Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at the University of British Columbia (Graduate)
University of British Columbia with the Mastercard Foundation
Active MCF program at UBC (phase supporting 351 African scholars): fully funded master's places in forestry, food and resource economics, food science, geomatics and data science for citizens or refugees of African countries aged 35 or under. Opens 31 Aug 2026; EOI due 6 Sept.
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Eligibility
- Who can apply
- Africa
- Education required
- Bachelors completed
- Age
- up to 35 (35 years old or younger at the time of application (i.e. born in 1990 or after))
- Fields
- Agriculture, Environment, Data science, Economics
- Language
- English proficiency exam (TOEFL or IELTS) required if the bachelor's degree was not taught in English; must meet UBC program admission requirements
- Residency
- Citizen or refugee of an African country (separate application stream for refugees and displaced persons)
- Also required
- Completed bachelor's degree and no existing master's degree
- Meet the minimum admission requirements of the chosen eligible UBC master's program
- Selection considers academic merit, track record as a transformative leader and community service, alignment with the program theme, and potential impact on home-country development
- Multi-stage process: expression of interest, invited scholarship application, then faculty/program application
About this opportunity
UBC's Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program (confirmed active) supports talented young Africans at graduate level; its second phase focuses on forestry, agriculture, and water and land management as enablers of sustainable entrepreneurship and community-led development, aiming to support 351 scholars. Eligible 2027 programs: Master of Food and Resource Economics, Food Science, Sustainable Forest Management, International Forestry, Urban Forestry Leadership, Geomatics for Environmental Management, MSc/MASc Forestry (thesis) and Data Science.
Eligibility: citizen or refugee of an African country; 35 or younger (born 1990 or after); completed bachelor's; no existing master's; meets program admission requirements; English test if the bachelor's was not taught in English. Process: expression of interest by 6 Sept 2026, invited application 15-30 Sept, faculty application 1-20 Nov 2026.
- Level
- Master's
- Where
- Canada
- Number of awards
- Not stated for the 2027 intake (current program phase supports 351 scholars in total)
- Difficulty
- High · about 4 weeks to prepare
Funding
Fully funded
Comprehensive Mastercard Foundation scholarship; the UBC pages fetched do not itemise the components (tuition, travel, housing, stipend), so the covers list is left empty. Confirm with scholars.admissions@ubc.ca.
What you will need
- Other documents
- CV / résumé
- Reference letters (2)
- Academic transcripts
- Language test (e.g. IELTS/TOEFL)
Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program application form, CV/resume, two reference letters on official letterhead attached to the application (not emailed), transcripts, and TOEFL/IELTS if applicable; later a full UBC graduate admission application.
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