Marshall Mitchell and Rhodes - Common Application for Endorsement

These awards are described in separate entries in the Yale Student Grants Database, and on their official websites. Applicants seeking Yale’s endorsement for the Marshall, Mitchell, and/or Rhodes (US or Canadian) must apply to the Yale committee for these scholarships through Fellowship Programs at the Yale Center for International & Professional Experience.

Marshall: Applicants must normally receive endorsement from their undergraduate academic institution.

Mitchell: Graduating seniors must seek institutional endorsement from their college or university, but alumni and graduate students apply directly for the Mitchell.

Rhodes: Applicants for the US and Canadian Rhodes must receive endorsement from their undergraduate institution (except graduate and professional students in their second or later year of graduate study, who should apply through their graduate institution).

*While institutional endorsement (and therefore campus application) is not required for Rhodes applicants from other countries (except the Global Rhodes), the Fellowships office will gladly advise ANY Yale applicants for the Rhodes, and may be able to help put you in touch with previous applicants from your country.

Application Information: For those who have started applications and requested three letters of recommendation (personally and via the Yale Database) by the preliminary campus deadline, 1pm on July 31, the campus application deadline is 1pm, August 14.

If you miss the preliminary campus deadline you will NOT be able to apply for Yale's endorsement for these fellowships this year.

For full details of how to apply for Yale's endorsement for the Marshall, Mitchell, and/or Rhodes (American or Canadian), see the Yale application timeline. As there is one common application process for Yale's endorsement for all of these fellowships, application materials are submitted via one common application entry in the Yale Student Grants Database.

Required materials that you must provide - full details may be found in the Yale application timeline:

• A pdf of your fellowship personal statement(s): please see the Yale application timeline for details on what to submit for which fellowships.
• Letters of Reference: THREE (TWO from people who have taught you/supervised academic research and ONE character/leaderhsip letter. Applicants will want to consult a Fellowships adviser about the best choice of recommenders for a particular proposal/fellowship)
• Yale College transcript: for the initial campus competition, unofficial Yale College transcripts are sufficient, but please see the campus application timeline for further information, including specific instructions to Marshall applicants.
• Transcripts from institutions other than Yale College, if applicable.
• Resume/List of Activities and Awards (2 pages max)
• Supplemental Material: Optional, and ONLY after previous consultation with the Fellowships office: supplemental materials in support of a fine/performing arts application for the Marshall

Following the campus endorsement process, applications are finalized and forwarded to the appropriate external selection committee(s). These committees review applications and interview selected finalists before making their decisions and announcing Scholars-Elect (competitions are usually complete in November or early December).

Since 2014, Rhodes applicants may not receive feedback or help with their personal statement. As of July 2020, this is NO LONGER THE CASE for the Mitchell competition. As of spring 2015, identical language has been added to the Canadian Rhodes application (and similar language to most other national competitions for the Rhodes). Applicants for the US & Canadian Rhodes are asked to sign the following: "I attest that this essay is my own work and is wholly truthful. Neither it nor any earlier draft has been edited by anyone other than me, nor has anyone else reviewed it to provide me with suggestions to improve it. I understand that any such editing or review would disqualify my application.” Letters of institutional endorsement are asked to include a complementary statement. While Marshall rules have not changed, this means that:

• Applicants may not seek (or receive) from anyone any comments or feedback on essays for the Rhodes. However, you may—and indeed are strongly encouraged to—talk over your graduate school plans, career goals, and personal aspirations with advisers and mentors before you begin your draft. Also, should a recommender request a draft of your essay to assist in writing in support of your application, you may properly share a draft; but you should at the same time ensure that your recommender understands that he or she may not in any way share any comments or feedback on your essays.
• Applicants for Yale’s endorsement for the Rhodes will be asked to upload final versions of their essays to the official application systems before campus endorsement interviews (normally in early September), and not to alter essays thereafter.
• If in doubt, please seek advice from the Fellowships office. In general, applicants may wish to refer to Fellowship Programs' long-standing policy on honesty in fellowship applications and essays.

Note that US citizenship is required for most of these fellowships, with the natural exception of the Canadian Rhodes, but see the eligibility requirements for each fellowship, listed separately in the Yale Student Grants Database and on the official websites.

Permanent residents of the US are eligible to apply for the US Rhodes (see their website for details; questions may be referred to the Fellowships office).

As of spring 2018, DACA students are now eligible to apply for the US Rhodes. Please see the Rhodes website for more details.

AS OF SPRING 2020 - NEW AGE ELIGIBILITY: Upon entry to Oxford, the candidate must either be under 25 years of age, OR up to a maximum age of 28 years if they have completed their first undergraduate degree within the last two years.