The Skoll Scholarship is a competitive scholarship for incoming MBA students to Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, who pursue entrepreneurial solutions for urgent social and environmental challenges.
The Scholarship covers the full course fees for the MBA programme, as well as partial living expenses.
The Skoll Scholarship provides funding for entrepreneurs who have set up or have been working in entrepreneurial initiatives with a social purpose or who have pursued an impact career, and who wish to improve their knowledge of market-oriented practices so they can be more effective in their subsequent social change pursuits.
More scholarship opportunities are ongoing in countries across Europe, the United States and Canada. Check out some selected opportunities below:
- 2023 GLOCAL Erasmus Mundus scholarships For International Students | offers Full Scholarship and €6,000 per year stipend (APPLY)
- 2023 Swiss Government Excellence Scholarships | offers Full Scholarships and stipends (APPLY)
- 2023 Florida State University Scholarship for Postgraduate Students | offers Full Scholarships and $29,000 annual stipend (APPLY)
Scholarship Summary
- Host: Oxford University
- Study Abroad: Study in UK
- Category: Postgraduate Scholarships | Masters Scholarships
- Eligible Countries: All Countries
- Reward: Full Scholarship | Living Expenses
- Deadline: January 4, 2023
Scholarship Details:
In addition to financial support, the Scholarship provides access to the Skoll Scholar community, a group of leaders who are positively impacting the world through innovation and systems change, as well as exclusive opportunities to meet with world-renowned entrepreneurs, thought leaders, and investors.
The Scholarship is given in recognition that the MBA may represent a significant financial burden, particularly for those who have chosen to work in the social impact/innovation space rather than the purely commercial or public sectors.
Scholarship Requirements:
1. Entrepreneurial action
- You have identified opportunities and taken action in order to make positive social impact
- You have spent preferably at least 3 years driving change through entrepreneurial approaches. For example, you could have:
- Started or grown a social venture
- OR created and led the expansion of a social impact initiative within an organisation
- OR been tackling a specific social/environmental issue, through a core thread that unites your work
2. Creating Impact with a focus on systems change
- You can demonstrate the outcomes and impact of your entrepreneurial action
- Your impact addresses unjust systems and practises in your area of work
3. Personal qualities of a social entrepreneur
- You are a force for positive change
- You are single-minded and persistent, with a willingness to fail and start again
- You have bias toward action
- You have a tendency to explore your environment for opportunities and resources
- You have a willingness to take personal, and sometimes financial, risks
- You develop networks and leverage members to pursue mutual goals
- You have apprenticed with the problem* or experienced the problem you are trying to solve
4. The Oxford MBA is critical to your career trajectory
- You can demonstrate why business education is essential in helping to develop your work/impact at this stage
5. Financial need
- You are in a position where the cost of the programme is a significant financial burden
- You can demonstrate the need for the Scholarship (for example, due to previous work experiences or personal circumstances)
Scholarship Duration and Reward
- The Skoll Scholarship covers the full costs of tuition and college fees for the MBA programme at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford. The Scholarship also covers partial living expenses.
- In addition to financial support, the Scholarship provides access to the Skoll Scholar community, a group of leaders who are positively impacting the world through innovation and systems change, as well as exclusive opportunities to meet with world-renowned entrepreneurs, thought leaders, and investors.
Timeline
Candidates must apply to the Oxford MBA programme during specific stages of the School’s application rounds to be considered for the Skoll Scholarship. Timelines for the 2023-24 academic year are as follows (please note exact dates are to be confirmed in due course and subject to change):
| Apply for the Oxford Saïd MBA during stages 1, 2 or 3 (including submitting your Skoll Scholarship essays) | By 4 January 2023 (at the latest) |
| Scholarship applications from Stage 1 reviewed (candidates updated) | November 2022 |
| Scholarship applications from Stage 2 reviewed (candidates updated) | January 2023 |
| Scholarship applications from Stage 3 and those shortlisted from Stage 1 and 2 reviewed | March and April 2023 |
| Skoll Scholarship Logistics and Reference Form sent to candidates | End of March 2023 |
| Skoll Scholarship Logistics and Reference Form submission deadline | Early April 2023 |
| Interview decisions made (all candidates updated) | Mid April 2023 |
| First stage interviews (online) | End April 2023 |
| Final stage interviews (online) | Mid May 2023 |
| Skoll Scholarship final decision | Mid May 2023 |