There is no separate scholarship form
The most common mistake is looking for a scholarship application. There isn’t one. You apply for a Cambridge master’s course through the normal postgraduate portal, opt in for funding, and select the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program if you meet the course’s entry requirements. You then write a scholarship statement covering your career and education history, your leadership potential, how the scholarship will help you reach your goals, and how you hope to contribute to sustainable futures in Africa. The steps are on the programme’s how to apply page, and you can check whether your degree meets Cambridge’s entry requirements with the international qualifications checker linked there.
The funding deadline comes before the admissions deadline
Every Cambridge course has two dates, and for this scholarship only the earlier one matters. For Michaelmas 2027 entry, the MPhil in Development Studies accepts applications until 26 January 2027, but its Course Funding Deadline is 8 December 2026. The MPhil in Modern South Asian Studies closes to applications on 25 February 2027, with a funding deadline of 6 January 2027. The gap can be wider still: the MPhil in Engineering for Sustainable Development and the MPhil in Bioscience Enterprise stay open for applications until 13 May 2027, but their funding deadlines are 8 December 2026 and 6 January 2027. The MPhil in Conservation Leadership closes to all applicants on 8 December. Each course page also shows 14 October 2026 labelled “Gates Cambridge US round only”, which applies to US citizens applying to Gates Cambridge and not to this programme. Look at the funding deadline on your own course’s page before you plan anything else, and if it is unclear, the programme says to ask the department.
Check the fee-waiver list before 20 November
The application fee is waived for every applicant who meets their course’s academic entry requirements, but how you get the waiver depends on your country. For applicants from Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo (Dem. Rep.), Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda and Zambia, the fee is waived automatically when you submit. Everyone else, including applicants from Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Egypt and South Africa, must send the Application Fee Waiver Form with a copy of their transcript and passport by 20 November 2026. The programme says to complete it as early as possible. You get the waiver for one course only, so choose the course you are best suited to and put your effort into that application.
What is paid for, and what is not
The programme’s what we offer page says it covers course fees, a monthly living allowance and a return flight, plus the student visa and the Immigration Health Surcharge. The FAQ adds a taxi into Cambridge and a laptop. The size of the living allowance is not published. The programme does not pay for family members: the FAQ explains that since January 2024 the UK Home Office has not allowed students on one-year master’s courses to bring a spouse or children on their visa, and that the programme cannot support travel for a spouse or child. For how the visa and the health surcharge work, see our guide to studying in the UK. Scholars also get a week-long orientation, mentoring, a leadership programme run with the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, and support for a 3 to 6 month placement with an Africa-based organisation.
Two rounds of selection
Your department decides first. Departments select on a rolling basis, with offers between December and February, using your course application only and not your scholarship statement, and some interview shortlisted candidates. Only applicants who receive a course offer go forward to the programme team, which reads both the course application and the scholarship statement. The programme’s timeline puts its own selection in late February or early March, and scholarship offer letters are sent in March or April. The FAQ says you normally have 10 working days from the offer to confirm acceptance. You can apply without an English test result, in which case a successful application gets a conditional offer. Outstanding documents, usually including IELTS, are due by 31 July, and most courses ask for an overall score of 7.0 or 7.5, so check your course’s requirement early. The offer cannot be moved to the following year if you cannot take up your place.
Check the UK visa position first
An offer and a scholarship do not guarantee a UK Student visa. Cameroon and Sudan are African countries covered by the UK government’s visa brake, which the government says refuses Student visa applications made from outside the UK by nationals of Afghanistan, Cameroon, Myanmar and Sudan and is reviewed regularly. Cambridge also says affected nationals cannot request a cross-year deferral of a place. If you hold one of those nationalities, read the government page before you spend time and money on an application.
How it differs from Gates Cambridge
This is a master’s-only award for Africans. The FAQ says it does not fund PhDs and points PhD applicants to the Cambridge Trust Changemakers Scholarship, Gates Cambridge and the Harding PhD scholarships. If you are an African applicant choosing between this award and Gates Cambridge, read our Gates Cambridge Scholarship entry as well; the programme’s pages do not say whether one application can be considered for both. This programme also has a theme. Most full-time master’s courses qualify, but your statement must show a commitment to sustainability and climate resilience and to giving back to Africa. Women, refugees, internally displaced people and people with disabilities are particularly encouraged to apply. The programme was established in 2022 and aims to bring 500 students from across Africa to Cambridge for a master’s by 2030.