DU students selected for Rhodes scholarship to study at Oxford Varsity

New Delhi, Dec 2: Two Delhi university students are among the five Indians who have made it to the Rhodes Scholar list this year. The Rhodes Scholarships are postgraduate awards awarded to outstanding all-round students enabling them to pursue two to three years of study at the University of Oxford.

Mayanka Mukherjee of Lady Sri Ram college and Sonali Chowdhry of Miranda House will be heading to Oxford University in October 2015, along with three other candidates from India. Mukherjee, a final year Sociology student at Lady Sri Ram college, has been chosen to pursue MPhil in Visual Material and Museum Anthropology.

She has also been involved in theatre through directing, scriptwriting and acting, focusing on a corporeal dialogue with spaces. Chowdhary, who graduated from Miranda House this year with a Bachelor degree in Economics, is planning to pursue an M.Phil course in the same subject at Oxford.

She has undertaken research on delivering affordable maternal healthcare through competitive voucher programmes, street vending in the urban economy and on Dalit mutual aid societies in India.

Talking about her chosen course, Chowdhry said, "I wish to examine the implications of international economic integration for developing countries." Other 2015 scholars include Sanya Samtani, a final-year law student at NALSAR University of Law, Bangalore, Mansi Sood final-year law student at National Law School of India University, Bangalore and Carl Britto, a final year medical student at St John's Medical College Hospital, Bangalore.

The total value of the award instituted in 1902 is estimated to be USD 50,000 every year which includes tuition fee, annual stipend of USD 13,390, medical insurance as well as return ticket to the scholar's native country.

Two-hundred seven applicants from 86 different colleges and universities reached the final stage of the competition, including 10 that had never before had a student win a Rhodes Scholarship.

Noted Rhodes Scholar from India include economist Montek Singh Ahluwalia, writer Girish Karnard, environmental law expert Lavanya Rajamani, political commentator and psephologist Mahesh Rangarajan and Olympian Ranjit Bhatia among others.

PTI