Ellison Institute of Technology and Oxford University

Day 15 started off with a bittersweet goodbye as Jess and Lisa saw us off from Nottingham on our way to Oxford! A huge thank you to the UK-US Fulbright Commission for their amazing work.

Notwithstanding a few traffic delays, we finally made it to Oxford where we were warmly greeted by the Ellison Institute of Technology (EIT) at their brand new facilities! Dr. Laura Lewis, Education and Scholarships Director, treated us to a special 4th of July lunch which included scrumptious fried chicken, spicy coleslaw, watermelon & feta salad, and some other vittles. Thereafter, Paris Fawcett, outreach manager, as well as some current EIT Scholars shared more about the program as well as their experience.

Centered around their 4 Humane Endeavors — Health, Medical Science & Generative Biology, Food Security & Sustainable Agriculture, Climate Change & Managing Atmospheric CO2 and Artificial Intelligence & Robotics — EIT was founded by Larry Ellison (CEO of Oracle) to tackle some of the world’s wicked problems by supporting education and innovation through their Ellison Scholars program. There, students can pursue certain fully-funded DPhil tracks while working at one of EIT’s many facilities. Dr. Lewis noted that students must apply and be accepted into both EIT and Oxford to receive full funding. The selection process is centered around alignment with EIT projects as well as seeking intense, independent, and innovative researchers. Applicants may recycle references from their Oxford application.

Whisked away to the city center, we dropped our luggage at our New College accommodation, and headed straight to Balliol College for our next presentation by the Oxford admissions team, who shared more about the postgraduate admissions process for the 2027/28 AY. As the oldest university in the English speaking world and ranked #1 by the Times Higher index, it is no surprise that 50,000 applicants apply to 15,300 spots within their 330 postgraduate courses. They emphasized that postgraduate applicant deadlines are also scholarship funding deadlines and that students may only submit 2 applications (3 applications if at least one postgrad degree is research). Due to the diversity of programming, applicants should read the program-of-interest’s requirements to fully understand how to create a competitive application. If accepted into Oxford, postgraduate students are guaranteed a spot into one of 43 unique colleges — learning communities with a multidisciplinary lens.

Afterwards, we sauntered over to the Rhodes House for a tour and some light refreshments. Nicola Bridge, Head of Selection and Outreach, greeted us with a brief introduction of her work and the house before 2 current Rhodes Scholars showed us the grounds. We learned more about how the Rhodes Trust continues to grapple with Cecil Rhodes’ legacy through intentional updates in the Rhodes House itself. We saw several of the communal spaces, the garden, library, and gallery as well as the atrium featuring the names of scholars who died fighting in the World Wars — on both sides of the conflict.

With 2 hours of rest and respite before dinner at Balliol College, several of us ventured around Oxford capturing the vibrant life of the city. Radcliffe Camera, Sheldonian Theatre, and other city centre shops were a highlight! Dinner upon us, EIT, once again, treated us to an incredible 3-course meal where we got to speak more with Ellison staff about the program. Thank you so much to EIT and their staff for their generosity and hospitality during our whirlwind visit!

Keegan Scott (he/him)
Director of the Office of Fellowships
University of Rhode Island