Ellison Scholars

Education, Innovation and Solving Global Problems

“The next generation of political and entrepreneurial leaders will inhabit a world being continuously transformed by technological advancement. Progress in artificial intelligence, genetics, robotics and data science will fundamentally transform a majority of our economy and change the way we live, work and govern ourselves.”

— Larry Ellison

EIT’s innovation projects will span the full development pipeline — translating research and discovery into practical solutions, and scaling these for global impact. Ellison Scholars will be active contributors to these projects, innovating to solve global problems across EIT’s four humane endeavours through technological advancements across the Institute’s ongoing projects.

EIT, alongside the University of Oxford, is committed to developing the global technology innovators and leaders of the future. In addition to the project-based learning with EIT and mentorship from world experts in the EIT Faculty, the Ellison Scholars programme fully funds course fees for undergraduate or graduate study at the University of Oxford, and includes a generous stipend to cover all living expenses, plus the equivalent of paid internships.

The Scholars Programme

Make Meaningful Project Contributions

Join a team with other Scholars and the EIT Faculty of Fellows to work on important projects during the academic year and summers. The projects will initially be designed by a Faculty Fellow and the Scholar will be chosen to help advance the goals of the project. Design and build software, sensors, small molecules, proteins, new materials—the only limits—imagination and natural law.

Interdisciplinary Collaboration

Each Scholar will be chosen by an EIT Faculty Fellow to work collaboratively on their project. All projects are multidisciplinary and are comprised of a team that includes other Scholars, the Faculty of Fellows, other EIT scientists and engineers, as well as students and faculty of affiliated universities to help the Scholar achieve their goals.

Fully Funded Studies & Internships

An academic scholarship that funds all course fees at the University of Oxford, with a generous stipend to cover things such as travel, programming, accommodation and living expenses. The multi-year programme includes the equivalent of paid internships, with continued work on a project within EIT’s humane endeavours.

State of the Art Facilities

Los Angeles and Oxford campuses include laboratories for robot development, state of the art proteomic analysis and genomic sequencing, laboratories to study and engineer biology, advanced cloud-controlled greenhouses, and the world’s largest computer for designing and training artificial neural networks: a 16,000 node NVIDIA H100 GPU supercluster interconnected by low latency, high bandwidth RDMA network.

Lifelong Scholars Network

The relationship of the Scholar with EIT will not end after they receive an Oxford degree—they will have ongoing access to EIT technology and human assets as they continue working toward profound change in their home country and around the world. Projects may receive long-term future funding as spin-off companies. We expect Alumni Scholars will provide mentorship and guidance to future Scholars.

Our Ideal Candidate

The Ellison Scholars programme is looking for at least twenty candidates from around the world  each year, who are passionate about solving humanity’s most serious problems. Scholars will fully commit to both their study at the University of Oxford and their ongoing project work with EIT. 

Apply

There are separate application routes to become an Undergraduate Ellison Scholar or a Graduate Ellison Scholar. Admission to the programme requires both selection by the Ellison Institute and admission to the University of Oxford, through their usual and independent process.

Undergraduate Applications

Applications for the 2025 undergraduate Ellison Scholars programme are now closed. Applications for the 2026 undergraduate programme will open in 2025. To receive updates on future application cycles, please subscribe to our newsletter.

Graduate Applications

Applications for the 2025 graduate Ellison Scholars programme are now closed. Applications for the 2026 graduate programme will open in 2025. To receive updates on future application cycles, please subscribe to our newsletter.

Resources

Learn more about the Ellison Scholars programme and help spread the word with our posters, signage and other resources. 

Stay in Touch

If you are an interested applicant or organisation, subscribe to Ellison Scholars News for the latest updates.