Apply for the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program for graduate study

Students receive the scholarships and financial aid throughout the two years of their Master’s programme.

You can apply to any of the Master’s degree programmes offered at Sciences Po’s seven Graduate Schools.

Admissions timeline for 2025-2026 academic year

• Applications open: end of september 2024
• Deadline for requesting eligibility for the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program: end of November 2024
• Deadline for applying to a Master’s programme at Sciences Po: beginning of December 2024
• Admissions outcome released: mid-February 2025
• Scholarship allocation outcome released: mid-March 2025

Eligibility criteria

To be eligible for the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program, applicants must meet all of the following criteria:

• Be a citizen of a country in Sub-Saharan Africa.
• Be under 35 at the start of the graduate academic year.
• Be enrolled or have already graduated with a Bachelor’s degree from a  university or institution in partnership with Sciences Po or the Mastercard Foundation (list of partners). You must have obtained this degree before the beginning of the Master program at Sciences Po.  You must not have obtained a Master’s degree, nor being registered in a Master’s programme when applying to Sciences Po. 
• Show a commitment  to bringing about change on the African continent and making a genuine impact on the region in the areas of public policy and major political, societal and environmental transitions.
• Have a demonstrable need for higher education funding (please note that proof of your financial circumstances will be required as part of your application).
• Apply for a two-year Master's programme at one of Sciences Po's seven Graduate Schools through the international graduate admissions procedure. Applicants to one-year Master's programmes, dual degree programmes or joint Master's programmes are not eligible for the scholarship.
• Have attained a minimum of C1 level in French or English, depending on the programme you are applying for (see the language requirements for each programme). Please note that programmes are either taught entirely in French, entirely in English, or in both languages.

Procedure for graduate applicants