Manhar Bansal, a student of the National Law School of India University has been selected as the Rhodes Scholars-Elect from India for 2026. This marks the 26th time a student from NLSIU has earned the prestigious scholarship. Bansal is set to join over 100 students from different countries at the University of Oxford in the starting of October 2026. He intends to pursue a Master of Studies in Comparative Literature and Critical Translation, a program that aligns with his academic interests and career aspirations in cross-cultural and textual interpretation.
Bansal, being a Rhodes Scholar-Elect, will carry out an intense research and study schedule at Oxford, making use of the university's facilities to propel his work that is at the intersection of law, literature, and translation studies. His success imparts to the rich heritage of NLSIU going back to many years of the Rhodes recipients and thus, the institution's legacy of nurturing leaders who have the ability to solve not only legal but also social problems of great complexity at a global level is getting more and more reaffirmed.
What is a Rhodes Scholarship?
The Rhodes Scholarship is a fully-funded graduate award that gives bright youths from any part of the globe the opportunity to study full-time at the University of Oxford. The Rhodes Scholarship is a merit-based one whose main goal is to build leaders who care about the community and to foster global understanding and peace through the international community of scholars.
Getting the Scholarship is difficult, however, it is a journey that has been instrumental in reaching the success of many young people for years. Rhodes Scholars stay in the United Kingdom for a period of two years or more and are allowed to submit applications for most full-time research degree courses in any department at the University of Oxford.
Rhodes Scholarship Eligibility Criteria
Those holding an Indian passport or equivalent proof (PIO/OCI holders do not qualify) are eligible to apply.
Refugees/asylum seekers in India are not given consideration.
Candidates studied in India for at least 4 years out of the last 10 years, are eligible to apply.
Those who have a school leaving exam from an Indian school, or are in the final year/finished an undergraduate degree in India are eligible to apply.
Age criteria: 18 - 23 on 1 October 2025, or under 27 on 1 October 2025 and finish the first undergrad requirements after 1 October 2024.
Candidates should have completed their undergraduate degree by July 2026.
Candidates holding First Class Honours or its equivalent, are given preferences.
