Where to Apply — All MCF Partner Universities
There are 62 global partners. Some are in Africa; some are in the UK, France, Canada, the US, Lebanon and Costa Rica. Some fund undergraduates, some master's students, and each has its own process, focus area and criteria. This page organises them so you can find the right fit.
ScholarshipUnion Editorial
8 min read
Updated Oct 6, 2026
How to Use This Page
The right partner university for you depends on three things: your programme level (undergraduate vs. master's), your field of study, and where you want to study (Africa vs. abroad). Use the sections below to filter by what fits your situation, then check the individual partner pages for current eligibility, deadlines, and application instructions. Partner pages update seasonally — what's listed here reflects the most recent publicly available information. The Foundation’s Where to Apply list shows each partner and whether its applications are open or closed.
Highly Selective International Partners
Master's focus. These are the most competitive MCFSP partnerships globally.
Focus: two-year or shorter master’s programmes across many schools, from engineering and public health to public policy and law. Apply for admission first; your department nominates you, and nominees are invited to a supplemental application in February. Scholars in programmes longer than two semesters do an internship in Africa. Berkeley plans to fund 201 master’s students over ten years.
Focus: climate resilience, sustainability. Built into the standard Cambridge course application — no separate MCFSP portal. You write a scholarship statement that covers your leadership, your goals and how you hope to contribute to sustainable futures in Africa. Applications for 2027/28 opened in September 2026; funding deadlines fall in early December or early January, depending on the course.
Focus: one-year taught master’s courses linked to pandemic preparedness and recovery. After the degree comes the Ubuntu period of service — a 4 to 6 month placement in an African organisation in the programme’s second year. Applications for the current cycle are closed.
Focus: climate leadership. On-campus and online postgraduate scholarships; the online route suits professionals who cannot relocate. You apply for the scholarship first, and only apply for the degree if you get a scholarship offer. For 2027/28 a mandatory information session (15–24 September 2026) came first, and the main application closes on 19 November 2026.
Focus: two-year master’s programmes in the social sciences. Your bachelor’s must come from a university on Sciences Po’s approved list, or you must have done an approved bridge programme or hold UNHCR refugee status. Any non-African second citizenship rules you out. First you request an MCF application fee waiver (October to mid-December 2026), then you apply to the master’s. Sciences Po aims to support 1,450 students over 2024–2033.
Focus: nutrition, public health, public policy and sustainable agriculture (eligible programmes span agriculture, engineering, biostatistics, biotechnology, food science, nutrition, public health and public policy). The MCFSP pre-screening must be completed BEFORE you submit your university admission application — reverse order will disqualify you. McGill's current phase runs 2024–2034; since 2013 it has supported over 200 scholars from more than 20 African countries. Applications for the Fall 2027 cohort have closed; McGill says details of the next cycle will be posted in spring 2027.
Focus: health-related master’s programmes, for citizens of Sub-Saharan African countries. Applications go through U of T’s Centre for International Experience. The 2026–27 deadline was 3 November 2025; the 2027–28 cycle had not been announced as of October 2026.
Focus: forestry, agriculture, and water and land management, linked to community-led development. Apply through UBC's MCFSP programme page; the Foundation lists applications as closed. Annual count not published.
Focus: sustainability, development. Apply through ASU. Ashesi University students have a dedicated accelerated pathway to ASU master's programmes. Annual count not published.
Focus: broad, including doctoral programmes across faculties. AUB is one of the very few MCFSP partners that funds PhD studies (for citizens of African countries and refugees living on the continent). It also runs on-campus master's scholarships and five online master's programmes; undergraduate scholars are selected through AUB's partners in Africa. Since inception, 644 scholars from 33 nationalities have enrolled and 359 have graduated. For Fall 2026–27 the on-campus graduate deadline was 26 March 2026 and the online deadline 18 May 2026.
African Partner Universities
Undergraduate and master's programmes across the continent. Generally higher annual scholar counts than Western partners, but still competitive.
| Partner | Country | Levels | What stands out |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ashesi University | Ghana | Undergraduate | Strong leadership emphasis woven into all aspects of the programme. Five-year accelerated pathway to a master's at ASU for top performers. |
| KNUST | Ghana | Undergraduate | One of the largest MCFSP cohorts. Covers full tuition, accommodation, a laptop, and a monthly stipend. Good option for strong students who want to stay in West Africa. |
| University of Cape Town (UCT) | South Africa | Undergraduate, honours, master's | 2027 applications are open. The undergraduate deadline was 30 September 2026; the postgraduate deadline is 31 October 2026. |
| University of Pretoria | South Africa | Undergraduate, honours, master's | Sustainability and development focus. Strong in agricultural sciences, engineering, and natural sciences. |
| University of the Western Cape (UWC) | South Africa | Undergraduate, master's | Strong community engagement emphasis throughout the programme. Community service component is actively monitored. |
| Makerere University | Uganda | Undergraduate, master's | Advertised 245 undergraduate and 13 master’s scholarships for 2026/2027 (deadline 5 June 2026). Reserves at least 25% of scholarships for refugees and internally displaced persons. |
| African Leadership University (ALU) | Rwanda | Undergraduate | Leadership-first curriculum from day one. Designed to produce entrepreneurial graduates with cross-sector capabilities rather than narrow disciplinary training. |
| University of Rwanda | Rwanda | Undergraduate, master's | Focus on young women in science, technology, engineering and maths. Coverage includes a laptop, accommodation and a return ticket for scholars from outside Rwanda. |
| USIU-Africa | Kenya | Undergraduate | First-time undergraduates only. Age limit 29, or 32 for refugees, displaced youth and youth with disabilities. Full coverage package. No open call as of October 2026. |
| CMU-Africa | Rwanda | Master's | Carnegie Mellon University's Africa campus. Programmes in IT, ECE, and Engineering AI. Internationally benchmarked curriculum delivered in Rwanda. Strong tech sector placements. |
| AIMS (African Institute for Mathematical Sciences) | Multiple | Master's | Campuses in multiple African countries. Master's in mathematical sciences. Strong focus on including students from underrepresented communities. Refugee-friendly admissions process. |
| University of Gondar (with Queen's University) | Ethiopia | Undergraduate | Ten-year partnership with Queen's University (Canada) focused on inclusive higher education for students with disabilities, including occupational therapy training. |
| 2iE (International Institute for Water and Environmental Engineering) | Burkina Faso | Undergraduate, master's | Water and environmental engineering. |
| University of Global Health Equity (UGHE) | Rwanda | Master's | Specialist master's in global health delivery. Built for people working in health systems who want to strengthen delivery capacity across Africa. |
| EARTH University | Costa Rica | Undergraduate | Specialist undergraduate in ecological agriculture and environmental science. Not based in Africa, but serves African scholars within the MCFSP framework. |
| African Leadership Academy | South Africa | Pre-university / secondary | Selective secondary-level programme preparing future African leaders. Entry at pre-university stage, not undergraduate or postgraduate. |
NGO and Organisation Partners
Several MCFSP partners are not universities — they are development organisations working primarily at secondary and vocational education levels.
| Organisation | Location | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| CAMFED | Multiple African countries | Secondary girls' education |
| Equity Group | Kenya | Secondary education |
| BRAC International | Multiple African countries | Vocational and secondary education |
Choosing the Right Partner
If you are applying for an undergraduate degree
Your main options are African partner universities. Berkeley, Cambridge, Oxford, and Sciences Po are master's-only within the MCFSP framework. Look at KNUST, UCT, Ashesi, ALU, University of Rwanda, USIU-Africa, and Makerere as your primary pool.
If you are targeting a specific field
| Field | Partners to look at |
|---|---|
| Climate and sustainability | Cambridge, Edinburgh |
| Public health and nutrition | McGill, Toronto |
| Technology and engineering | CMU-Africa, Berkeley, ASU |
| International affairs and policy | Sciences Po, McGill (public policy) |
| Pandemic preparedness and global health | Oxford, Toronto, UGHE |
| Agriculture, forestry and land | EARTH University, McGill, UBC |
| Mathematical sciences | AIMS |
If you need to stay in Africa
KNUST, Makerere, UCT, University of Rwanda, CMU-Africa, ALU, Ashesi, AIMS, UGHE, and USIU-Africa all offer competitive, fully-funded programmes on the continent. CMU-Africa, in particular, delivers an internationally benchmarked master's curriculum in Rwanda — you get the Carnegie Mellon name without leaving Africa.
If you are a working professional
Edinburgh's online master's programme is designed for professionals who cannot relocate. The scholarship covers full tuition, an academic stipend for a laptop and good internet, and the chance to attend an in-person gathering. You keep your job while completing your degree. AUB also offers MCF scholarships for five online master's programmes.
If you are a refugee or displaced person
Makerere (at least 25% of scholarships), USIU-Africa (age limit raised to 32), ALU, AUB and Edinburgh all name refugees and displaced people as a priority. Residency rules for refugees differ by partner, so check each one. At Sciences Po, UNHCR refugee status is one route to eligibility.
A Note on Selectivity
Berkeley plans 201 master's scholarships over ten years, for applicants from a whole continent. Only people who are already exceptional get through.
The Western international partners sit in a different category of competition from the African partners. Know which tier you're aiming at. Cambridge and Oxford are similarly competitive. These are among the most competitive scholarships for Africans globally. Getting past the academic bar is necessary but nowhere near sufficient — leadership profile, essay quality, programme fit, and interview performance all matter.
African-based partners like KNUST and Makerere fund hundreds of scholars per year — still competitive, but not the same order of magnitude as the Western partners. A strong applicant who would not make the Berkeley cut might be an excellent fit for Makerere or UCT.
When choosing where to apply, be realistic about your profile relative to each institution's bar. Applying to five partners across different selectivity tiers is a reasonable strategy. The Foundation confirms you can apply to as many partner universities as you wish — just remember each application package takes real effort and some charge admission fees (reimbursed if you are selected).
Ready to check your eligibility in detail? The citizenship, financial need, and leadership requirements each have important nuances — see the full eligibility guide.