Funding your Studies

Graduate study can be a big financial commitment. When calculating the cost of graduate study, there are two main costs to consider. They are as follows:

Course fees: Course fees* are for the provision of tuition, supervision, academic services and facilities by the University (including your department or faculty) and the colleges, but do not include residential or other living costs.

You can check the fees for courses that you are interested in, as well as any scholarships you may be eligible for, on the university website, where you can also find more information about course fees in general.

Living costs: the 2023/24 estimated living costs for a graduate student at Oxford can be found on the University living costs pages.

*Up to and including the academic year 2018/19, separate figures were published on the university website for university fees and for college fees, the total payable being the sum of these two figures.

There is no separate application form for the Nuffield funding scheme. All you need to do is apply for the course of your choice (to which Nuffield admits students) by the relevant January deadline. You will automatically be considered for a number of scholarships available across the University, including the Clarendon and ESRC awards (provided that you meet the basic eligibility criteria), as well as any of the funding packages offered solely or jointly by Nuffield College.

You don’t necessarily have to select Nuffield as your first choice of College; as decisions about admission at Nuffield are effectively funding decisions, the College works closely with the relevant Departments and Faculties to shortlist the most competitive applicants in accordance with the selection criteria relevant for each course.

Please see the Oxford University application guide for details.

In addition to a number of scholarships available across the University, Nuffield offers a generous funding scheme for all students admitted for study from October 2023.

GUARANTEED FUNDING

If you are offered a place at Nuffield to study for one of the courses for which we admit students, we will underwrite full funding (i.e., fees and living expenses) for the duration of the fee liability of your course (up to your fourth year of fee liability). What this means is that, if you are not successful in obtaining funding from other sources, we guarantee that we will provide you with funding to cover your study costs for up to your fourth year of fee liability (i.e., fees and living expenses). Some of the funding awards we make may be joint with Clarendon, ESRC and/or departmental scholarships, or other schemes available to our students.

Students who are successful in obtaining an offer of underwritten funding at Nuffield are guaranteed cover for:

• Course Fees for the duration of standard fee liability (up to the fourth year of fee liability)
• Living expenses (at £17,668 per annum in 2022/23, 2023/24 amount TBC)

In addition, all Nuffield students in their first four Nuffield Student Years receive the following support package:

• Provision of networked office space
• Free lunches in College (while the kitchen is open)
• Breakfasts and dinners at a discounted rate (while the kitchen is open)
• Research allowance with the possibility of further research grants for travel and/or research expenses
• Cost of thesis binding

Prospective students should consult the current Student Handbook for further information.

Your offer letter from Nuffield will confirm what funding you have been allocated. Awards will normally be announced in March or April. If you are successful, you would normally expect to hear from us after mid-March.

All students who receive an offer of a place at Nuffield will have their funding guaranteed. However, please note that the competition for a place at Nuffield is fierce, as each year the number of applications we consider exceeds by far the number of places available (the success rate in recent years has been around 14%). Find out more about how we select students here.

The collegiate University has a wide range of over a thousand scholarships to offer and we encourage you to check the University’s Fees and Funding Search Tool, as well as the relevant departmental webpages for further information about funding. 

The overall cost of your graduate studies depends on the course you choose, as well as your fees status (Home or Overseas). Please check the University’s fees and funding page for detailed information.

Please see the University of Oxford's page about US Loans for more information.