The admission deadline sits underneath this one
The scholarship closes on 31 October 2026, but you cannot apply for it on its own. The form asks for your UCT applicant number or campus ID and carries a notice that applications are only considered if you have first applied for admission to a UCT programme. UCT’s 2027 Directions for Postgraduate Applicants sets 30 September 2026 as the submission date for coursework postgraduate programmes unless a programme lists another date, so many readers have already passed it. The same document says applications after the closing date may be considered depending on the department, which is worth an email to the department rather than assuming it is over. Several programmes list later dates: the Master’s in Public Health and the postgraduate diplomas in Nephrology Nursing and Ophthalmic Nursing close on 31 October 2026, the postgraduate diploma in Health Professional Education on 15 November 2026, and the one in Health Leadership on 6 December 2026. The Master of Engineering in Radar, the Master of Engineering in Telecommunications and the honours in Materials Science close on 31 January 2027. Check your exact programme in that document before you start.
How the two applications fit together
There are two separate steps. First, you apply to UCT for a place through its online application system, which gives you an applicant number. UCT charges postgraduate applicants from outside the SADC region a non-refundable R300 fee, and R100 for South Africa and the SADC region. Second, you complete the scholarship application form, quoting that number, your full name as it appears on your birth certificate or passport, and the email address you used for UCT. UCT says the scholarship can only go to an applicant who receives an offer of admission.
The documents that prove financial need
Most of the form is about your circumstances rather than your grades. You must upload each required document type: proof of address (a bank statement, a utility or council bill, or a school letter to your parents or caregiver), documents about your family’s financial status such as a parent’s or guardian’s bank statements or records of social or government grants, and the number of people in your household. You also upload a CV of no more than three pages, covering your education, any work, extra-curricular activities, community engagement and leadership roles. The postgraduate essay is capped at 2,000 words and asks about the qualities that define leadership and how the programme would help you contribute to the economic and social development of your community, your country and the continent, including any community service, leadership or entrepreneurship you have done. You can upload up to two recommendation letters, from a teacher or lecturer, a religious leader or a previous employer, each with the referee’s full name and contact details. UCT also asks you to declare whether you have applied to other partner universities’ programmes.
What the award pays for, and what it expects
UCT’s announcement lists tuition fees, a laptop, accommodation on UCT’s campuses, living expenses, medical aid, a study visa where applicable, and annual travel to and from UCT. Support is renewed each year, not promised for the whole degree, and depends on your academic performance, your conduct and your participation in the programme’s development activities, which include mentoring, leadership development, internships and community engagement. UCT encourages applications from young women, people living with disabilities, refugees and forcibly displaced young people. UCT’s pages give no figure for the number of awards or the value of the stipend, so do not plan around a number you have not been given.
Which UCT routes it does and does not cover
This is a taught-programme route. It does not cover part-time study, a master’s by dissertation or a PhD, which UCT says plainly. Students admitted to the Integrated Master’s Programme through the African Climate and Development Initiative, and to the Healthy Futures South Africa programme through the Africa Health Collaborative, are eligible. For doctoral study, see the separate African Climate Collaborative PhD Fellowships, which has its own deadline and form.
How this differs from the wider Mastercard Foundation programme
This is one partner route within the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program, which runs through many universities and organisations, each with its own deadline and rules. Applying here does not enter you for any other partner. UCT’s form asks you to say whether you have applied elsewhere in the network so that awards can be shared out fairly, so answer that honestly. For other routes for African students, see our guide to where the money actually is.