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Become a Mastercard Foundation Scholar at graduate level

The Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program is open to students who are admitted onto a master’s programme at Sciences Po and who meet the eligibility criteria for the scholarship. Students receive the scholarships and financial aid throughout the two years of their master’s programme.

Only admitted students to a master’s programme at Sciences Po can join the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at Sciences Po. You can apply to any of the Master’s degree programmes offered at Sciences Po’s Graduate Schools, except the School of Journalism, the dual degree programmes and the one year master’s programme.

Admissions timeline for the 2026-2028 Program

Exact dates will be published soon.

If you want to apply to both Sciences Po and the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program, we strongly advise you to begin preparing and assembling the supporting documents you need for your application well in advance, as it will certainly take a long time to obtain some of them (see below).

Application platform opens: September 2025
Application deadline for Master’s programmes and the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program: beginning of December 2025
Sciences Po admissions decisions released: mid-February 2026 at the latest
Scholarship allocation decisions released: end of March 2026
Master’s programmes begin: end of August 2026

Eligibility criteria for the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program

You must meet all of the following criteria to be eligible for the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program:

Hold citizenship in a country within Africa. Candidates who hold a second citizenship from a country outside the African continent are not eligible.
Have completed or be currently enrolled in a Bachelor's degree programme at one of Sciences Po’s institutions of reference (see the list of institutions).
Or Have completed or are currently enrolled in a training foundation or mentoring programme offered by a bridging programme organisation partnering with the Mastercard Foundation (see the list of institutions).
Be in genuine need of funding for your higher education (please note: documents proving your financial situation will be required for your application).
Show a commitment to achieving change in Africa, particularly in the areas of public policy and major political, environmental and societal transitions.
Be under 35 when you begin your Master’s programme.
Not already hold a Master’s degree.
Be applying for a two-year Master’s programme at one of Sciences Po’s Graduate Schools. Applicants for one-year Master’s, dual degrees or joint Master’s programmes and the Master’s programmes of the School of Journalism are not eligible for the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program.

Applying for the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program

To be selected for the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program, you must first be accepted onto a Master’s programme at one of Science s Po’s Graduate Schools.

You will need to apply for your chosen Master’s programme and the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program via the international graduate admissions procedure.

We also recommend you to read the Sciences Po application guide before starting your application. Several information sessions online and in person, will be organised between April and November 2025. Dates and registration information will be published on the Program’s LinkedIn and Instagram page. Don’t hesitate to follow this page, where valuable information about the Program will be posted regularly.

Application process

If you meet the eligibility criteria for the scholarship, you will be exempt from paying the Sciences Po application fee and may submit your application for a master’s programme online for free.

Please note that:

Exemption from paying the Sciences Po application fee doesn't mean or guarantee you will be accepted into the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program. Being eligible for the Program doesn’t mean that you will be awarded the scholarship.
If you don’t meet the eligibility criteria for the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program, you won’t be able to apply for the Program, however, you can still apply to a master’s programme at Sciences Po. In this case, you will need to pay the application fee.

Your overall application is evaluated via the international graduate admissions procedure (review each step of the procedure). At the end of this evaluation process, the Admissions Department will inform you of the outcome of your application. If you are accepted onto a master’s programme, and candidate for the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program, your application will proceed to the following steps.

Please note that:

Before starting your application, you must read the eligibility and selection criteria for a master’s programme at Sciences Po.
The minimum academic requirements (around 70-80%) to be accepted at Sciences Po are listed (consult the table of minimum academic requirements). If your undergraduate grades are under the minimum required, your application for a master’s at Sciences Po will not be considered.
Your admission onto a Master’s programme is a prerequisite for the assessment of your application for the 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. The domestic procedure is only for candidates who hold a degree from a French university obtained in France or abroad.
Incomplete applications will not be assessed. This means that if one supporting document from your application is missing (i.e. transcript records from the first year of your Bachelor’s, recommendation letter from a professor etc.), your application will automatically be rejected and not considered.
Acceptance to Sciences Po does not guarantee you will be accepted into the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program.

Once you have been admitted to Sciences Po, your application for the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program will be evaluated against the Program’s own criteria. If your application catches the evaluators' attention, you will receive an invitation email for a remote interview (online).

Please note:

Being admitted to a Master's programme does not guarantee you will be shortlisted for an interview. You can be admitted to a master’s programme at Sciences Po, be eligible for the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program and not be shortlisted for an interview.
Being shortlisted for an interview does not guarantee you will be selected for the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program. You can be accepted onto a Master’s programme, be eligible for the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program, be shortlisted for an interview and not be awarded the scholarship.

Sciences Po’s Scholarship Selection Committee decides collegially on which applicants are awarded scholarships.

The Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at Sciences Po Team will inform you whether the selection committee has decided to award you the scholarship. Before you can receive your funding, you must carefully review the rights and obligations set out in your award letter and confirm your acceptance.

The process of supporting and assisting new Scholars begins as soon as the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at Sciences Po Team receives your acceptance of the offer.

Preparing your application

Before you begin your application, please check you meet the selection criteria for Sciences Po's graduate programmes and the specific language requirements for each programme. Sciences Po offers English, French and bilingual programmes.

We strongly advise you to begin preparing and assembling the supporting documents you need for your application well in advance (before the application platform opens):

All supporting documents required for international graduate admissions to Sciences Po.
Valid photo ID.
Proof of income (or lack thereof) demonstrating your financial circumstances: tax documents and/or income statements; scholarship certificates; or any other legal document attesting to your financial situation. You must submit at least one document with your application. Bank statements will not be accepted. If you are currently receiving a scholarship (from the Mastercard Foundation or another funding body), or have received one in the past, please also attach the scholarship certificate.
Proof of current or past enrolment at one of Sciences Po’s institutions of reference.

Program’s admission criteria

The Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program is highly selective and the scholarship is awarded on the basis of the following criteria:

Demonstrable adequation between the degree held, the choice of Master’s programme at Sciences Po, the personal and academic background and the future professional plans.
Ability to demonstrate critical thinking and perceptiveness in understanding and analysis of major contemporary political, economic and societal challenges facing Africa and the rest of the world.
Ambition, originality and tenacity in pursuing entrepreneurial or social impact projects aimed at achieving socio-economic change in Africa.

Students are encouraged to express themselves authentically in their motivation letters and to draw on specific experiences to explain how joining the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program will enable them to achieve change. Misuse of Artificial Intelligence to answer the questions will prove a disadvantage to the application.

In line with the values of inclusion, diversity and equal opportunities, which underpin the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program, special consideration will be given to applications from refugees, displaced persons and persons with disabilities.

Important

The offer to join the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at Sciences Po is valid only for the intake of the year in which you were selected.
If you choose to defer your admission at Sciences Po for one year, you will no longer be able to apply for the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program.
If you do not meet the scholarship eligibility criteria, you will not be able to apply for the Program but may proceed with your application to Sciences Po once you have paid the application fee.
We also recommend applying for the Emile Boutmy scholarship.
If you are admitted to Sciences Po but not selected for the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program, it will be your responsibility to find other means of funding your studies at Sciences Po.
Current Sciences Po students cannot apply for the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program.

Contact us

Have a question about the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at Sciences Po?

Read our FAQ page (PDF).

If you can’t find an answer on our FAQ page, reach out to us directly at the following address: info.mcfsp@sciencespo.fr.

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Prospective students

Download the brochure (PDF, 2,9 Mo)

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