The Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at the University of Cambridge is pleased to announce that applications for the 2025/2026 academic year are now open.
The Mastercard Foundation Scholars Programme at Cambridge is designed to provide students from under-represented communities in Africa with fully-funded opportunities to complete their Master’s training, grow in transformative leadership, and contribute to climate resilience and sustainability.
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Selection Criteria include:
- Outstanding intellectual ability.
- A desire and commitment to contribute to climate resilient and sustainable futures for Africa and the world at large
- Leadership potential.
Prospective Mastercard Foundation Scholars can apply to most courses available at the University of Cambridge.
- In order to address the climate crisis, a range of expertise is required across scientific/STEM disciplines, the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences.
- This is the purpose of the multi-disciplinary approach of this Mastercard Foundation Scholars Programme.
Eligibility Criteria
To qualify for the scholarship, candidates:
- Must be citizens of an African country.
- must be resident in an African country, unless they can show temporary absence for study or work, except they are displaced or have refugee status.
- Must be applying for a master’s course of up to one year in length, at the University of Cambridge.
- Must meet the academic requirement of the course for which they are applying.
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What we Offer
The programme covers full tuition costs, a monthly maintenance allowance and a laptop. Other costs covered include visa application fees, International Health Surcharge, and travel costs.
Deadline
The deadline for submitting applications for funding is the 5th of December 2024 for courses with a 5th of December deadline and 5th of January 2025 for courses with a 5th of January deadline. When making an application, pay close attention to the funding deadline.
Please note that email attachments will not be accepted.
For any application related inquiries, please check the FAQ section of the website:FAQ | Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program (cam.ac.uk) If the response to your query is not resolved from the available responses, please email applications@mastercardfoundation.fund.cam.ac.uk
How To Apply
Application Process
To be eligible for a scholarship offer, students are required to secure an admission from the relevant department. The Application process commences with an application for admission to the University of Cambridge via the course directory, to be completed by the funding deadline (which will be either the 5th December or 5th January depending on the course):- https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses.
Applicants should ensure that they meet the academic requirements of selected courses. If the academic requirements for a course are not met, students will not qualify for the application fee waiver.
As part of the application process, prospective scholars will be required to provide a supplementary statement that indicates their personal commitment to contributing to climate-resilience and sustainable futures for Africa.
Detailed information about the application process is available on the programme website which can be accessed at https://www.mastercardfoundation.fund.cam.ac.uk/.
Step one: Apply for admission to the University of Cambridge
Apply for admission to the University of Cambridge via the course directory by the funding deadline. The University of Cambridge has created a very helpful video about applying for postgraduate admission and funding.
The University of Cambridge’s online directory gives details about each course, its requirements, application deadlines, funding deadlines and the supporting documentation you need to provide. We recommend you go through this in detail.
Once you have identified the course you are interested in, you are required to put together the required paperwork and submit your application for admission and funding (Mastercard Foundation Scholarship Program and other funding if applicable) via the University’s Graduate Application Portal.
Step Two: The Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program Statement.
As part of the application process in the University’s graduate application portal, students are asked to select funding bodies they are interested in applying to. A range of options are presented to the applicant. Once you select the Mastercard foundation scholars programme, you would be required to submit a mandatory personal statement. This is the only part of the application process where applicants are specifically asked about their fit for the Mastercard Foundation Scholarship Program. You should endeavour to demonstrate how you specifically meet the Program’s criteria. You will be expected to write about your desire and commitment towards climate-resilient and sustainable futures for Africa and the world, and how your chosen course of study at Cambridge contributes towards that goal.
Step three: Choose a College
The University is composed of 31 colleges, each offering varied opportunities. It is important that you take time to consider the college you wish to live in. You may want a college near to your department, or any other specific requirement. Please read up about the college system to enable you make an informed choice: https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/colleges/choosing-a-college.
Please be sure to visit college websites to enable you to make an informed decision.
Step Four: Fee waiver
Master’s applications require a £50 application fee. However, the fee will be automatically waived for applicants of the Mastercard Foundation Scholars programme. Please note you must submit the scholarship statement to benefit from the automatic waiver. Students who do not get an automatic waiver and are certain they meet all conditions of the Scholars programme are invited to contact the team by submitting a request : Submit Request.
Kindly note that data relating to your application/place on the Program will be retained and anonymised for use in the evaluation of the Program’s outcomes and effectiveness.
