University of Cambridge Mastercard Scholarship is designed to provide talented students from Africa with fully funded opportunities to complete their master’s training, grow in transformative leadership, and contribute to climate resilience and sustainability in Africa and the world at large.
The fully funded scholarship sponsored by Mastercard Foundation covers full tuition, accommodation, living stipends, laptop, books, and flight costs for candidates to pursue master’s degrees at the University of Cambridge.
Eligibility Requirements
To be eligible for this scholarship, you;
- Must be a citizen of an African country,
- Must be ordinarily resident in an African country unless you can show temporary absence for study/work with an intention to return, or unless you have been displaced.
- Must be applying for a Master’s course of up to one year in length, at the University of Cambridge.
- Have a bachelor’s degree.
- Meet the academic entry requirements of your chosen course. Some courses require the equivalent of a UK first-class honours degree and others an upper second-class degree. Please use the postgraduate study course directory to check your course’s entry requirements.
- Be from, and live in, an African country. You can apply if you’re temporarily living outside of Africa for study or work.
- Apply for an eligible course. This can be any full-time master’s excluding:
- Master of Accountancy (MACC)
- Business Administration (MBA)
- Master of Corporate Law (MCL)
- Master of Finance (MFIN)
- Demonstrate a commitment to giving back to your community, home country or Africa more generally, and to the themes of sustainability and climate resilience.
Benefits
- Full Scholarship
- Accommodation
- Monthly Stipends
- Airfare Tickets
The application for funding is imbedded in the course application process.
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-resilient and sustainable futures for Africa.
Timeline:
- The deadline for submitting applications for funding is the 5th of December 2026 for courses with a 5th of December deadline and 5th of January 2027 for courses with a 5th of January deadline.
- When making an application, pay close attention to the funding deadline.
Method of Application
- Click the green button below to go to the scholarship webpage.
- Open your chosen course’s profile in the postgraduate course directory and click ‘Apply Now’. Create an account to save and return to your application later.
- Navigate to the ‘Requirements’ tab and click on the link to check if the degree you currently hold meets Cambridge’s postgraduate academic entry requirements using the international qualifications checker.
- Once you’ve opened your application, you can apply for an application fee waiver.
- All Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program applicants are eligible for the application fee waiver if you meet the academic entry requirements of your chosen course.
- Apply for funding: If you meet your chosen course’s entry requirements, you’ll be able to select the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program.
- Submit your application by the course’s funding deadline – usually early December or January, earlier than the standard deadline.
- You’ll also be asked to choose a College. This is where you’ll live, eat and have small group teaching sessions.
Application Deadline: January 5, 2027.