Application Deadline: 8 November 2024 at 5:00 p.m. UK time. 

Applications are now open for the 2025/2026 University of Edinburgh Mastercard Foundation On-campus Postgraduate Scholarships. The University of Edinburgh recruits exceptional young people with great academic and leadership experience who have overcome barriers to their education and are committed to pursuing their studies on-campus.

This is a one-year postgraduate on-campus scholarship for the following programmes ONLY:

• Africa and International Development 
• Food Security
• Sustainable Energy Systems
• Entrepreneurship and Innovation
• Data, Inequality and Society 
• Operational Research
• Environmental Sustainability
• Climate Change Finance and Investment
• Planetary Health
• Environment and Development

Eligibility Requirements

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 requirements for your country:

Postgraduate entry requirements

• 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 8 November 2024.
• 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. Therefore, for the 2025/26 academic year, we accept applications from those born on or after 1 January 1990. Anyone born in 1989 and prior is not eligible.
• Applicants should not have previously completed a postgraduate degree and should not be enrolled (or apply to enrol) at a separate university whilst on the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program scholarship.

Benefits

• Covers full approved tuition, accommodation, travel, living cost stipend and study materials.
• A climate leadership programme to inspire and support scholars in making change in their communities and countries.
• Additional support is offered to scholars with disabilities based on an assessment of needs.

Selection process

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).

Apply for the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program before applying to the University

If you are applying exclusively for the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program scholarship, you should only apply to the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program. Once you have received a scholarship offer in March 2025, you can then proceed to apply to your chosen study programme at the University of Edinburgh through the University’s admissions process. If you are considering other scholarships, only then should you apply to the University as well.

Applications Timeline 2025/26

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the University of Edinburgh Mastercard Foundation On-campus Postgraduate Scholarships