Marshall Scholarship 2027: Closed, Eligibility & Funding

Marshall Scholarship 2027 at a Glance

The Marshall Scholarship finances postgraduate study in the United Kingdom for U.S. citizens with strong academic records and demonstrated leadership and ambassadorial potential. The programme is overseen by the Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission and is primarily funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.

For the 2027 competition, the Commission is also seeking a wider geographic distribution of Scholars across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, broader use of partnership universities, and a wider distribution across one-year, two-year and doctoral pathways. Course and university choices may therefore be considered alongside the three core selection criteria.

Marshall Scholarship 2027 Deadlines

After the candidate deadline, applicants cannot revise the submitted Marshall application. Selected candidates are asked to accept or decline an award offer in writing within five days of receiving it.

Who Is Eligible for the 2027 Marshall Scholarship?

To qualify for the 2027 competition, applicants must meet all of the following conditions:

• Citizenship: be a citizen of the United States at the time of application.
• Undergraduate institution: by the time the scholarship is taken up in 2027, hold the first undergraduate degree from an accredited four-year college or university in the United States.
• GPA: have an undergraduate GPA of at least 3.7 on a 4.0 scale at the time of application. Rounded GPAs are not accepted.
• Graduation date: have graduated from the first undergraduate college or university after April 2024.
• No prior UK degree study: not have studied for or hold a degree or degree-equivalent qualification from a British university.
• No UK school qualifications: not have undertaken GCSE or A-Level qualifications in the UK.

Five Marshall Scholarship Study Pathways

Candidates apply through one Marshall pathway only. Applying for multiple pathways results in disqualification.

The one-year scholarship is intended for candidates who specifically want one year of UK study and requires an additional statement explaining how that shorter period will fulfil Marshall programme objectives.

What Does the Marshall Scholarship Cover?

The total value varies by university, course and location. All Marshall Scholars receive core support including:

• payment of university tuition fees;
• a monthly personal allowance for accommodation and basic living expenses;
• economy travel between the United States and United Kingdom at the start and end of scholarship tenure;
• visa fees;
• payment associated with access to the UK National Health Service; and
• additional allowances supporting ambassadorial engagement during the scholarship.

Current stipend benchmark

The 2027 Rules use the current 2025–26 stipend as an indicator: £1,452 per month outside London and £1,781 per month for Scholars studying in London. The rates are set by the UK Government and reviewed annually.

The programme also describes support such as book, thesis, research and daily-travel grants and, where applicable, a contribution toward support of a dependent spouse.

Course Selection: Important 2027 Restrictions

Marshall Scholarships are available for postgraduate degree study at British universities in almost any discipline, but several types of programme are excluded or restricted.

Programmes not funded

• second BA/BSc undergraduate degrees;
• postgraduate diplomas and certificates;
• professional qualification degrees in medicine, dentistry, veterinary science and law;
• programmes leading only to a certificate of completion rather than a degree;
• distance-learning or substantially online programmes;
• part-time degrees;
• supervised research that does not lead to a degree;
• programmes requiring extended periods away from the UK university, including joint degrees with non-UK universities;
• MBA programmes at any university; and
• MSc/MFE Financial Economics programmes at any university.

Oxford MPP restriction

The Oxford Master of Public Policy is restricted to one Marshall Scholar per academic year through the Brasenose College partnership. The Oxford 1+1 MPP + MSc in Public Policy Research combination is not permitted as the Year 1/Year 2 Marshall course sequence.

Course-duration rules

• courses beginning in January or outside the institution’s formal academic-year start are not funded;
• master’s courses longer than 12 or 24 months, including 15- or 28-month programmes, are not funded;
• two-year pathway candidates cannot use master’s courses shorter than 9 months; and
• one-year pathway candidates need a course lasting at least 10 months.

First- and second-choice university restriction

If a candidate selects a first-choice course in a given year at Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College London, King’s College London, LSE or UCL, the second-choice course for that same year cannot be at any of those six institutions.

Selected Scholars are expected to apply to and attend the course/university choices listed in the Marshall application, in the order specified and subject to admission. Requests to change choices after an award offer are generally not considered.

How the 2027 Marshall Application Process Worked

For the closed 2027 competition, the Marshall application was not a direct individual submission to the Commission: it required routing through and endorsement by the applicant’s U.S. undergraduate institution. The steps below document that completed application process for future preparation.

1. Choose one Marshall region. Apply only in the region connected to your permanent home address, ordinary residence/employment or current study. Applying in more than one region causes automatic disqualification.
2. Choose one scholarship pathway. Applicants cannot submit both a one-year and two-year pathway application.
3. Complete the ASAMS application during an announced application period. The 2027 deadline has passed.
4. Arrange three recommendations. For 2027, recommendation letters were due by the expired candidate deadline.
5. Submit official transcripts. Scanned or digital copies of official transcripts are accepted; unofficial transcripts are not.
6. Submit to the endorsing institution. The undergraduate institution reviews submissions and decides whether to endorse a candidate in an open competition.
7. Institution adds the endorsement letter and completes final submission.

No endorsing institution may submit more than 24 Marshall applications overall in the 2027 competition.

Recommendation Letters

The application requires three recommendation letters in addition to the institutional endorsement letter.

• The first referee should be designated the Preferred Recommender and should have supervised the candidate’s college or university training.
• The general academic recommendation must be supplied by an academic.
• One recommendation should primarily address leadership and ambassadorial potential; this referee does not have to be an academic.
• At least two of the three recommenders should be in the United States.

2027 Marshall Application Statements

Marshall Scholarship Rule on Artificial Intelligence

The 2027 Rules permit candidates to use AI tools when researching the scholarship or potential courses, but impose a much stricter rule on the submitted application.

The endorsing institution must attest that the application is the candidate’s own work. Applicants should also expect any part of the written application to be discussed in depth during the interview.

How Marshall Scholars Are Selected

The three core selection categories are equally weighted:

• Academic Merit
• Leadership Potential
• Ambassadorial Potential

Applicants advancing in the competition are reviewed through eight regional centres in the United States. Shortlisted candidates are notified by early to mid-November, with interviews held in November 2026.

For 2027, university and course choices and the selected scholarship pathway may also be considered in final award allocation alongside the three core criteria because the Commission is seeking broader geographic, institutional and pathway distribution.

Do You Need UK University Admission Before Applying?

No. Candidates do not normally need to have applied to or received admission from a British university before submitting the Marshall Scholarship application.

However, applicants should research university deadlines carefully because some UK courses have earlier deadlines. Except where a course deadline requires earlier action, candidates planning to study at Oxford or Cambridge are asked to prepare but not submit university applications until notified of the Marshall result.

A Marshall award remains subject to the selected candidate ultimately receiving admission to an eligible UK university course. The Marshall Commission cannot guarantee admission.

CareerAidHub Application Guidance

Contact your institutional advisor first

The external deadline is not necessarily your real working deadline. Universities commonly run internal endorsement processes, so confirm your campus schedule immediately.

Choose the pathway before drafting the application

Your course sequence affects the academic programme statement, university choices and funding structure. A one-year master’s application should not be written like a two-year 1+1 or doctoral pathway.

Research both first and second choices seriously

Second-choice courses are operational choices, not placeholders. If you do not gain admission to the first choice, the Commission may require you to apply to and accept the listed second choice.

Keep all written answers fully your own

Marshall’s 2027 AI rule is stricter than many scholarship programmes. Use AI only for permissible research support, not to draft, rewrite or construct submitted answers.

Applicants can also review CareerAidHub’s scholarships, master’s fellowships, and PhD opportunities.