FAQ: Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program

The only admission procedure for applying to a Master’s programme and the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program is through the international graduate admission procedure.

No. The domestic procedure is only for students who obtained a French diploma in an institution located in France or abroad. The only procedure opened for the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at Sciences Po is the international graduate admission procedure.

No, the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program is only opened to applicants at the graduate level.

No, only two-year master’s degree programmes are eligible.

No, all master’s degree programmes are in person for a duration of two years (ten months per year).

There is no requirement of language to apply to the Program to the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at Sciences Po, which welcomes students from both francophone and anglophone countries.

However, to be admitted to a master’s degree programme at Sciences Po, you must meet the language requirement of the master’s degree programme you are applying for.

More information on the language requirements for each master’s degree programme.

You must submit your application with all the required documents. If you meet the eligibility criteria for the Program, you will be exempt from paying the Sciences Po application fee and may submit your overall application online for free.

Please note that:

• Receiving an application fee waiver does not guarantee the admission to Sciences Po nor the acceptance into the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program. These are successive stages, and you will be informed of each one as it happens.
• If you do not receive a fee waiver, you can still apply to a Sciences Po master’s degree programme, but your application will not be considered for the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program.

Yes, you can apply to Sciences Po even if you are not eligible for the fee waiver for the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program. In this case, you will need to pay for the application fee and your application will only be considered for the admission at Sciences Po.

No, candidates who are currently enrolled in a master’s degree programme at Sciences Po, are not eligible to the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program.

No, if you already obtained a master’s degree you are not eligible to the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program.

However, you can apply for a master’s degree programme at Sciences Po.

No, it is not possible to apply for the program twice. If your application is not selected for the 2025 intake, you will not be able to apply for the next (2026) intake. 

No. The Mastercard Foundation scholarships are only awarded to students who are admitted in a master’s degree programme at Sciences Po. If you want to apply for the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program, you need to apply to one of Sciences Po’s master’s degree programmes. The application is through one single procedure and platform.

The Program will support you for the duration of your graduate studies at Sciences Po, i.e .2 years. Every master’s programme is in person, in Paris.

No. The scholarship is only awarded to the Scholars themselves. It cannot be extended to family members.

Each master’s degree programme has an academic advisor, you can find the contact of your academic advisor online on the “contact” section of your Master’s programme.