Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program

Mastercard Foundation Bachelors/Masters Degree Deadline: Varies per university Study in: Africa, Canada, USA, UK, France, Lebanon, Costa Rica Course starts varies per university Brief description: The Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program is the largest scholarship initiative of its kind in Africa. It helps talented young people, mainly from Africa, who face barriers to higher education to study at partner universities and grow as leaders. The program is run through partner universities and non-governmental organizations. It also supports Scholars as they move from university into work. Host Institution(s): These are the partner universities, with their eligible fields and deadlines as of November 2026. Check the list of partner institutions for any changes. In Africa • African Leadership University, Rwanda (Bachelor’s): Software Engineering and Entrepreneurial Leadership. Deadline: 30 November 2026 for the January 2027 intake. • African Leadership College of Higher Education, Mauritius (Bachelor’s): Entrepreneurial Leadership, Computer Science, International Business and Trade, and Software Engineering. Deadline: 14 November 2026 for international students and 23 January 2027 for Mauritian students, for the February 2027 intake. • African Institute for Mathematical Sciences, centres across Africa (Master’s): Mathematical Sciences, through the Structured or Co-op master’s program. Deadline: Applications normally open on 1 December. The last deadline was 15 March 2026. • American University in Cairo, Egypt (Bachelor’s and Master’s): Any major at bachelor’s level and any graduate field. Deadline: For bachelor’s, 1 February 2027 (early) and 1 June 2027 (regular) for Fall 2027. For master’s, the fellowship cycles run from 22 December 2026 to 17 January 2027 and from 6 April to 6 May 2027. • Ashesi University, Ghana (Bachelor’s): Ashesi’s bachelor’s degrees, including Business Administration, Computer Science, Management Information Systems and Engineering. Deadline: Admission rounds close in June, August, October and December. See the application page for the current round. • Carnegie Mellon University Africa, Rwanda (Master’s): Information Technology, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Engineering Artificial Intelligence. Deadline: 15 December 2026 (early) and 15 January 2027 (final). • Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana (Bachelor’s): Bachelor’s degrees in many fields, such as engineering, agriculture, midwifery, mathematics and land economy. Deadline: The last call has closed. No new date is posted. • Makerere University, Uganda (Bachelor’s and Master’s): Priority programmes in agriculture, engineering, design, computing, natural sciences, health sciences, humanities, law and business. Deadline: The last deadline was 5 June 2026 for 2026/27. No new date is posted. • Pan-Atlantic University, Nigeria (Bachelor’s): Degrees in media and communication, business and social sciences, and science and engineering. Deadline: Applications for 2026/27 have closed. The 2027 form is not out yet. • Université Gaston Berger, Senegal (Bachelor’s): Digital, Agriculture, Health and Engineering. Deadline: No date is posted. • Université Mohammed VI Polytechnique, Morocco (Bachelor’s and Master’s, young African women only): Priority fields include agriculture, engineering, architecture, computer science, data and artificial intelligence. Deadline: No date is posted for the scholarship. UM6P’s 2026-27 program deadlines ended in June 2026. • University of Abomey-Calavi, Benin (Bachelor’s and Master’s): Engineering (EPAC), agronomy (FSA), sciences (FAST), computing (IFRI), economics and management (ENEAM, FASEG) and health (INMeS). Deadline: No date is posted. • University of Cape Town, South Africa (Bachelor’s, Honours, Postgraduate Diploma and Master’s): First bachelor’s degrees, eligible postgraduate diplomas in Health Sciences, and honours and master’s programmes. Deadline: Closed for 2027. It was 30 September 2026 for bachelor’s and 31 October 2026 for postgraduate study. • University of Gondar, Ethiopia (Bachelor’s and Master’s, for young people with disabilities or disadvantages): A past master’s call listed physiotherapy, nursing, sociology, psychology, law, public health, development and environment management, optometry, and gender and development. Deadline: No date is posted. • University of Pretoria, South Africa (Bachelor’s, Honours and Master’s): Natural and Agricultural Sciences; Economic and Management Sciences; Humanities; Engineering, Built Environment and IT; Law; and Education. Deadline: Closed for 2027. Applications for 2028 study open on 1 April 2027. • University of Rwanda, Rwanda (Bachelor’s and Master’s): Focus on young women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Deadline: Closed for 2026/27. The master’s round ended on 25 August 2026 and the bachelor’s round on 12 October 2026. • University of the Western Cape, South Africa (Bachelor’s and Master’s): For bachelor’s, History, Linguistics, Sociology, Women’s and Gender Studies, Economics, Information Sciences, Public Administration, Education (Mathematics and Science, Foundation Phase), and Biological, Computational, Mathematical and Physical Sciences. For master’s, Applied Linguistics, History, Gender Justice, Migration Studies, Sociology for Development, Public Health, Development Studies, Information Sciences, Governance and Human Rights, and Biological, Computational, Mathematical and Physical Sciences. Deadline: Not accepting applications until further notice. • United States International University-Africa, Kenya (Bachelor’s): Applied Computer Technology, Information Systems and Technology, Data Science and Analytics, Software Engineering, Pharmacy, Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Animation, Film Production and Directing, Finance, International Business Administration, Accounting, International Relations, and Psychology. Deadline: No call is open now. Calls usually come out around October-November for the May intake and February-March for the September intake. Outside Africa • American University of Beirut, Lebanon (Bachelor’s and Master’s): On-campus master’s programs, thesis or non-thesis, and five online master’s: Engineering Management, Computing in Education, Business Administration, Nursing Administration and Management, and Healthcare Leadership. Deadline: Closed for 2026-27. It was 26 March 2026 on campus and 18 May 2026 online. No 2027-28 date is posted. • Arizona State University, USA (Master’s): ASU Online master’s degrees taken while living in Kigali, Rwanda, in Business Analytics, Computer Science, Sustainable Engineering, Global Technology and Development, Information Technology, and User Experience. ASU also offers in-person master’s places in technology, innovation and entrepreneurship. Deadline: 22 November 2026 for the Kigali places. • EARTH University, Costa Rica (Bachelor’s): Agricultural Sciences. Deadline: Admission forms are accepted until 31 January each year. • McGill University, Canada (Master’s): Sustainable Agriculture (Animal Science), Animal Science, Bioresource Engineering (including Environmental Engineering, Integrated Food and Bioprocessing, and Integrated Water Resource Management), Biostatistics, Biotechnology, Food Science, Food Safety, Human Nutrition, Public Health, and Public Policy. Deadline: Closed for Fall 2027, apart from invited applicants, who have until 1 December 2026. Details of the next cycle are due in Spring 2027. • Queen’s University, Canada (Bachelor’s): No fields are posted. Deadline: The Foundation lists admissions as closed. • Sciences Po, France (Master’s): Two-year master’s programmes in its graduate schools. Dual degrees, one-year master’s and journalism programmes are not eligible. Deadline: 23 November 2026 for a decision by 11 February 2027, or 14 December 2026 for a decision by 1 April 2027. • University of California, Berkeley, USA (Master’s): Eligible programs include Engineering (M.Eng), Civil and Environmental Engineering, Industrial Engineering and Operations Research, Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, Mechanical Engineering, Development Engineering, Design, Translational Medicine, Architecture, City and Regional Planning, Environmental Planning, Landscape Architecture, Information Management and Systems, Journalism, Law (LLM), Public Policy, and Development Practice. Deadline: Apply to Berkeley in the first round. Most deadlines are in December, and the priority deadline for Development Practice and Journalism is 1 December 2026. • University of British Columbia, Canada (Master’s): Food and Resource Economics, Food Science, Sustainable Forest Management, International Forestry, Urban Forestry Leadership, Geomatics for Environmental Management, Forestry (MSc or MASc), and Data Science. Deadline: Expressions of interest closed on 6 September 2026. Only invited applicants can still apply, by 20 November 2026. • University of Cambridge, UK (Master’s): Any full-time one-year postgraduate course, except the MBA, Master of Finance, Master of Accountancy and Master of Corporate Law. The program’s themes are climate resilience and sustainability. Deadline: Early December 2026 or early January 2027, depending on the course. • University of Edinburgh, UK (Master’s and Postgraduate Diploma): Online programmes in Climate Change Management, International Development, Global Food Security and Nutrition, One Health, Social Justice and Community Action, Global Health and Infectious Diseases, Biodiversity, Wildlife and Ecosystem Health, Data-Driven Breeding and Genetics, and Digital Education. On-campus programmes include Climate Change Finance and Investment; Data, Inequality and Society; Entrepreneurship and Innovation; Food Security; Environment and Development; Environmental Sustainability; Operational Research; and Sustainable Energy Systems. Deadline: Only applicants invited after the required September sessions can still apply, by 19 November 2026. • University of Oxford, UK (Master’s): Full-time one-year taught master’s courses in areas such as food systems, health sciences, sustainable water and energy systems, governance and public policy, and entrepreneurship. Deadline: The December or January funding deadline of your course. Oxford has not yet confirmed the details for 2027/28 entry. • University of Toronto, Canada (Master’s, only for graduates of Africa Health Collaborative partners): The 2026-27 programmes were Biomedical Engineering, Financial Insurance, Health Administration, Health Informatics, and Public Health in Health Promotion or Occupational and Environmental Health. Deadline: The next recruitment is for 2028-2029. Details are due in May 2027. Level/Field(s) of study: Undergraduate and Master’s degrees. Eligible fields differ at each university, as listed above. The Foundation says scholarships are not currently available to PhD candidates. Number of Scholarships: The Program has committed over 58,000 scholarships and aims to reach 100,000 young people by 2030. Target group: Young people, mainly from Africa, who face economic and social barriers to higher education. The Program especially recruits young women, persons with disabilities and forcibly displaced young people. Scholarship value/inclusions: The scholarship provides financial, academic and psychosocial support. Financial support includes tuition fees, accommodation, books and other academic materials. Scholars also receive mentoring, counselling, leadership development and, if necessary, a return air ticket to their home country. Eligibility: Candidates must be academically strong and committed to making a difference in the lives of others. Undergraduate candidates must be 29 years old or under, and Master’s candidates 35 or under, when they apply. Admissions criteria include academic excellence, leadership, financial need and the intention to give back to society. Requirements differ at each partner, so check the Scholars Program page of the university you want to attend. Application instructions: You must apply directly to the partner university or organization of your choice. Each partner runs its own application and sets its own deadline, as listed above, so there is no single deadline for the Program. You can apply to more than one partner. If a partner charges an application fee, the fee is reimbursed if you are selected. It is important to see the list of partner institutions and visit the official website (link found below) for detailed information on how to apply for this scholarship. Website: Official Scholarship Website: https://mastercardfdn.org/en/what-we-do/our-programs/mastercard-foundation-scholars-program/ Related Scholarships: Top 10 International Scholarships for African Students The post Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program for Africans first appeared on Scholars4DeV.