Faculty of Philosophy, University of Oxford - The John Duns Scotus Prize in Medieval Philosophy

What the John Duns Scotus Prize is

You will receive a academic honour from the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Oxford for outstanding achievements in the field of medieval philosophy. This is an award of recognition, not a scholarship. The source does not specify either a monetary value or a monthly stipend. The prize is named after John Duns Scotus (c. 1265 to 1308), a Scottish philosopher and theologian who worked at Oxford. The prize is awarded once a year, but only if the examiners deem a candidate to be of sufficient merit. In several years, no prize was awarded at all, including 2010, 2011, 2016, 2024 and every year from 2018 to 2022.

Who can win it

• University: You are a Bachelor’s student at the University of Oxford.
• Course: You are taking the module ‘Medieval Philosophy’ as part of one of the degree programmes at Oxford that include philosophy. Examples: PPE, Classical Philology (Literae Humaniores), Philosophy and Theology, Physics and Philosophy, Mathematics and Philosophy, Computer Science and Philosophy, Philosophy and Modern Languages, and PPL.
• Nationality: Anyone, regardless of nationality, can win. There are no restrictions based on nationality.
• Merit: Your result in the medieval philosophy examination is so good that the examiners consider it worthy of an award.

How to apply

No application is required. The examiners for the examination in medieval philosophy decide independently on the award of the prize and award it on the basis of your examination results.

How realistic are your chances?

It is a single prize awarded annually, open exclusively to undergraduate students at Oxford who sit the examination in ‘Medieval Philosophy’ – so the pool of candidates is already very small. The examiners set the bar high, and in many years the prize is not awarded at all. If you sit this examination and achieve truly outstanding results, you stand a chance. There is no other way to apply for the prize – it depends solely on your examination result.