The Mastercard Foundation Scholarship empowers outstanding youths to pursue higher education and develop leadership skills to become exceptional leaders. The scholarship program is targeted mostly at African youths who are service-oriented and have strong leadership potential.

Mastercard Foundation works with the community of scholarship beneficiaries, education institutions, and Non-Profit Organisations to create enabling learning conditions where young people gain relevant education, transition smoothly into choice career and work, and become change agents.

Mastercard Scholarship liaises with partner institutions to select qualified candidates for the prestigious Mastercard Scholars Program. If you are applying for the Mastercard Foundation Scholarship 2025, here is what you need to know about the eligibility criteria, participating universities, and the application process.

Mastercard Foundation Scholarship Eligibility Criteria and Qualification

To qualify and benefit from the Mastercard Foundation Scholarship and become a scholar, you must meet certain criteria. These eligibility criteria are set and managed by Mastercard Partner institutions. Therefore, you are expected to visit your chosen school’s website to know their eligibility criteria and requirements for the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program.

However, most of the Mastercard Foundation Scholarship partnering institutions require these basic eligibility criteria for one to qualify for the scholars’ program

• Be an African youth
• Have excellent academic results in the previous degree
• Possess Strong leadership potential
• Commitment to participate in meetings and workshops organized by the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program
• Be willing to engage in community-oriented services

Partnering institutions with the Mastercard Foundation Scholarship Program

Some of the schools that offer the Mastercard Foundation Scholarship Program to admitted students are located in countries like South Africa, the United Kingdom, Ethiopia, France, the United States, and others. The Mastercard Foundation Scholarship program for postgraduate studies takes place in these partner schools.

• University of Western Cape
• African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS)
• University of Cape Town
• University of British Columbia
• University of Gondar
• Arizona State University
• McGill University
• University of Toronto (U of T)
• Sciences Po
• American University of Beirut
• University of Cambridge
• Carnegie Mellon University Africa
• University of Pretoria
• University of California, Berkeley (UCB)
• University of Oxford
• University of Edinburgh

The Mastercard scholarship provides financial aid to scholars for either undergraduate or postgraduate studies. If you are considering using the Mastercard Foundation scholarship for your undergraduate studies, you should apply for admission in any of these partnering institutions.

• Ashesi University College
• American University of Beirut
• International Institute for Water and Environmental Engineering (2iE)
• University of Gondar
• University of Abomey-Calavi
• USIU-A
• African Leadership University
• Makerere University
• University of Rwanda
• Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST)
• University of Western Cape
• EARTH University

How to Apply for Mastercard Foundation Scholarship

The Mastercard Foundation Scholarship application process includes

• Apply for admission to your chosen Mastercard Foundation partnering institution by applying online
• Upload all the required documents for the admission application
• Apply for the MasterCard Foundation Scholarship via the funding and financial aid section of the school’s website

In some partnering schools, the application process may be different from the above description. Some schools require that the applicants apply for the scholarship first. After that, successful applicants receive an invitation to apply for their choice program at the university. Notwithstanding, it is important to find out the partnering school’s application process before applying.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is eligible for the Mastercard Foundation scholarship?

To be eligible for Mastercard Foundation scholarship, in most cases, you need to be a service-oriented African youth, possess strong leadership skills, commit to MasterCard Foundation additional programs, and have an excellent academic record.

How do you qualify for the McGill Mastercard scholarship?

To qualify for the McGill Mastercard scholarship, you need to meet the eligibility criteria for admission at McGill and the eligibility criteria for the Mastercard Scholarship. Apply for the Mastercard Foundation Scholarship online by completing the application form on the school site. Your application will be pre-screened and you will be asked to upload any additional documents. After this, the successfully pre-screened candidates for the Mastercard scholarship will receive an invitation to apply for admission to McGill University.

What is the MasterCard scholarship for 2024-2025?

The Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program empowers outstanding youths to pursue higher education and develop leadership skills to become exceptional leaders.

What universities are partners with the Mastercard Foundation?

Some of the universities that are partners with the Mastercard Foundation are the University of British Columbia, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), University of Gondar, University of California, Berkeley (UCB), Ashesi University College, Arizona State University, EARTH University, McGill University, University of Western Cape, University of Toronto (U of T), University of Oxford, University of Edinburgh, and others.