Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program

The programme gives financial, academic and psychosocial support. The financial support includes tuition fees, accommodation, books and other academic materials, and a return air ticket to the scholar's home country where needed; the support around it includes mentoring, counselling and leadership development. The Foundation describes it as more than a scholarship: scholars join a community and an alumni network, and the programme supports their transition into dignified and fulfilling work.

Where a partner charges an application fee, the fee is reimbursed to candidates who are selected. The Foundation gives no financial support to people who are not selected through the programme, and it offers no PhD scholarships at present.

The Foundation does not accept applications directly. Each partner university or NGO runs its own admissions, application process, deadlines and fees, and makes its own decisions, so candidates apply to the institution they want to attend and research that institution's programmes and guidelines. The list of partner institutions is on the Foundation's where-to-apply page. Candidates may apply to as many partners as they like, though each application takes considerable work and some charge fees.

Admission to a partner is not the same as selection: the programme is highly competitive, and admission alone does not guarantee a scholarship. North American partners generally require SAT or TOEFL scores from international applicants. For those who cannot meet the cost, the Foundation points out that some universities can help, that EducationUSA has helped some candidates, and that its partners in Africa include universities that do not require either test.

Asked what makes an applicant stand out, the partner institutions named five attributes: academic excellence, leadership potential, community engagement, self-awareness and a distinctive perspective. Leadership is weighed as heavily as grades, looking both at past experience, including work and community involvement, and at the applicant's vision for future leadership. Partners also want to understand the applicant's own story, including the educational barriers they faced and what helped them succeed.

Financial need is part of the assessment. Partners say applications often fail to give enough information about need, and that applicants must show clearly why they need the scholarship.

The Foundation warns of social media posts that advertise recruitment for the programme and ask for an application fee. Those groups are not connected to it: the Foundation does not ask individuals for money, and it asks the public to report suspected fraud to local law enforcement and to its ethics office.