Applications are now open for the Winter 2026 intake Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at University of British Columbia in Canada

Ednah Carrick September 5, 2025

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Closing Date: 15 October 2025

Applications are now open for the Winter 2026 intake Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at University of British Columbia in Canada

Overview

The University of British Columbia (UBC) is pleased to be partnering with The Mastercard Foundation to foster the next generation of African leaders. After supporting over 171 Mastercard Foundation Scholars in its first phase, The Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at University of British Columbia will provide 351 academically talented young people from Africa with access to quality and relevant university education at UBC. After graduating, the Mastercard Foundation Scholars will then utilize their learning and experiences to contribute to the economic growth and social transformation of their communities in Africa.

Prospective Scholars- Become a Mastercard Foundation Scholar at UBC

Apply to join the next-generation of leaders who are committed to driving change through sustainable leadership and community-led development. UBC empowers young people in 4 main ways:

Access & Thrive: Enable young people particularly women, refugees, internally displaced people and persons with disabilities, to access high quality education with intentional and tailored wrap-around support that will ignite them to be transformative leaders driving inclusive and socio-economic change in Africa.

Community-Engaged Learning: UBC is invested in articulating an experiential education to enable students to apply their knowledge to help address critical social and environmental issues through collaboration with diverse community partners and stakeholder. This progressive learning journey enables students to align with community aspirations. Phase 2 will deepen its existing network with partners in Africa to provide Mastercard Foundation Scholars with meaningful transition into their careers.

Dignified & Fulfilling Work: UBC scholars benefit from academic and social support programs such as GradStart, faculty-focused orientation, degree program specific orientations, and programs focused on student wellbeing and personal development.

Agency & Voice: Mastercard Foundation Scholars are provided opportunities in a variety of hands-on learning experiences and enriched educational training to develop their skills, mindsets, agency, and voice that will enable them to transition to meaningful employment and/or entrepreneurship.

What the scholarship Covers

Tuition & Books
Flights & Immigration support
Room and Board
Stipends for living expenses
Health Insurance
Career services & Support
Access to a global Mastercard Foundation alumni network
**Social Entrepreneurship Fund (Initiative for scholars who are enterprising and want to start a venture back on the continent)

Eligibility

To be eligible for consideration for the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at UBC, the applicant must:

have completed a Bachelor’s degree;
not already have a Master’s degree;
be 35 years old or younger at the time of application (i.e. born in 1990 or after);
be a citizen or a refugee of an African country;
be applying for a Master’s degree in one of the eligible programs listed below;
meet the minimum academic requirements of the program they are applying to.
- Consult the link below identifying the Minimum Academic Requirements/International Credentials for Graduate Students, listed by country to determine your academic eligibility for the degree program and the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program.
- If your Bachelor’s degree was not taught in English, make arrangements to take an English Proficiency Exam (TOEFL or IELTS) and have the results sent to UBC. Please visit this website to confirm whether you meet UBC’s English requirement.

How To Apply

1. DECIDE your Program(s) of Interest from the list

This scholarship is for the following programs ONLY

Faculty of Land and Food Systems
Faculty of Forestry
Faculty of Science
- Master of Data Science

2. Submit an expression of interest by September 12th 2025.

General Stream– For all interested candidates (except refugees), click here (https://ubc.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_abEbecGlW7Z0LMW) to submit an expression of interest.

Refugees Only Stream– If you are submitting an expression of interest, click here (https://ubc.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_4UT66EElsr19oGi) to submit an expression of interest.

Round 1

3. Applicants who are eligible will be invited to apply to the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at University of British Columbia by October 15th 2025.

The selection process for applications is based on the following criteria:

Academic merit of the candidate that qualifies for admissions to the program of choice
Track record as a transformative leader and service within their community.
Quality of application in line with the Program theme.
Potential impact on the development of the applicant’s home country.

Your fully completed application should include (all in one application form online):

Complete the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program Application Form.
Note: for the personal statements, succinctly answer each question.
Submit a CV/resume.
Provide two reference letters on official letterhead. Attach these to the application. DO NOT email them
Transcripts.

Round 2

4. Apply to your UBC Faculty by November 26th 2025. Late applications will not be considered.

Once your Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at UBC application is complete, successful applicants will receive an email with instructions to submit an online application to UBC. Review the instructions for faculty applications
You may be eligible for a fee waiver if your citizenship and correspondence address is located in one of the world’s 50 least developed countries, according to the United Nations. Please visit this website to check which countries are on the list: If your country is not listed above, please request a fee waiver when you are submitting your Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program application package. If you are invited to move to the Faculty Application step, UBC will provide instruction on how to use a fee waiver during the program application process. If you submit your application without applying your fee waiver, UBC is unable to provide a refund.