Saïd Business School - Skoll scholarship

What the Skoll scholarship gives you

You will receive your full MBA course fees paid as well as a living expenses grant (a fixed sum to cover your living costs) of at least about 25,400 EUR (£21,805). This covers the duration of the Oxford MBA programme, which lasts approximately 21 months. The Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship at the Saïd Business School in Oxford awards up to four scholarships each year. You will also become part of the Skoll scholarship community, a lasting network of social innovators from whom you can learn and with whom you can stay in touch long after you graduate.

Who can apply

• What you study: You must have been admitted to the Oxford MBA or the Oxford 1+1 MBA at Saïd Business School. You cannot receive this scholarship without a place on the MBA programme.
• Your background: You are a social entrepreneur. This means that you set up or run businesses that tackle profound social or environmental issues, rather than being primarily profit-driven.
• Experience: You have at least three years’ experience in setting up and managing a social enterprise and can demonstrate that you have made a genuine social impact.
• Your plans: You would like to continue working towards long-term social or environmental change even after completing your MBA.
• Financial need: You can demonstrate that you need these funds to achieve these objectives.
• Nationality: Applicants of all nationalities are welcome to apply. Women, members of under-represented groups and applicants from the Global South are particularly encouraged to apply.

How to apply

Submit a complete MBA application to the Saïd Business School, together with the Skoll Scholarship essay, which you will find in the ‘Funding’ section of the MBA application form. The application deadline is 6 January. If your MBA application is successful, it will be forwarded for scholarship assessment. Shortlisted candidates will be selected at the end of March and interviewed online in April or May.

How realistic are your chances?

This award is granted to only a select few applicants. A maximum of four places are available each year, and you must meet two selection criteria: admission to the MBA programme at Oxford, and a proven track record of several years’ success in the field of social entrepreneurship. The field of applicants is small but strong. If you are already running a social enterprise with a demonstrable impact and are able to secure a place on the MBA programme, you are a serious contender. Without an offer of admission to the MBA programme and three years’ practical experience with a demonstrable impact, an application will stand no chance.