New Delhi

Five students from Karnataka, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, and Jharkhand have been selected as Rhodes Scholars for 2025, announced the Rhodes Trust on Thursday.

The five students were selected after a competitive application process and two rounds of preliminary interviews. The shortlisted finalists were interviewed and five were chosen to receive the prestigious scholarship.

They will be heading to the University of Oxford in October 2025 to join a cohort of more than a hundred scholars from around the world to undertake fully funded post-graduate studies and become part of a strong community of people determined to make a positive difference in the world.

“The Rhodes Trust is delighted to introduce the extraordinary 2025 Class of Rhodes Scholars Elect who represent cultures and perspectives from every corner of the world," said Dr Elizabeth Kiss, CEO of the Rhodes Trust.

"It is heartening to see candidates from diverse disciplines, institutions, and parts of the country apply to the Rhodes Scholarship. We are always impressed by the level of intellect as well as the character and empathy that they all display. As is the case each year, we had a diverse and talented field of applicants,” according to a statement from the Rhodes India Secretariat.

The Rhodes Scholarship is the world’s preeminent and oldest graduate fellowship, based at the University of Oxford since 1903. The Scholarships for India began in 1947 and have been awarded to five outstanding applicants each year.

This year’s winners continue the fantastic legacy of excellence and are from Bengaluru, Kolkata, Kurukshetra, Ghaziabad, and Ranchi.

Rayan Chakrabarti, who is completing his Master's at the School of Arts and Aesthetics at Jawaharlal Nehru University, aims to build and work on an archive and museum of the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact in South Asia.

Another is Vibha Swaminathan, a final-year law student, pursuing an LL.B. (Hons.) at the National Law School, Bengaluru. She is interested in studying the political and legal fragilities of citizenship regimes and hopes to combine this academic engagement with a human rights litigation practice before trial courts in India.

The visually impaired Avanish Vats from Ranchi has completed his bachelor's in Philosophy from St. Stephen’s College. His academic interests include epistemology and making philosophy accessible to disabled people.

Shubham Narwal is the first Indian scholar-elect from veterinary medicine. He is pursuing a Bachelor's in Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry at ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute in Bareilly, UP.

He is eager to pursue an M.Sc. in Clinical Embryology to explore new conservation strategies for the critically endangered bird, the Great Indian Bustard.

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Pal Aggarwal, a final year B.Tech. Engineering Physics student at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, wants to study high-energy astrophysics at Oxford and strive towards her dream of becoming an astronaut and advocating for women in science.