APPLY: Edinburgh Online Mastercard Scholarship for Africans

The University of Edinburgh is offering the 2025 Online Mastercard Scholarship, providing fully funded part-time online Master’s and Postgraduate Diploma programs for students living or working in Africa. This initiative aims to support talented individuals with significant academic and leadership potential who have faced barriers to education.

Benefits:
The Edinburgh Online Mastercard Scholarship is designed to cover three years of part-time online Master’s study or two years of part-time Postgraduate Diploma study. This format allows students to continue working while gaining advanced qualifications in their field of study. The program is especially beneficial for those who prefer to study in their local context, allowing them to stay close to their families and communities while pursuing their academic goals.

Eligibility:
To be eligible for the scholarship, applicants must meet specific academic and demographic criteria. Candidates must have achieved the equivalent of a UK Second Class (Upper) Bachelor’s degree or higher and should be residents or citizens of a Sub-Saharan African country, or hold refugee status. Additionally, applicants must demonstrate a commitment to community service, have faced significant barriers to their education, and be 35 years of age or younger as of September 1, 2025. Notably, the scholarship prioritizes applications from female scholars, those from refugee backgrounds, and individuals with disabilities.

Application process:
To apply for the scholarship, interested candidates must first apply for the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program. Applicants can choose between the Online Master’s program (part-time over three years) or the Online Postgraduate Diploma (part-time over two years). If awarded a scholarship from the Mastercard Foundation, candidates can then proceed to apply for the specific academic program. Those who have already secured a place in an eligible degree program must indicate this in their scholarship application.

Application deadline: December 8, 2024