The applications for the 2025 Marshall Scholarship are now closed.
Marshall Scholarship – Candidate Evaluation Criteria
We are looking for candidates who have the potential to excel as scholars, as leaders and as contributors to improved UK-US understanding. In doing so, we recognise the value of diversity among applicants and promote equality of opportunity.
The selection criteria are divided into three equally weighted categories:
We hope and expect that our Scholars will represent the breadth of talent in today’s United States of America.
Who is Eligible?
Before completing the application candidates are advised to consider the objectives of the Marshall Scholarship Programme (see opening paragraph of the Rules for Candidates) and to be aware that the selection committees are seeking candidates who have the potential to excel as scholars, leaders and as contributors to improved UK-US understanding.
To be eligible for a 2026 Marshall Scholarship, candidates must:
- Be citizens of the United States of America (at the time they apply for a scholarship);
- (By the time they take up their scholarship i.e. September 2026) hold their first undergraduate degree from an accredited four-year college or university in the United States;
- Have obtained a grade point average of not less than 3.7 on their undergraduate degree at the time of application. We do not accept rounded GPA’s.
- Have graduated from their first undergraduate college or university after April 2023.
- Not have studied for, or hold a degree or degree-equivalent qualification from a British University or GCSE or A Levels taken at school in the UK.
Marshall Scholarship Pathways
A Marshall Scholarship provides funding for one or two years for master’s degree programmes, or up to three years for doctoral study, at any UK university. There are five possible pathways of study:
One-year pathway
(1) 1 x one-year master’s degree (minimum 10-month programme).
Two-year pathways (including Master’s and Doctoral)
(2) 2 x one-year master’s degree (at the same or different universities, pursued consecutively)
(3) 1 x two-year master’s degree (at one university)
(4) PhD/DPhil degree (at one university, typically 3 years in the UK)
– For Marshall Scholars who enter as PhD/DPhil candidates, the Commission provides three years of guaranteed funding subject to academic progress.
(5) 1 x one-year master’s degree + start PhD/DPhil in Year 2 (at the same or different universities).
– In this scenario, the Commission will guarantee two years of funding, and may provide a third year of funding on a discretionary basis. To complete their PhD/DPhil, Marshall, Scholars may need to secure external funding thereafter.
Please find an image of a route map showing the scholarship pathways below. More information is available in the 2026 Rules for Marshall Scholarships.
