Rhodes scholar

 
Dictionary:

Rhodes scholar


n.

A student who holds a scholarship established by the will of Cecil J. Rhodes that permits attendance at Oxford University for a period of two or three years.

Rhodesscholarship Rhodes scholarship n.
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Grant to attend the University of Oxford. The program was established in 1902 by the will of Cecil Rhodes. Until 1976, candidates had to be unmarried male residents in a Commonwealth country, the U.S., or South Africa. In 1976 women were accepted. Two candidates each year are also chosen from Germany. The scholarships, which are highly competitive, are usually for two years.

For more information on Rhodes scholarship, visit Britannica.com.

 
US History Encyclopedia: Rhodes Scholarships

Rhodes Scholarships were established by the will of Cecil J. Rhodes, English-born South African statesman and financier, who died in 1902. They provide appointments for study in the University of Oxford to students drawn from eighteen countries. Thirty-two students from the United States are selected annually. Rhodes Scholars are also chosen from Australia, Bermuda, the British Caribbean, Jamaica, Canada, Ceylon, Germany, Ghana, India, Malaysia, Malta, Nigeria, New Zealand, Pakistan, Rhodesia, South Africa, and Zambia.

Candidates for the Rhodes Scholarships in the United States are required to be unmarried citizens between the ages of eighteen and twenty-four, and they should have achieved at least junior standing in an accredited university or college. Competitions are held annually in each of the fifty states. Appointments to the scholarship are initially for a period of two years, with the possibility of renewal for a third. The stipend is calculated to cover all tuition expenses and to provide an allowance adequate to cover a student's living requirements.

Intellectual distinction is a necessary, but not the exclusive, condition for election to a Rhodes Scholarship. In keeping with the instructions of Rhodes's will, Rhodes Scholars are also expected to demonstrate qualities of character that promise potential service to others. Although less important than the other criteria for selection, Rhodes Scholars are further expected to possess physical vigor. The will further specifies that "no student shall be qualified or disqualified for election to a Scholarship on account of his race or religious opinions." As Rhodes Scholars are free to pursue any field of study available in the University of Oxford, so also have they chosen to enter a wide variety of professional careers.

Since 1904, when the first American delegation arrived at Oxford, and 2000, exactly 2,918 Americans had been awarded Rhodes Scholarships. Until 1975 the competition for the Rhodes Scholarships was restricted, by the terms of Rhodes's will, to male students. In 1976 changes in British law permitted the opening of the competition to women and Oxford admitted the first class of women Rhodes Scholars. By 2000 more than 298 women had won this scholarship.

Bibliography

Rotberg, Robert I. The Founder: Cecil Rhodes and the Pursuit of Power. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988.

Thomas, Antony. Rhodes: The Race for Africa. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1997.

 
Politics: Rhodes scholarship
(rohdz)

A scholarship for study at Oxford University. Cecil Rhodes, an English financier of the late nineteenth century, established the scholarships to train potential leaders. They are designed for students from Germany and from nations formerly part of the British Empire, including the United States. Rhodes scholars are chosen for ability, moral character, and success in sports.

 
Wikipedia: Rhodes Scholarship
Rhodes House in Oxford, designed by Sir Herbert Baker.
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Rhodes House in Oxford, designed by Sir Herbert Baker.

The Rhodes Scholarship is a highly prestigious international award for study at the University of Oxford. Rhodes Scholars may study any full-time postgraduate course offered by the University except for the MBA – whether a taught Master’s programme, a research degree, or a second undergraduate degree (senior status).

The Scholarship is for two years in the first instance, though may be held for one year only; applications for a third year are considered during the course of the 2nd year.

University and College fees are paid by the Rhodes Trust. In addition, Scholars receive a monthly maintenance stipend to cover accommodation and living expenses. Although all scholars become affiliated with a residential college while at Oxford, they also enjoy access to Rhodes House, an early 20th century mansion with numerous public rooms, gardens, a library, study areas, and other facilities.

The scholarships were initiated after the death of Cecil John Rhodes and have been awarded to applicants annually since 1902 by the Rhodes Trust in Oxford on the basis of academics and strength of character.

Standards

Rhodes' legacy specified four standards by which applicants were to be judged:

  • literary and scholastic attainments;
  • energy to use one's talents to the full, as exemplified by fondness for and success in sports;
  • truth, courage, devotion to duty, sympathy for and protection of the weak, kindliness, unselfishness and fellowship;
  • moral force of character and instincts to lead, and to take an interest in one's fellow beings.

This legacy originally provided for scholarships for the British colonies, the United States, and Germany. These three were chosen so that "an understanding between the three great powers will render war impossible."

Rhodes, who attended Oxford University, chose his alma mater as the site of his great experiment because he believed its residential colleges provided the ideal environment for intellectual contemplation and personal development.

Rhodes' original aim with the Scholarship, and subsequent changes

There has been some controversy over the original aim of the scholarships, as it has been alleged that Rhodes held racist opinions about the superiority of the Anglo race, and that his intention was to use the scholarships to educate future foreign leaders in Britain so that they could help spread British influence when they returned to their home countries. The Secretary of the Rhodes Trust 1925-1939 was Philip Kerr, 11th Marquess of Lothian who was a progressive imperialist, and an ex-member of Milner's Kindergarten.

To explore possible controversies about the Rhodes Scholarship, much can be found in two books by Dennis Cuddy PhD, The Globalists and Secret Records Revealed.

An early change was the elimination of the scholarships for Germany during World Wars I and II. No German scholars were chosen from 1914 to 1932[1], nor from 1939 to 1970. Also, between the wars, for political and propoganda reasons Erich Vermehren was prevented by the German government from taking up a Rhodes Scholarship.

Rhodes' bequest was whittled down considerably in the first decades after his death, as various scholarship trustees were forced to pay taxes upon their own deaths. A change occurred in 1929, when an Act of Parliament established a fund separate from the original proceeds of Rhodes's will. This made it possible to expand the number of scholarships. For example, between 1993 and 1995, scholarships were extended to other countries in the European Community.

Because the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 in the United Kingdom did not affect wills, it took another Act of Parliament to change the Rhodes' will to extend selection criteria in 1977 to include women.

For at least its first 75 years, scholars usually studied for a Bachelor of Arts degree. While that remains an option, more recent scholars usually study for an advanced degree.

Allocations

Approximately 90 Scholars are selected worldwide each year. From 2006, 11 scholarships will be suspended for a period of 5 years, and the scholarship for Hong Kong were abolished, following its withdrawal from the Commonwealth since the transfer of sovereignty from the United Kingdom to the People's Republic of China in July 1997. However, with the benefaction as described by the Rhodes Trust as "substantial and generous" from the Lee Hysan Foundation, the Rhodes Scholarships for Hong Kong is to be reintroduced.[1][2]

Country 2006
allocation
1903
allocation
U.S. 32 32
Canada 11 2
South Africa
(originally Southern Africa)
10 5
Australia 9 6
India 6 -
Germany 2 5
New Zealand 3 1
Caribbean Commonwealth 1 -
Kenya 2 -
Pakistan 1 -
Zimbabwe
(formerly Rhodesia)
2 3
Newfoundland
(now part of Canada)
1 1
Bermuda 1 1
Jamaica 1 1
Zambia 1 -

Notable Rhodes Scholarship recipients

A table of Notable Rhodes Scholarship recipients can be found at Notable Rhodes Scholars.

See also: Rhodes scholars category

Centenary degrees

In recognition of the centenary of the foundation of the Rhodes Trust in 2003, four scholars were awarded honorary degrees by the University of Oxford:

  • John Brademas (Indiana & Brasenose 1950), President of New York University, U.S. Congressman (Indiana), 1959-1981
  • Robert J. L. (Bob) Hawke (Western Australia & University 1953), Prime Minister of Australia, 1983-1991
  • Rex Nettleford (Jamaica 1957), Vice-Chancellor of the University of the West Indies, author, dance director
  • David R. Woods (Rhodes & University 1963), Vice-Chancellor of Rhodes University

Current trustees

Former trustees

Notes

  1. ^ Adam von Trott zu Solz was Germany's Rhodes Scholar in 1931. He was executed by the Nazi's in 1944.

References

http://www.rhodesscholar.org/
http://www.rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk/history.htm
http://www.rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk/infoscholar.htm

External links


 
 

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Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
US History Encyclopedia. © 2006 through a partnership of Answers Corporation. All rights reserved.  Read more
Politics. The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Edited by E.D. Hirsch, Jr., Joseph F. Kett, and James Trefil. Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Rhodes Scholarship" Read more

 

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