Rhodes Scholarship awarded to University of Chicago graduate

University of Chicago graduate Jesse Kharbanda has been awarded the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship for study at the University of Oxford. Kharbanda's award brings Chicago’s total number of Rhodes scholars to 35.

"We are thrilled for Jesse––and we also think Oxford is fortunate to get him," said Katie Nash, University of Chicago Dean of Students in the College. "The excellence he demonstrated at Chicago makes this a natural fit."

Kharbanda, 22, plans to study economic theory and environmental science at Oxford. He is particularly interested in the effects of global warming on India’s farming communities. Eventually, Kharbanda would like to establish a think-tank to perform research and advocate for sustainable agricultural policies in India and throughout the world.

Kharbanda attended the University of Chicago on a full, four-year academic scholarship and graduated Phi Beta Kappa last June. He holds a double major in economics and environmental studies. For his bachelor’s thesis, he performed research on the economic effects of groundwater depletion in Punjab, India. During college, Kharbanda worked to improve energy conservation on campus and in the local community. He designed and taught a before-school environmental science course at a neighborhood high school. When Kharbanda is not producing documentary films with his brother, he can be found playing the cello and learning how to kayak.

The Rhodes Scholarship, one of the most prestigious academic scholarships, was established in the will of British colonial pioneer and statesman Cecil J. Rhodes and was initiated upon his death in 1902. Rhodes hoped that his plan of bringing able students from throughout the world to study at Oxford would aid in the promotion of international understanding and peace and the personal and intellectual development of his scholars. The scholarship provides a tuition and living stipend to 32 Americans for two years of study in any field at Oxford.

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Jesse Kharbanda