Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program

The Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program aims to make a meaningful impact in addressing the climate crisis. The Program dedicated to nurturing a community of talented, entrepreneurial, and compassionate leaders from across Sub-Saharan Africa. The Program empowers young people with the necessary knowledge, skills, and networks to drive sustainable transitions by offering a range of exceptional sustainability-focused postgraduate opportunities at the University of Edinburgh.

The Program at the University of Edinburgh will provide 1 year on-campus Masters scholarships, 3 year part-time online Masters scholarships and 2-year part-time Postgraduate Diploma scholarships to students living or working in Africa with great academic and leadership potential but with few educational opportunities.


You must meet the eligibility criteria to apply:

  • Applicants must qualify academically for admission to the University of Edinburgh for a relevant degree programme listed. You will generally need to have achieved the equivalent of a UK Second Class (Upper) Bachelor's (Hons) degree or higher. Find out more about the postgraduate entry
  • Applicants will have faced significant barriers to education (social, financial, personal, practical or health-related).
  • Applicants must have graduated from an undergraduate study and must have a degree certificate and official final transcript to upload alongside their application by the deadline.
  • Applicants must be residents and citizens or hold refugee status in a sub-Saharan African country.
  • Applicants must have faced barriers to education and in their early career.
  • Applicants must demonstrate a track record of leadership and service within their community.
  • Applicants must demonstrate experience, or at least ambition, in making a meaningful impact in addressing the climate crisis.
  • Applicants must be 35 or under the year the programme commences. 
  • If applying for the on-campus or online Masters programme: Applicants should not have previously completed a postgraduate degree and should not be enrolled (or applying to enrol) at a separate university.
  • If applying for the online Postgraduate Diploma: Applicants can either have an undergraduate or Masters degree from a Sub-Saharan African university (provided they will graduate from either degree by the deadline). If one has a Masters degree, our admissions team will review the first degree (undergraduate) to meet the postgraduate diploma entry requirement. The Program will review the Masters degree transcripts to confirm university’s graduation date and location. 
  • We particularly welcome applications from female scholars, scholars from refugee and displaced backgrounds, and scholars with disabilities. 

The selection process for applications is based on the following criteria:

  • Academic merit of the candidate that qualifies for admissions to the University of Edinburgh.
  • Track record as a transformative leader and service within their community.
  • Quality of application in line with the Program's theme of climate justice.
  • Potential impact on the development of the applicant’s home country.
  • Applicants who have faced significant barriers to education (social, financial, personal, practical or health related).

The deadline for applications for 2025/26 has now passed.  Applications for the 2026/2027 academic year will reopen in October 2025.


All applicants will be notified of the outcome of their applications by the end of February 2025.


If you have any queries regarding the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program scholarships, please contact  mcfsp@ed.ac.uk

Website: https://global.ed.ac.uk/mastercard-foundation


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