The Skoll Scholarship for the Oxford MBA programme, 2023-24, UK

by Samrach · December 24, 2022

How to apply

Applying for the Skoll Scholarship

To apply for the Skoll Scholarship follow these steps:

Connect with us to register your interest in the Scholarship and make sure you’re kept up to date with announcements about upcoming deadlines.
Apply for the Oxford MBA programme directly to Saïd Business School. You need to do this during stages 1, 2 or 3 of the MBA admissions process.
As part of your MBA application, upload your answers to the Skoll Scholarship essay questions and submit your MBA application! You’ll find the Scholarship essay questions under the “Funding” section of the MBA application. We would advise that you allow yourself about 1-weeks’ time to answer the Skoll Scholarship essay questions.
The MBA Admissions Team will then assess your application and determine if you are accepted onto the MBA programme or not.
If you received confirmation that you have been accepted onto the MBA programme, your application will automatically go forward to the Skoll Scholarship Selection Committee.
Applications for the Scholarship are reviewed after each MBA admissions stage.
You will receive an update on the status of your Scholarship application and whether your application is going forward to final shortlisting shortly after MBA admission decisions have been made from each stage.
If you receive confirmation that your Scholarship application is going forward to final shortlisting, keep an eye out for an email from the Skoll Centre with a link to the Logistics and Reference Form. See timelines below to know when to expect this email.
Once you have received the email, complete the Logistics and Reference Form. This consists of a series of short questions to confirm your contact details (in case you are invited to interview), how you heard about the Scholarship and your referees contact details. Please note, your referees will not be contacted unless you get to the final stages of the selection process.

Please see the timeline below for dates of the selection process.

What comes next?

All Scholarship applicants in the final shortlisting round will be updated whether or not they have been invited to join a first stage interview (online) with the Skoll Scholarship Selection Committee.
If you are successful after your first interview, you will be invited to a final stage interview (online). Please see below for the steps and timelines of each interview stage; and please be aware you may be invited to further interviews if necessary.

We encourage you to apply to the MBA as early as possible. If you have applied during stage 3, but the decision on your MBA application has been pushed back by the School’s Admissions Team you will need to let us know if you still want to be eligible for the Skoll Scholarship. We will decide on a case by case basis if you are eligible to continue with the Scholarship application process.

Important things to note

We cannot consider candidates who have not been accepted by Saïd Business School for the MBA and submitted their Scholarship essays by the appropriate deadlines.
We typically award up to four scholarships per year.
Please note, should your MBA application be successful, a deposit is required in order to secure your place on the MBA programme. However, deposit deadlines will be extended to those who advance throughout the Skoll Scholarship selection process. This will be coordinated with the Admissions Team.
If your application goes forward to the final shortlisting stage, please do not request the Logistics and Reference Form from the Admissions Team – you will receive the form from the Skoll Centre directly via email on the date listed below.
If you have further questions about the application process, please check our FAQs. If you still have questions, you can contact us at skollscholarship@sbs.ox.ac.uk and we’ll do our best to help.

Timelines

Candidates must apply to the Oxford MBA programme during specific stages of the School’s application rounds to be considered for the Skoll Scholarship. Timelines for the 2023-24 academic year are as follows (please note exact dates are to be confirmed in due course and subject to change):

Apply for the Oxford Saïd MBA during stages 1, 2 or 3 (including submitting your Skoll Scholarship essays)	By 4 January 2023 (at the latest)
Scholarship applications from Stage 1 reviewed (candidates updated)	November 2022
Scholarship applications from Stage 2 reviewed (candidates updated)	January 2023
Scholarship applications from Stage 3 and those shortlisted from Stage 1 and 2 reviewed	March and April 2023
Skoll Scholarship Logistics and Reference Form sent to candidates	14 March 2023
Skoll Scholarship Logistics and Reference Form submission deadline	21 March 2023
Interview decisions made (all candidates updated)	6 April 2023
First stage interviews (online)	18 and 19 April 2023
Final stage interviews (online)	4 May 2023
Skoll Scholarship final decision	10 May 2023 (at the latest)

Eligibility

Are you eligible for the Skoll Scholarship?

1. Entrepreneurial action

You have identified opportunities and taken action in order to make positive social impact
You have spent preferably at least 3 years driving change through entrepreneurial approaches. For example, you could have:
- Started or grown a social venture
- OR created and led the expansion of a social impact initiative within an organisation
- OR been tackling a specific social/environmental issue, through a core thread that unites your work

2. Creating Impact with a focus on systems change

You can demonstrate the outcomes and impact of your entrepreneurial action
Your impact addresses unjust systems and practises in your area of work

3. Personal qualities of a social entrepreneur

You are a force for positive change
You are single-minded and persistent, with a willingness to fail and start again
You have bias toward action
You have a tendency to explore your environment for opportunities and resources
You have a willingness to take personal, and sometimes financial, risks
You develop networks and leverage members to pursue mutual goals
You have apprenticed with the problem* or experienced the problem you are trying to solve

4. The Oxford MBA is critical to your career trajectory

You can demonstrate why business education is essential in helping to develop your work/impact at this stage

5. Financial need

You are in a position where the cost of the programme is a significant financial burden
You can demonstrate the need for the Scholarship (for example, due to previous work experiences or personal circumstances)

*“Apprenticing with a Problem”, a term we borrowed from Jessamyn Shams-Lau at the Peery Foundation, refers to someone developing a deep understanding of a problem they did not live through themselves, e.g. by working in the field, working at a related organisation, conducting research, etc. A simple example of someone apprenticing with a problem is a teacher who has gone on to start an education-focused non-profit.

Diversity and Inclusion: We value and encourage diversity within the Skoll Scholarship Community. In order to successfully tackle world-scale problems, we must bring together individuals from different cultures, religions, sectors, genders, backgrounds, and ideologies to create collaborative solutions. Belonging to a diverse community enriches our Scholars’ learning experience, teaches them to challenge ideas and be challenged in a respectful manner, and fosters a global perspective necessary in today’s world. Therefore, we encourage all candidates to apply for the Scholarship, especially women, members of historically underrepresented groups, and those from the global south.

Source / More information: Official Website HERE.