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UK · Master’s (STEM) · Funded

University of OxfordUniversity · UK

Oxford Optiver Foundation Scholarship 2027 in UK (Funded)

Full Oxford course fees plus a grant for living costs — for women from low and middle-income countries taking up a STEM master’s. The next cohort starts in October 2027.

Deadlines Nov 2026 – Jan 2027 (course-dependent) Open Updated 16 Oct 2026 By University of Oxford
Award
Full financial support covering course fees, plus a grant for living costs. Scholars also get tailored induction activities, mentoring and on-course support. Up to 6 scholarships for the October 2027 intake (fifth cohort of a five-year programme supporting up to 30 students in total).
Eligible
Women who are ordinarily resident in an eligible low or middle-income country, applying to start an eligible taught STEM master’s at Oxford in October 2027. Current Oxford students and holders of deferred offers are not eligible.
How
No separate first step: submit your Oxford graduate application by your course’s November, December or January deadline and tick the scholarship box. Eligible applicants are then invited to complete an additional form about their socio-economic background; an academic panel assesses on merit and potential.
Deadline
Your course’s graduate-application deadline (November, December or January — check your chosen MSc). Scholarship decisions are mostly sent out by email in May.
Fine print
The sex indicated on the graduate application must match identity documents (passport/visa); transgender applicants with a binary female passport/visa marker are included. Eligibility is judged against the official low/middle-income country list on the Oxford page.

About the scholarship

The Optiver Foundation Scholarships at the University of Oxford exist for a precise reason: financial barriers keep talented students — especially women from disadvantaged backgrounds — away from postgraduate study, and the gap is widest in STEM subjects outside the biomedical and life sciences. Funded by a generous donation from the Optiver Foundation, the five-year programme supports up to 30 taught master’s students in total, and the next cohort — the fifth — begins in October 2027.

Scholars join the Departments of Statistics, Computer Science, Physics, Chemistry and Engineering Science, or the Mathematical Institute, and receive full financial support for course fees plus a grant for living costs, together with tailored induction activities, mentoring and on-course support throughout their degree.

There is no single scholarship deadline: you apply through your course’s normal graduate-application deadline in November, December or January (from today, 22 October 2026, those are weeks to months away — check your course page).

Eligibility

  • Be female — the sex stated on the graduate application must match that shown in identity documents (e.g. passport or visa). Transgender people able to obtain a passport or visa in a binary sex other than their legal sex are included under this rule.
  • Be ordinarily resident in an eligible low or middle-income country (the official list is on the Oxford scholarship page; India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Egypt, South Africa and Brazil are among the eligible countries reported).
  • Be applying to start an eligible full-time taught master’s at Oxford in October 2027 in one of the participating STEM courses (list below).
  • Not be a current Oxford student and not hold a deferred offer — the scheme is for new applicants only.
  • Meet the academic entry requirements of the chosen course (assessed by the academic panel on merit and potential).

Benefits

  • Full coverage of Oxford course fees for the master’s programme.
  • A grant for living costs throughout the programme.
  • Tailored induction activities designed for the scholars.
  • Mentoring and on-course academic support from Oxford staff and the programme team.
  • Networking with fellow women scholars in Oxford’s STEM community.

Eligible courses

The eligible taught master’s courses are:

  • MSc Energy Systems (Engineering Science)
  • MSc Advanced Computer Science
  • MSc Mathematical and Theoretical Physics
  • MSc Mathematical Modelling and Scientific Computing
  • MSc Mathematical Sciences
  • MSc Mathematics and Foundations of Computer Science
  • MSc in Quantum Technologies
  • MSc Statistical Science
  • MSc Theoretical and Computational Chemistry

Documents required

  • The complete graduate application for your chosen MSc with all course-required documents (transcripts, references, statement of purpose, CV — requirements vary by course, so check the course page rather than any generic list).
  • The additional Optiver scholarship form (only if invited): this asks about your socio-economic background to assess disadvantage and under-representation. Answer accurately and follow its evidence instructions.
  • Evidence that your stated sex matches your identity documents (passport or visa).

How to apply

  1. Check your country and courseConfirm on the official Oxford page that your country of ordinary residence is eligible and that your chosen MSc is one of the nine eligible courses, then note the course’s November, December or January deadline.
  2. Apply for graduate studySubmit the full Oxford graduate application for your course by that deadline, and tick the Optiver Foundation Scholarship box on the form.
  3. Complete the additional form if invitedIf you meet the advertised eligibility criteria, Oxford will invite you to complete the extra socio-economic background form — submit it as instructed.
  4. Assessment by academic panelEligible offer-holders who completed the form are assessed by an academic panel on academic merit and potential.
  5. DecisionMost scholarship offers are sent by email in May 2027. Accepting the scholarship secures your funding as long as you meet the conditions of your offer of a place.

FAQs

Is the Optiver Scholarship fully funded?

Yes, for the scholars selected: full Oxford course fees plus a grant for living costs, plus induction, mentoring and on-course support. Only up to 6 awards are available for the October 2027 intake, so it is highly competitive.

Who exactly can apply?

Women ordinarily resident in the eligible low/middle-income countries, who are new applicants to one of the nine eligible STEM master’s starting October 2027. Current Oxford students and deferred-offer holders are excluded.

Is there a separate scholarship application?

Not at first — you tick the scholarship box on the Oxford graduate application. Only candidates who meet the advertised eligibility are then asked to complete an additional socio-economic background form.

What is the deadline?

There is no single date: apply by your course’s November, December or January graduate-application deadline. Offers are mostly made in May.

Does it cover biomedical or life-science courses?

No. The programme targets STEM disciplines where women’s postgraduate participation is lowest — statistics, computer science, physics, chemistry, engineering science and mathematics — not biomedical or life sciences.

Can transgender women apply?

The official terms state that the sex on the graduate application must match identity documents, and note that transgender people may be able to obtain a passport or visa in a binary sex other than their legal sex.

Verified 22 Oct 2026 via the official University of Oxford page "Optiver Foundation Scholarships" (ox.ac.uk): five-year programme, up to 30 taught master’s students total, next (fifth) cohort begins October 2027; departments (Statistics, Computer Science, Physics, Chemistry, Engineering Science, Mathematical Institute); full fees + living-cost grant + induction/mentoring/on-course support; eligible applicants apply by the course’s November/December/January deadline and tick the box, then complete an additional socio-economic form; assessed by academic panel on merit and potential; offers mostly by May; excludes current students and deferred-offer holders; sex on application must match identity documents. Eligible-course list (9 MSc programmes) and the October 2027 fifth-cohort framing corroborated by youthexpat.com, afterschoolafrica.com and scholarshipunion.com (all updated within ~45 days). Queue title "2026 (Funded)" was stale: the October 2026 intake is closed, so the article covers the live October 2027 intake. No single "31 January" deadline is official — deadlines are course-dependent. No exact living-grant figure is published on the Oxford page — none is invented.

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