Scholarships Announced for Pakistani Students to Study at Oxford University

The Oxford Pakistan Programme (OPP) has recently announced the establishment of the Tareen Oxford Scholarship, which will provide financial assistance to Pakistani students who are unable to afford graduate education at the University of Oxford.

The scholarship is intended to support talented students from South Punjab who have been offered admission to one of the eligible graduate courses offered at Kellogg College, University of Oxford.

The scholarship will be awarded on a means-tested basis, and preference will be given to students who have the potential to make a significant contribution to the development of South Punjab. It will cover tuition fees and living costs and will be part of the OPP’s graduate scholarship program. At least three graduate scholarships are awarded every year to talented Pakistani and British Pakistani students through this program.

The Tareen Oxford Scholarship is made possible by the generous support of Ali Tareen, an alumnus of Kellogg College, Oxford. The scholarship is part of a five-year program, with funds being donated annually and disbursed on a rolling basis. The scholarship will be advertised by the OPP, Kellogg College, and the central University, as well as by the University’s constituent departments. It will be made available to prospective graduate students from across the University.

South Punjab is one of the most underdeveloped regions in Pakistan, and most overseas scholarships are inaccessible to students from this region. The Tareen Oxford Scholarship is one of the first scholarship initiatives specifically targeted at students from South Punjab. The scholarship will not only benefit the awardees but will also create a positive impact in raising aspirations of similar talented scholars in the communities from which Tareen scholars will be drawn.

The scholarship will also be a significant step towards creating a more diverse and inclusive academic community at Oxford. To encourage talented students from South Punjab to apply to Oxford University and benefit from the Tareen Oxford Scholarship, the OPP, in partnership with Ali Tareen, will organize a bespoke access program for students from South Punjab. This program will consist of two initiatives:

1. An access program for final-year students applying for graduate degrees, which will feature an Access Conference for final-year students from South Punjab who are in the process of applying for M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees abroad. The top 20 attendees at the Access Conference will be offered one-on-one mentorship with an Oxford student or recent alumni, free of cost.
2. For F.Sc toppers & first-year public sector university toppers, 100 students will be selected from South Punjab who have either topped their F.Sc. boards or obtained the highest marks in their first year at university. These students will be provided mentorship on how to make the most of their next three to four years, guidance on career prospects, and one-on-one mentorship to help them aspire to be the best minds globally.

It is worth noting that only around 30 students from Pakistan receive graduate offers each year to study at Oxford, but do not have the funding to pursue the opportunity. Additionally, hundreds of other talented students do not apply to Oxford for the same reason.

Pakistanis and British Pakistanis are the most underrepresented group at the graduate level at Oxford. The OPP is the first of its kind initiative at the University of Oxford, which is addressing this underrepresentation of Pakistani-origin students at Oxford and providing support for Pakistan-related academic activity at the University. Further information on the scholarships can be found at Oxford Pakistan Program.

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