Blavatnik School of Government

Excavation of the site where the Blavatnik School of Government will be located has begun. You can find out the latest here

The School is on the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter site, overlooking Walton Street. Made possible by a £75 million endowment by American industrialist and philanthropist Leonard Blavatnik, the School’s mission is to train future world leaders through an unrivalled multi-disciplinary curriculum.The School will offer a full-time one-year Master’s degree for graduates with an outstanding academic record who want to embrace an integrated approach to public policy.

Students will be trained to offer a practically-informed and critical perspective on a wide range of issues, spanning democracy, law and security, history, finance, economic governance, science and the environment, demographics, public health and social policy. The course will include practically focused training in negotiation, budgeting and accounting, strategic communications and evaluation.

Internationally renowned Swiss architects Herzog & de Meuron have been appointed to design the new building. Well known for the originality and boldness of their designs, they were responsible for the conversion of the Bankside power plant to Tate Modern in London (2000), and design of the de Young Museum in San Francisco (2005) and the new Miami Art Museum in Miami (projected completion 2013). The building received planning consent on Wednesday 8 May 2013.

Applications for the Master's degree open again on 1 September and a scholarship program ensures that the very best students in the world attend the School, regardless of their financial circumstances.

Please see the Blavatnik School of Government website for more information about the building itself.