Refugee Academic Futures Programme, at the University of Oxford
In October 2023 The Marks Family Charitable Trust announced their partnership with the Refugee Academic Futures Scholarship, at the University of Oxford. The Trust remains committed to working to support refugees both in the UK and abroad, with a select number of charitable organisations. Oxford has a strong history of welcoming students from refugee and displacement backgrounds and for many years has provided scholarships as a way of supporting them. In May 2023, the University received the University of Sanctuary Award in recognition of its sustained commitment to being a welcoming place for people who have been forcibly displaced around the world. The Marks Family Charitable Trust is delighted to support the University of Oxford’s continued work through the Refugee Academic Futures Scholarship Programme.
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About the Refugee Academic Futures Programme
Refugee Academic Futures aims to inspire talented individuals who have faced unimaginable obstacles in their pursuit of graduate study, to transform their lives and the lives of those around them. The University of Oxford launched Refugee Academic Futures as a part of the wider Academic Futures programme in 2021. This programme offers full scholarships for students from displaced backgrounds who receive offers to study a post-graduate degree at Oxford. The scholarship covers both their course fees and living costs.
For most, coming to study at Oxford is a big cultural adjustment, but this can be more daunting and mystifying for refugees, asylum seekers and displaced people. Therefore, in addition to financial support, this scholarship offers students an enhanced programme of pre-arrival and on-course support to ensure that they are able to settle and thrive at the University. This support is delivered as part of a programme of care for all students and staff across the University who have experiences of displacement, and is overseen by the Oxford Forced Migration and Refugee Studies Centre.
The support includes:
professional development opportunities encompassing access to exclusive internship and mentoring programmes
invitations to regular social and cultural events hosted by partners across the collegiate University
pre-arrival and on-course pastoral support from a dedicated Refugee Academic Futures coordinator
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‘I am profoundly grateful for the life-changing opportunity of the scholarship I have been awarded. It has empowered me to pursue my dreams, enabling me to immerse myself in a world of knowledge, offering diverse perspectives in a way I would never have imagined possible.
Being a displaced Ukrainian refugee has been incredibly difficult and I had little hope of ever receiving an education such as this. The scholarship has not only opened doors for me, but it has also ignited a burning ambition to make a meaningful impact in my field of study and society at large.’
Refugee Academic Futures scholarship recipient