Students from African countries who are academically talented and committed to transformative change on the continent are invited to apply for the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program 2027 at UC Berkeley for a chance to pursue a master’s degree program in the US without financial stress for the 2027/2028 academic year.
The Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program offers students from African countries who are academically talented, have faced significant barriers to higher education and are committed to transformative change on the continent to study an eligible master’s degree program at UC Berkeley in USA.
This fully funded Masters Scholarship administered through the Center for African Studies at UC Berkeley in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation provides talented young Africans with access to graduate education, leadership development and professional opportunities to more than 200 Master’s students through 2030, with Scholars recruited through fall 2028.
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Eligibility Criteria
The major eligibility criteria are:
- Being a citizen of an African country: This includes Africans who have been forcibly displaced or have refugee status within the African continent. Those with dual citizenship, asylee, refugee or permanent resident status in the US, Canada, UK or EU are not eligible.
- Having academic talent: All prospective Scholars must first be admitted to a UC Berkeley master’s degree program to be considered for the Scholarship. An important criteria for admission to the University is demonstrated academic excellence.
- Demonstrating leadership potential: The Program seeks those committed to developing the skills and mindsets associated with transformative leadership, i.e, that which engages others in an ethical manner to generate positive and lasting change.
- Experienced significant barriers to accessing higher education: This Scholarship is designed for those extremely talented individuals who might have faced barriers to quality higher education, including social, financial, personal, practical or health related.
- Having demonstrated the commitment to give back to your community, country, or continent: We are looking for well-rounded students who are engaged in activities beyond the classroom. Some may be directly related to your field of study, but this may also include other issues (social, economic, political) that you are working on and passionate about. Applicants should elaborate on their achievements both in their application to UC Berkeley, and then later in the application for the Scholars Program.
- Having expressed the desire and intention to return to your home country after completing your studies and post-graduation training: We are looking for students who are engaged with and passionate about issues affecting their communities, and who will take advantage of their education at UC Berkeley to better equip themselves with the knowledge and training to address these issues upon return. While important work can be done from abroad, the intention of the Program is to enable Scholars to return home, after forming valuable professional connections through internships, academic training and job placements.
Note: Applicants with dual citizenship, asylum, refugee or permanent resident status in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom or European Union are not eligible.
Eligible Programs
Eligible programs include:
- Master of Business Administration (MBA)
- Education (MA)
- Engineering (MEng), various concentrations
- Civil and Environmental Engineering (MS)
- Industrial Engineering and Operations Research (MS)
- Information Management and Systems (MIMS)
- Journalism (MJ)
- Law (LLM) – Traditional Program
- Art (MFA)
- Computational Social Science (MaCSS)
- Folklore (MA)
- Global Studies (MA)
- Energy and Resources
- Climate Solutions (MCS)
- Forestry (MF)
- Social Welfare (MSW)
Note: Concurrent and dual-degree programs taking longer than two years are also excluded.
Scholarship Benefits
- Full tuition.
- Berkeley student fees.
- Travel expenses.
- Visa and SEVIS fees.
- Housing.
- Food.
- Living expenses.
- Leadership and entrepreneurship development programs.
- Academic and professional support.
- Access to the wider Mastercard Foundation Scholars network.
Method of Application
To apply for the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program 2027 at UC Berkeley, applicants must first apply to an eligible master’s degree program before they can be nominated for the Mastercard Foundations Scholars Program. If a graduate program has multilple admission rounds with staggered deadlines, only those who submit applications in the first round can be considered for the Scholars Program.
Each graduate degree program has specific requirements and deadlines. Applicants should carefully review these. The Graduate Division also provides detailed information on the admissions process. Direct questions regarding admission requirements should be made to the specific graduate program. We outline more details of the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program application process for master’s program HERE.
Application Deadline: November 15. 2026.
For More Information: Visit the Scholarship Website.
