Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program 2026: Deadline, Eligibility, Benefits

The Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program funds education, including university study at bachelor's, master's and doctoral level, for highly talented young people from underrepresented backgrounds, delivered entirely through a network of partner universities and organisations rather than through one central application. Most partners are in Africa, with others in North and Central America, Europe and the Middle East. There is no single Mastercard Foundation application: a prospective scholar must first find a partner institution that offers a programme they want to study, then apply to that institution directly, since each partner runs its own admissions and scholarship selection process and sets its own deadline. Any application fee charged by the partner institution is reimbursed for candidates who are ultimately selected as scholars. Funded support typically includes tuition fees, accommodation, books and other academic materials, a return air ticket where needed, and non-financial support such as mentoring, counselling and leadership development alongside the studies themselves. The Foundation reports that the programme has supported more than 58,000 scholars to date, 71 percent of them young women, as part of a stated goal of reaching 100,000 scholarships by 2030.