Oxford University has received a £75m donation to its historical Rhodes scholarship, part of which is to help it expand the programme’s international reach.

Rhodes scholarships are among the world’s oldest international fellowship awards, and currently enable postgraduate students to attend Oxford University, provided they are from Commonwealth countries, the USA and Germany.

But a portion of the £75m – from former Rhodes scholar John McCall MacBain, a Canadian billionaire and founder of grantmaking body the McCall MacBain Foundation – has been specifically earmarked to expand the programme’s reach.

The sum is broken down into a £25m grant, £25m to match other gifts to the programme, and a final £25m specifically for expanding the programme to more countries. It is thought that China, Brazil and Russia are the three key regions that McCall MacBain wishes the scholarship to access.

This is the biggest donation to the Rhodes Trust, the charity that manages the scholarship, since Cecil Rhodes founded the scholarship in 1902.

Prime Minister David Cameron described the donation as “great for the UK”.

He said: “I welcome this donation to ensure that Rhodes scholarships will flourish long into the future. It is great news for the UK and our world-class higher education system that such a prestigious programme looks set to be secured for the long term.”

Ex-Rhodes scholars include Bill Clinton, six Commonwealth Prime Ministers, and three Nobel prize winners. 

Last autumn, Oxford University increased its fundraising target from £1.25bn to £3bn, having met its previous target ahead of schedule.