Required Statements for Rhodes, Marshall, Mitchell, and Watson Candidates

Rhodes

The statements required by the Rhodes application and the preliminary college application are described below:

A signed short personal statement describing the applicant’s academic and other interests. This statement should describe the specific area of proposed study and the applicant’s reasons for wishing to study at Oxford, and it must conclude with the following signed statement: “I certify that this essay is my own work.” This personal essay must not exceed 1,000 words in length and should be written in as simple and direct a manner as possible. (If you are nominated, the Rhodes Selection Committee will place special emphasis on this personal essay, and if you are selected it will be sent to Oxford colleges to which Rhodes Scholars-elect apply for admission.)

Marshall

The statements required by the Marshall application and the preliminary college application are described below:

1. A short statement (NOT MORE THAN 1000 WORDS), describing your academic and other interests and pursuits.

2. A short statement describing your proposed academic programme, giving reasons for your choice of course of study and preferred university. Those hoping to read for a research degree should give an outline proposal of the research they wish to undertake. If any postgraduate study has already been undertaken, state briefly the field, and list any theses or dissertations written or published.

Mitchell

The statements required by the Mitchell application and the preliminary college application are described below:

The applicant should devote careful thought to the essay, which should describe the applicant's field of interest and the justification for the applicant's proposed study in Ireland or Northern Ireland. Selection committee members will place special emphasis on the personal statement. The essay should not exceed 1000 words and should be written clearly. The applicant must certify on the online application that the essay is his or her own work. The personal essay is extremely important. Members of the Selection Committee examine the essay for clues to the character, commitment, and interests of each candidate. This is the only opportunity for the applicant to convey a sense of his/her passions, personality, and intellectual drive. In addition, a well-written essay should provide the Committee with valuable insight into the applicant's motivation and rationale for the proposed graduate study program that is not otherwise communicated in the rest of the application materials.

Watson

The statements required by the Watson application and the preliminary college application are described below:

The project proposal should describe your plan for the 12-month fellowship year, including a description of your proposed project and details as to how you intend to carry it out. In addition, please be sure that your project does not involve travel to countries under a U.S. State Department Travel Warning or U.S. Department of the Treasury Embargo or to areas where you have lived or studied for a significant length of time. If you are not sure which countries carry such warnings, you can find them on the Treasury Department and the State Department websites (links to these sites can be found at www.watsonfellowship.org. You should also familiarize yourself with the visa requirements for the destinations you propose.

In your personal statement, you should discuss how this is your project-how it reflects your talents, concerns, and commitments. It may include a description of your background, your college years, your professional goals and aspirations, and your reasons for seeking a Watson Fellowship. The personal statement is an opportunity to provide the Watson Fellowship Program with a sense of who you are, including how you would benefit from the unique experiences the Watson Fellowship permits and how you would embrace the challenges of immersing yourself in cultures other than your own for a year.

The specific content of each statement is up to you, but neither statement should exceed five double-spaced typewritten pages using at least an 11–point font.