Who Can Apply for the MCF Scholars Program

The Four Core Eligibility Requirements

1. 1
   African citizenship

   A citizen of an African country.

2. 2
   Financial need

   Demonstrated and documented.

3. 3
   Academic excellence

   Competitive for admission at the partner itself.

4. 4
   Transformative leadership

   Evidence, not claims.

1. African citizenship

You must be a citizen of an African country. The Foundation does not publish one country list; each partner sets its own scope. Many partners take applicants from the whole continent, including North African countries like Egypt, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia — McGill, for example, lists all 54 African countries. Others still recruit from Sub-Saharan Africa only, such as the University of Toronto and Makerere.

If you are temporarily living outside Africa for study or work, many partners (Cambridge, for example) still let you apply — you are evaluated on your home country citizenship, not your current location. Some partners are stricter: McGill's current rules require you to be a citizen of and live in an African country.

2. Financial need — demonstrated and documented

Financial need is required, but no income threshold is published anywhere. The assessment is holistic. What it actually means: your financial situation has "prevented or restricted your educational opportunities." Documenting this requires supporting evidence, and what counts varies by partner. What is accepted as evidence:

• Tax documents and income statements from parents or guardians
• Payslips
• Social grant letters (e.g., NSFAS, government bursaries)
• Letters from university financial aid offices about previous support received
• Each partner lists the documents it accepts — check its application page before you gather papers

3. Academic excellence

A strong academic record throughout prior studies is required. Partner universities have their own minimum GPA or grade requirements. Some examples:

Admission to the partner university itself — or competitive shortlisting — is typically a prerequisite for scholarship consideration, and the Foundation is clear that admission alone does not guarantee a scholarship. If you are not academically competitive for admission at the university, the scholarship question is moot. Check admission requirements first.

4. Transformative leadership — evidence, not claims

The Mastercard Foundation defines transformative leadership as "the act of engaging others in an ethical manner to generate positive and lasting change." This is not about holding a title. It is about evidence that you have mobilised others toward community outcomes.

What counts:

• Founding or leading a community initiative
• Mentoring others over sustained periods
• Organising events or training with measurable reach
• Consistent volunteering with demonstrated outcomes
• Advocacy work that produced change
• Team leadership in professional or academic settings with clear impact

What does not impress:

• Titles without impact stories
• Leadership limited to internal school activities without community reach
• Generic statements about being passionate about leadership
• High school examples when applying for postgraduate programmes

Who Is Explicitly Excluded

• Non-African citizens, regardless of African residency or descent (AUB's on-campus master's is a narrow exception: it also admits Lebanese citizens and refugees living in Lebanon)
• African citizens holding dual citizenship with the USA, Canada, UK, or EU countries — at most Western partners
• Students already enrolled in the degree programme they are applying to fund — at most partners
• Students who have previously completed the same level of degree — e.g., McGill requires that you have never registered for, nor completed, a master's; AUB requires that you do not already hold another master's
• PhD applicants — the Foundation says PhD scholarships are not currently available; AUB (American University of Beirut) is an exception
• Applicants whose studies are not aligned with the specific programme focus of the partner university they are applying through

The Refugee and Displaced Persons Provision

MCFSP is one of very few major global scholarship programmes that actively prioritises displaced persons. Most scholarships treat displacement as a complication. MCF treats it as a selection criterion.

If you are displaced and academically qualified, this programme was specifically designed to include you.

25% quota

Some partners set a formal quota. Makerere’s 2026/2027 calls say at least 25% of its scholarships go to refugees and internally displaced persons. Most other partners name refugees as a priority group without publishing a number. McGill, for example, lists people affected by forced displacement (alongside women and people with disabilities) for priority consideration.

Residency rules for refugees

Residency rules for displaced applicants differ by partner. Edinburgh accepts applicants who hold refugee status in an African country. AUB’s on-campus master’s also takes refugees living in Lebanon. Do not assume a residency waiver — check your partner’s eligibility page.

UNHCR status

UNHCR refugee status can open a route in. At Sciences Po, for example, holding or having held UNHCR refugee status is one of the ways to meet its eligibility rules. Keep your UNHCR documents ready.

Extended age limits

Age limits are relaxed at some partners for refugees. USIU-Africa raises its limit from 29 to 32 for refugees, displaced youth and youth with disabilities. Makerere raises it from 28 to 32 for undergraduates and from 35 to 40 for master’s applicants in these groups.

How to signal displaced status

When completing your application, answer "YES" when asked if you have been a refugee, stateless person, asylum seeker, or otherwise forcibly displaced. This does not hurt your application. At partners with refugee quotas or priority rules, it is how you are considered under them.

Age Requirements

Age limits vary by partner. The programme does not publish a single universal age cap — each institution sets its own. These are the known limits:

Always confirm age limits directly. Partner pages update frequently, and the limits above reflect published figures as of October 2026. Check the current application page of your target partner before drawing conclusions.

The North Africa Question

Many sources — including some current partner pages — use the phrase "Sub-Saharan Africa" when describing who is eligible. This has caused genuine confusion for applicants from Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Sudan.

The current position

• McGill lists all 54 African countries; Cambridge, Berkeley and Sciences Po ask for citizenship of an African country, with no Sub-Saharan limit
• The Foundation also has partners in North Africa, such as Université Mohammed VI Polytechnique in Morocco
• The University of Toronto and Makerere still describe eligible applicants as coming from Sub-Saharan Africa

If you see "Sub-Saharan Africa" in application materials

Contact the specific partner university directly to verify their geographic eligibility scope. The Foundation leaves the country scope to each partner, and some narrow it — Makerere's 2026/2027 calls, for instance, describe applicants as coming "from Sub-Saharan Africa." Do not assume — confirm.

You meet the eligibility criteria? Now see the partner universities, organised by region and programme level, on the Partner Universities page.