The Atkinson Scholarship is intended to support graduate students in Economics at the University of Oxford who are working on topics relevant to global priorities research and who are expected to make a significant contribution to global priorities research over the course of their careers.

About the scholarship

Sir Tony Atkinson is remembered as a pioneer of the modern study of inequality within economics. In a time when inequality was a highly neglected topic within academia, he developed the welfare-based measure of inequality known as the Atkinson Index, which is now widely used by governments and development organisations. He also wrote extensively about global inequality and, to address this, proposed policy tools to alleviate poverty at a global and intergenerational scale. He spent the last part of his career at Oxford as a fellow of Nuffield College where he served for 11 years as Warden.

In honour of Sir Tony Atkinson, the Global Priorities Institute and the Department of Economics are offering a  scholarship to an exceptional student who will undertake a DPhil in Economics. This will be awarded to a student whose proposed dissertation topic(s) are relevant to global priorities research - that is, broadly, the question of how agents can use their resources to do as much good as possible.

The scholarship provides full funding for the duration of the DPhil or the integrated MPhil-DPhil programme. The first two years of the scholarship are funded by GPI, with the remaining 1-3 years (depending on the entry route to the DPhil) funded by the Department of Economics. The first two years of the scholarship will provide a stipend for living costs of at least £19,000 p.a., as well as applicable tuition/continuation fees. In cases where the scholar receives partial funding from other sources, the Atkinson Scholarship can also be used as top-up funding with amounts adjusted appropriately. Details will be confirmed on a case-by-case basis. The scholarship also provides the opportunity to work with GPI researchers and to receive support in pursuing doctoral research.

Note that these scholarships are awarded in conjunction with the Parfit Scholarship, which supports students undertaking a DPhil in Philosophy. A maximum of two Atkinson and/or Parfit Scholarships will be awarded each year, to the best candidates across both economics and philosophy.

Eligibility

To be considered for an Atkinson Scholarship, you must be applying to commence the full-time DPhil or integrated MPhil-DPhil in Economics. In particular, applicants to the DPhil via any of the following three routes are eligible for the scholarship: 

  • the integrated MPhil-DPhil programme;
  • entrance to the DPhil after completing the MPhil in Economics at Oxford;
  • entrance to the DPhil as a Probationer Research Student (PRS) in Economics without having completed the MPhil in Economics at Oxford.

Applications are open to both Home and Overseas students. 

Scholarships will be awarded on the basis of (i) academic excellence, (ii) the relevance of the applicant's proposed dissertation topic to global priorities research, and (iii) the applicant’s expected contributions to global priorities research over the course of their career. For non-exhaustive examples of research questions which we consider highly relevant, see our research agenda.

How to apply

The Atkinson Scholarship has been awarded from 2019 to 2023. No Atkinson Scholarships are currently available.