Christ Church has a uniquely long and extraordinary history: Charles I assembled the Oxford Parliament in the Great Hall in 1644 and the College’s very Foundation, which celebrates its 500th Anniversary in 2025, will forever be linked to Henry VIII and his Chancellor, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey.

In such historic surroundings, then, it is right that scholars of History are supported to do their vital work. In 2007, Christ Church established the C H Stuart Official Studentship in Modern History, in memory of Charles Stuart, former tutor in History at Christ Church from 1948 until his retirement in 1987. Now held by Professor Brian Young, the generous donations of alumni and the strong performance of the endowment means this fund now stands at £3 million, fully funding the costs of the post and securing it for future generations. We are so grateful for the generosity of our History alumni community, without whom this would have been impossible.

And yet many promising History students are having to turn down prestigious offers to study at a postgraduate level due to a lack of funding. With increases in the cost of living, and decreases in alternative scholarships and grants, access to graduate study has become ever more difficult. Undergraduates of all disciplines are supported generously by Christ Church and Oxford bursaries; however, those who wish to continue to graduate study face significant financial challenges.

We are therefore seeking to endow a new graduate scholarship in History for an academically excellent doctoral student who would otherwise not be able to pursue further study.

Our aim is to award this scholarship using the criteria set by UNIQ+, a successful University-wide programme which aims to provide academically excellent students from under-represented and disadvantaged backgrounds who are ordinarily a resident of the UK, with the opportunity to study History at a postgraduate level, without any financial burden.

Graduates are the backbone of academia and of the College community. We are determined that Christ Church will long remain a thriving home for Historians of the highest calibre. We are certain that the new Graduate Scholarship in History will attract a diverse range of experience and approaches to a multi-disciplinary community here at the House. The appeal will build on the generous donations received in Simon Offen’s (1986, PGCE) honour, which he wanted to be directed to the support of History Graduate Scholarships. 

For further details of how to support this scholarship, please contact: development.office@chch.ox.ac.uk.