University of Edinburgh Mastercard Foundation Scholarship 2027/2028

The Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at the University of Edinburgh has announced its 2027/28 intake, offering fully funded postgraduate scholarships across sustainability-focused on-campus and online master’s programmes for talented young people from across Africa, including North Africa. This cycle has introduced a genuinely new step that didn’t exist in previous years: before you can even access the scholarship application form, you must attend a mandatory virtual information session.

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What’s currently open is registration for a mandatory virtual information session — attending one of these sessions is a hard prerequisite before you can even be considered for an invitation to apply, let alone access the actual application form. This guide walks through the full staged process now required for this cycle, who qualifies, what the on-campus and online tracks each offer, and exactly what to do first.

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About the Partnership

The Mastercard Foundation and the University of Edinburgh have run this partnership since 2016, sitting inside the Foundation’s wider Scholars Program — one of the largest philanthropic education initiatives in the world, delivered through a network of more than 40 universities and organisations across Africa and globally.

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What distinguishes the Edinburgh partnership specifically is its climate focus: every scholar, regardless of degree subject, participates in a Climate Leadership Programme designed to build a cross-African community of leaders working on sustainability and the climate crisis. Beyond funding, this means the scholarship comes with a defined leadership and community-building track running alongside your degree, not just tuition and living support handed over separately.

The programme is also unusually explicit about who it wants to reach — women, people from refugee and displaced backgrounds, and people with disabilities are named directly as groups strongly encouraged to apply, and additional support is available to Scholars with disabilities based on individual needs assessment.

University of Edinburgh Mastercard Foundation Scholarship Summary

The Full Staged Process

This cycle genuinely doesn’t work like a typical scholarship where you find the portal and start filling it in whenever you’re ready. It runs through a specific, gated sequence, and it’s worth understanding every stage before assuming you can apply right now:

1. Now: Registration is open for mandatory virtual information sessions. This is the only thing you can actually do at this point.
2. 15–24 September 2026: The information sessions themselves take place. During registration, you complete a short questionnaire used to assess preliminary eligibility. A separate refugee-focused session runs during this window too, covering the same ground with particular attention to refugee applicants’ circumstances.
3. 13 October 2026: Eligible session attendees are notified whether they’re invited to proceed. Attending a session does not by itself guarantee an invitation — you also need to meet the programme’s eligibility criteria.
4. 19 October 2026, 5:00 p.m. UK time: Deadline for Stage 1 — the Applicant Declaration Form, confirming additional eligibility details. Complete this immediately upon receiving your invitation, since the form may close earlier than 19 October if the application limit is reached first.
5. Following successful completion of Stage 1: You’re invited to complete Stage 2 — the full scholarship application itself, submitted via SurveyMonkey Apply.
6. 19 November 2026, 5:00 p.m. UK time: Main application deadline (Stage 2).
7. Mid-February to mid-March 2027: Interviews for shortlisted candidates.
8. End of March 2027: Outcomes announced.
9. April–August 2027: If successful, you’re then invited to apply for your chosen Edinburgh degree programme through the university’s standard admissions process, with admissions and immigration support continuing through this period.

The genuinely important takeaway: there is no way to skip ahead to Stage 2 or submit an application right now, no matter how strong your qualifications are. The information session in September is the actual first real step, and everything else follows from it.

Who Can Apply

• You need to qualify academically for admission to a relevant University of Edinburgh degree programme, generally equivalent to a UK Second Class (Upper) Bachelor’s (Hons) degree or higher.
• You must have completed your undergraduate degree by 19 November 2026, with a degree certificate and official final transcript ready to upload by that date.
• You need to have faced significant barriers to education or early career opportunities — social, financial, personal, practical, or health-related — and be able to speak to this directly in your application.
• You must be a resident, citizen, or refugee-status holder in an African country, including North Africa.
• You need to be 35 years old or younger at the start of the programme. For the 2027/28 intake specifically, that means being born on or after 1 January 1992 — anyone born in 1991 or earlier doesn’t qualify this cycle.
• You must demonstrate a genuine track record of leadership and service within your community, plus real experience or ambition in addressing the climate crisis — this isn’t a generic postgraduate scholarship, and applications are explicitly assessed against the programme’s climate justice theme.
• You should not have previously completed a postgraduate degree, and shouldn’t be enrolled or applying to enrol at a separate university while on this scholarship — with a specific exception for the online postgraduate diploma route, where applicants with an existing Master’s degree can still apply.
• Applicants can apply for either the online or on-campus scholarship, not both.

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On-Campus vs Online — Which Track Fits You

The on-campus track is a one-year, full-time Master’s at Edinburgh itself, covering full tuition, accommodation, travel, a living cost stipend, and study materials, plus participation in the week-long Climate Enterprise School and dedicated transitions support. Programmes available on this track include Africa and International Development, Food Security, Sustainable Energy Systems, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Environmental Sustainability, Climate Change Finance and Investment, Planetary Health, and several related fields.

The online track suits applicants who want to keep working or prefer to study from their home context, offered as either a part-time Master’s over up to three years or a part-time Postgraduate Diploma over up to two years. Online scholars receive fully covered tuition, a stipend specifically for a laptop and high-quality internet access, one in-person gathering, and the same Climate Enterprise School participation as on-campus scholars, alongside a dedicated Online Coordinator. Programmes on this track include International Development, Global Food Security and Nutrition, Climate Change Management, Global Health and Infectious Diseases, and several others — the Diploma route specifically accepts applicants with either an undergraduate or Master’s degree from an African university, which the on-campus and online Master’s routes don’t.

What the Scholarship Covers

• Full tuition fees, covered entirely regardless of which track you’re on.
• Accommodation and travel, covered for on-campus scholars specifically.
• A living cost stipend, provided to on-campus scholars to cover day-to-day expenses in Edinburgh.
• A laptop and internet stipend, provided to online scholars instead of a full living stipend, reflecting the different cost structure of studying remotely.
• Participation in the Climate Leadership Programme and Climate Enterprise School, an intensive week of sustainable entrepreneurship training, included for both on-campus and online scholars.
• Additional disability support, based on an individual needs assessment, available to any scholar who requires it.
• Transitions support, helping scholars move into and later out of the programme, on both tracks.
• Worth noting explicitly: the scholarship supports the individual scholar only and does not provide financial or practical support for family members or dependants. The support and study programme are provided entirely in English.

Documents to Prepare Now

The Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at the University of Edinburgh focuses on developing justice-oriented, entrepreneurial climate leaders across Africa. Applications are submitted online via SurveyMonkey Apply after attending a mandatory virtual information session and completing the preliminary eligibility stages.

All documents must be uploaded in high-resolution, clear PDF format (.pdf).

1. Official Academic Transcripts:

• Requirements: Scanned copies of official interim or final transcripts covering all completed undergraduate (and, where applicable, prior postgraduate) coursework.
• Translation: Must include an official certified English translation if issued in another language.
• Detail: Must clearly state course titles, credit values, and earned grades.

2. Undergraduate Degree Certificates:

• Proof of Completion: Official degree certificate (or official Statement of Result) proving completion of a Bachelor’s degree (equivalent to a UK 2:1 Honours standard or higher).
• Cutoff Requirement: Applicants must have fully graduated and possess their official certificate and transcript by the main application deadline.

3. Curriculum Vitae (CV) / Resume:

• Structure & Scope: Concise 1–2 page PDF tailored to leadership, community impact, and environmental or social initiatives.
• Key Components: Highlight community service, extracurricular leadership, climate-related advocacy or projects, professional work experience, and academic distinctions.

4. Two Confidential References:

• Composition: One Academic Reference (from a lecturer, supervisor, or head of department) and one Second Reference (either academic or professional/community-based).
• Content Focus: Referees must speak directly to your academic capabilities, resilience, ethical character, and demonstrated track record of community leadership.

5. English Language Test Certificate (If Applicable):

• Acceptability: Official test result (e.g., IELTS Academic, TOEFL iBT) meeting the University of Edinburgh’s specific postgraduate entry threshold for your target degree program.
• Exemptions: Candidates who completed their undergraduate degree in a recognized English-majority country or medium-of-instruction institution may request a waiver per university regulations.

6. Passport Data Page / Proof of Status:

• Identification: High-resolution scan of the photo/biodata page of your valid passport.
• Eligibility Verification: Serves to verify age ($\le 35$ years at commencement), citizenship, and residency in an African country (or official refugee/displaced person status).

7. Climate Justice Personal Statement (Core Scholarship Essay):

Focus: This is not a generic motivation letter. The Edinburgh Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program is explicitly anchored around its Climate Leadership Programme.

8. Mandatory Structure & Narrative Themes:

• Barriers & Resilience: Honest reflection on the social, financial, or personal educational barriers you have overcome.
• Community Leadership Track Record: Concrete examples of how you have engaged others in an ethical manner to drive positive community change.
• Climate Justice Connection: Explaining how your chosen degree program directly connects to systemic climate solutions, environmental equity, or sustainable transitions in your home country/Africa.
• Future Impact: Clear vision of how you will leverage the Climate Leadership Programme network and skills upon returning to or working within Africa post-graduation.

How to Apply — Step by Step

1. Confirm you meet every eligibility requirement, particularly the age cut-off specific to this cycle — born on or after 1 January 1992.
2. Register now for a mandatory virtual information session, held 15–24 September 2026. This is the actual first step — you cannot skip it.
3. Attend your registered session and complete the preliminary eligibility questionnaire during registration.
4. Wait for notification on 13 October 2026 confirming whether you’re invited to proceed.
5. If invited, complete Stage 1 — the Applicant Declaration Form — immediately, since this can close before its 19 October deadline if the application cap is reached.
6. If you pass Stage 1, complete Stage 2, the full scholarship application, submitted via SurveyMonkey Apply, before 19 November 2026, 5 pm UK time. Important: at this stage, apply only for the scholarship, not for your Edinburgh degree programme directly — that comes later, only if you’re awarded a scholarship offer.
7. If shortlisted, expect interviews between mid-February and mid-March 2027, with outcomes announced by the end of March 2027.
8. If successful, you’ll then be invited to apply for your chosen degree programme through the University’s standard admissions process, with support through admissions and immigration continuing from April through August 2027.

Application timeline 2027/28

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the scholarship application open right now?

No. Only registration for the mandatory information sessions is currently open. The actual scholarship application form isn’t accessible until you attend a session, are notified of an invitation on 13 October, and complete the Stage 1 Declaration Form.

Do I really need to attend an information session before applying?

Yes. This is a hard requirement introduced for the 2027/28 cycle. Without attending a session between 15–24 September 2026, you cannot access the application at all — regardless of your qualifications.

Can I apply if I already have a Master’s degree?

It depends on the track. You can’t apply for the online Master’s or the on-campus scholarship if you already hold a postgraduate qualification. The online Postgraduate Diploma is the exception — applicants with an existing Master’s degree can apply there.

Can I apply directly to the University of Edinburgh degree programme at the same time as the scholarship?

No, not for this scholarship’s process — you apply for the scholarship first and don’t submit a separate degree application at this stage. If you’re offered a scholarship in March 2027, you’ll then be invited to apply for your chosen degree through the standard process. (If you’re pursuing a different scholarship that requires an active university application in parallel, that’s a separate situation.)

What age cut-off applies for this cycle?

You need to be 35 or younger at the start of the 2027/28 programme, meaning born on or after 1 January 1992.

Disclaimer: All scholarship details, deadlines, and eligibility criteria in this post were verified from the University of Edinburgh’s official Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program pages as of August 2026. Information is subject to change without notice. Always confirm the latest details directly on the official Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program information session registration page before proceeding. ScholarWaka is not affiliated with the Mastercard Foundation or the University of Edinburgh.

Official Application Portal