University of Oxford - Geoffrey Rhoades Commemorative Bursary

What the Geoffrey Rhoades Commemorative Bursary gives you

A one-off cash prize of about 120 EUR is awarded for the most outstanding work in the first year of the Bachelor of Fine Art (BFA) programme. The prize is presented by the examiners at Ruskin College. The prize honours Geoffrey Hamilton Rhoades (1898–1980), a painter who taught at the college from 1953 to 1972. This is an award for outstanding artistic achievement, not a monthly scholarship. The examiners award it only if a candidate is good enough; consequently, in some years, such as 2020, there is no winner.

Who can win it

• Degree: You are studying for a Bachelor of Fine Art (BFA) at Ruskin College.
• Field of study: Visual Arts (Art and Design).
• Study year: You are in your first year of study and are sitting the preliminary examination in Fine Art (‘Prelims’), which takes place at the end of the first year.
• Standard of work: The examiners have assessed your submitted work – that is, your portfolio and your exhibition pieces – as the most outstanding of all first-year students.
• Nationality: Open to all nationalities.

How it is awarded

There is no separate application process and no application deadline. The examiners select the winner from the work you have already submitted for your first-year examination. The prize is awarded to the most outstanding candidate, provided that someone has achieved the required standard.

How realistic are your chances?

Every year, a prize is awarded to one student from a small group of first-year BFA students. The pool of candidates is tiny, but the bar is set high: only the most outstanding candidate wins, and in some years the prize is not awarded at all. You cannot apply for it or promote yourself for it. The only way to make it onto the shortlist is to submit truly compelling work for the ‘Prelims’ exam.