposal, and for Economics you submit your own proposal, on the economic consequences of AI and robotics. When we checked, the Pathogen Programme listed four projects, for example AI for predicting antibiotic resistance in Mycobacteria in the DPhil in Clinical Medicine. Plant Biology listed two, both in the DPhil in Biology. Materials and Devices listed six, across Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics, Biochemistry and Chemistry. Each published project names the Oxford DPhil you would enrol in. Either way, your proposal has to show how your background equips you to contribute to that project or programme, so a strong general profile is not enough. EIT runs project Q&A sessions for each area, and you can register for them.

What the application asks for

EIT’s application guide lists what you need: a passport or other identification, a transcript, contact details for three referees (two academic and one character), a research proposal of no more than 1,500 words including references, a CV as a PDF, a recorded personal statement of up to three minutes, and a portfolio of up to ten entries showing how well you fit the EIT vision. You may add an optional supplementary image and an optional nomination letter from your institution. The references go out by email from the portal and are due by 9 December, so ask your referees early and confirm they received the request. Only English references are accepted, so choose referees with a high level of English.

What is covered, and what is not stated

EIT’s FAQ page says the funding covers tuition fees for the length of the course, a stipend for living costs in Oxford, travel and conference costs, a personal technology setup, and arrival costs including flights, visa charges and access to healthcare. It does not publish the stipend amount for these projects and calls it generous. Do not rely on figures quoted on other sites. For the Generative Biology and Fundamentals of AI programmes EIT says the package is different, so a figure from those pages does not apply to the EIT-portal projects. Our guide to studying in the UK explains the visa and health surcharge side.

How it differs from Clarendon, and what the panel looks for

Applicants to Oxford often compare this with the Clarendon Fund Scholarships. For Clarendon you are considered through your Oxford course application. The Ellison route reverses the order for most areas: you apply to EIT first, and only doctoral projects linked to EIT’s research areas are funded. EIT’s FAQ recommends that applicants explore other options alongside their application, given how selective the programme is. EIT assesses six things: alignment with its mission, academic excellence, innovation, collaboration, tenacity and integrity. A minimum GPA of 3.7 out of 4 appears on its page only as one example of an outstanding record, not as a published cut-off.

Check the UK visa position first

An offer and a scholarship do not guarantee a UK Student visa. The programme states no nationality rule, but the UK government’s visa brake says Student visa applications made from outside the UK by nationals of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan will be refused, and that it is reviewed regularly. If you hold one of those nationalities, read that page before you spend time on an application.