Rhodes Scholarships India

Rhodes Scholarships India

In the recent times lot of changes and additions have been made in awarding scholarships while there was 52 scholarships originally, today there are 83 scholarships is in stake. These include introduction of scholarships to the commonwealth countries including India. The first batch of Indian Rhodes Scholars includes Late Mr. Loveraj Kumar and Prof. Asim Kumar Datta. For the first 38 years, Rhodes scholarship awarded one or two scholars every year. In the year 1985, it rose to three per year and in the year 1991, it raised to four. 

Until 1977, no women were elected for Rhodes scholarship and it was only awarded to the male students. However in the same year U.K government introduced legislation to outlaw sex discrimination allowing single-sex education charities to open their awards to both sexes. Under the latest amendment, Secretary of State for education made an order declaring Rhodes scholarship to be rational by women and abolish the words ‘manly’ and ‘manhood’. 

Eligibility for Rhodes scholarship 

• The applicant must be Indian citizen irrespective of caste, gender and religion.

• The age of the applicant must be in between 19 – 25 years.

• Applicant for the scholarship must possess at least first class degree in Law, Sciences, Agriculture, Engineering, Medicine or Humanities from an Indian University. Candidate who are in the final year or semester of a degree course and have outstanding academic records may also apply.

• Medical candidates must consult the secretary of the Medical school before submitting an application. Some difficulties may arise for those willing to do research in clinical departments.

• Marriage is not a constraint to apply for or holding Rhodes scholarship. However, it should be kept in mind that the scholarship amount is only for one person and the trust takes no financial responsibility to support scholar’s spouse.