Frequently asked questions

Frequently asked questions on the application, interview, and offer stages of the on-campus and online postgraduate scholarship with the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at Edinburgh.

Applications stage

If the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program is the only scholarship you are interested in applying for at the University of Edinburgh, please apply for the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program scholarship only. If you receive a scholarship offer from the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program then you can apply for the academic programme.

If you are also applying for other scholarships at the University of Edinburgh, please apply directly for the degree programme of your choice as well as the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program application. (Please also read the information about programme application fees below).

If you have already secured a place on an eligible degree programme, please indicate in your Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program application form that you have already secured a place on the degree programme.

More information on how to apply can be found on each individual degree programme web page, which can be found on the University degree finder.

Visit the University degree finder


The application link will be made available on this webpage on 1 October 2024 for both the online and on-campus scholarship application forms. We encourage you to familiarise yourself with the information provided on this site, including all FAQs, and the website of your desired degree programme.


Applications for our Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program, for postgraduate degrees only, will open on 1 October 2024 10 am and close on 8 November 2024 at 5 pm UK Time. All applicants must have completed the first stage of the application – the Declaration and Eligibility Assessment by the 31 of October 2024 at 5 pm.


We offer scholarships for the following online degree programmes:

  • Carbon Management (Masters route only) *to be renamed Climate Change Management
  • International Development (Masters route only)
  • Circular Economy (Masters or Diploma)
  • Global Challenges (Masters or Diploma)
  • Global Food Security and Nutrition (Masters or Diploma)
  • One Health (Masters or Diploma)
  • Social Justice and Community Action (Masters or Diploma)
  • Sustainable Lands and Cities (Masters or Diploma)

*Global Challenges- This programme is made up of three postgraduate certificates: PgCert Global Environment Challenges, PgCert Global Health Challenges and PgCert Global Development Challenges. Successful completion of all three of these Certificates leads to the award of the MSc in Global Challenges. Successful completion of any two these Certificates leads to the award of the Diploma in Global Challenges.

We offer scholarships for the following on-campus postgraduate programmes:

  • Africa and International Development
  • Climate Change Finance and Investment
  • Data, Inequality and Society (while there is the option for students to take this Masters in a hybrid format the stipulation for those on an Mastercard Foundation Scholarship and for Tier 4 visa regulations means you will need to undertake the programme in person for the full year)
  • Entrepreneurship and Innovation
  • Food Security
  • Environment and Development
  • Environmental Sustainability
  • Operational Research (While we are aware of the different specialisation options for this programme (with Risk, Computational Optimisation, and Data Science) our scholarship covers the general Operational Research MSc only)
  • Planetary Health
  • Sustainable Energy Systems

No other academic programs at the University of Edinburgh are eligible for this scholarship. You are welcome to apply to any academic programme but only those listed above will make you eligible for a Mastercard Foundation Scholarship.


It is possible for applicants to apply for programmes which vary from their bachelor’s field. We advise that you take the opportunity in your application to demonstrate genuine interest in the programme and how it links to your current and future goals.

To guide you in making the strongest possible application, we would also recommend that you review the eligibility requirements of the programme in which you are interested.


Applicants need not identify as women, refugees, displaced, or with a disability to apply for the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program scholarship. Our eligibility information states we ‘particularly welcome applications’ from these groups as we hope to encourage as diverse and inclusive an application pool as possible.


Persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.

- According to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD)


Young people and youths are individuals between the ages of 15-35 years

-According to the Africa Youth Charter


Along with the Mastercard Foundation, we understand that there are many reasons why young people may be forcibly displaced. If this is part of your story, please articulate it in a way that feels authentic to you in your application. You may have a legal status or another experience of displacement that has created barriers to access to education. We will consider this as we review your application and will be proactive in creating scholarship opportunities for young people who have been displaced.


We do not have any specific eligibility requirements for applicants from refugee and displaced backgrounds. We appreciate that many applicants have persevered through extraordinary challenges and come from a variety of backgrounds. All applicants must meet the eligibility criteria. We strongly encourage those applicants from refugee and displaced backgrounds to apply. 


Due to the large volume of applications and for transparency purposes, we are unable to extend any exemptions. You must meet all the eligibility criteria to be considered for the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program scholarship.

We are unable to make exceptions to eligibility requirements.


Applicants do not need to have graduated from a Mastercard Foundation affiliated institution.


Postgraduate entry: Your final official university degree certificate and final official transcript. You will need to have these to upload this as part of your application.

If you do not have these documents by the application deadline (8 November 2024), you will not be able to proceed with the application.


In the first stage, you will be asked a series of questions to determine whether you meet all the eligibility criteria for the scholarship. If you do not, you will not proceed to the next stage.

If you do meet the eligibility criteria you will be invited to answer a series of short essay questions outlining your personal story, your academic and leadership experience and your future ambition. These responses will then be submitted for review by the Scholarship Program Application Review team to shortlist applications for a university admissions review and then a scholarship interview.


All Mastercard Foundation Scholars Programs have similar, although not identical eligibility criteria. We would encourage you to take your time to tailor your application to each individual institution and think carefully about why you would like to study at each institution you are applying to and shape your responses accordingly.

You are, therefore, most welcome to apply if you meet all required eligibility conditions.


English Language Test results are not a requirement when applying for the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program. 

However, depending on where you did your undergraduate studies you may be required to undertake an English language test as part of the admissions process to the University of Edinburgh unless you already have a valid English language test that meets the University’s minimum. The English test assesses applicants on reading, writing, speaking and listening. We will facilitate successful candidates (where required) to sit English Language Test. 

View the University's postgraduate entry requirements


The support and the study programme is provided entirely in English ONLY.


Each submitted application is read and assessed by representatives from across the University of Edinburgh. This includes a further assessment undertaken by Admissions staff to determine the academic suitability of each application for the specific degree chosen by the applicant.


We will inform candidates whether they have been shortlisted for an interview in early February 2025 for on campus applicants and mid-February 2025 for online applicants.


Applicants are only able to apply for either the online (Masters or Diploma) OR on-campus (Masters) programmes and not both. As we want to ensure candidates are fully invested and interested to pursue a particular study route.


Masters scholarship applicants should not be planning to or have completed a graduate/postgraduate degree already. However, PG-Diploma scholarship applicants can either have an undergraduate or Master’s degree from a Sub-Saharan African university.


Your degree programme application fee will be waived ONLY if you are accepted to the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program - please do not contact Fees or the Admissions office to request a waiver. If you are successfully awarded the Mastercard Foundation scholarship, the Program team will support your application to your degree programme and the application fee will then be waived. If the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program is the only Program you are applying to at the University of Edinburgh, you do not need to apply to your degree programme as part of your application to the Mastercard Foundation Program. You will be supported to apply to your degree programme, ONLY if you are awarded the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program scholarship.

If you are applying to multiple programs at the University of Edinburgh, please check the program application requirements as some may request that you apply for the degree programme as well as the completing a scholarship application (whereas Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program doesn’t, as explained above). If this is the case, you will have to pay for the application fee to your degree programme.


Applying for a degree programme does not automatically put you forward for the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program scholarship. If you have not yet applied for our scholarship, we encourage you to do so before the deadline (8 November 2024, 5pm UK time). You can find the link on our How to Apply page.


The duration for completing postgraduate degrees adheres strictly to specified Program guidelines without offering flexibility. On-campus Masters programs must be completed within 1 year, online Masters programs within 3 years, and online Postgraduate Diplomas within 2 years. However, the MSc Circular Economy and MSc Sustainable Lands and Cities are designed to be completed part-time over 2 years, deviating from the usual timeline for other online Masters programs on the scholarship.


Whether you are using a phone or a computer to make your application, ensure you MARK COMPLETE and click the ‘SUBMIT’ button for you to advance to the next stage of your application. You will receive an email confirming you have submitted the Main Application. If not, first check your junk/spam folder then review your application to confirm that you indeed submitted. 


The Program only covers costs for an individual, and we are unable to provide financial or practical support for family members and other dependents. The University accommodation we provide is also for individuals and cannot be used by family members. 

In principle, a successful candidate could travel with one or more family members, but covering the costs in such cases would be the sole responsibility of the scholars.  Unless family members already have the right to work and live in the UK, obtaining a visa for them is likely to be difficult and usually requires applicants to show evidence of having a significant amount of money available to cover life in the UK. 

For further details, please see the UK government website. 

Studying in the UK on a student visa - family members


Interview and references stage

From early February 2025, on-campus applicants who have been shortlisted will be invited to interview. From mid- February 2025, online applicants who have been shortlisted will be invited to interview.

If invited to interview, you will receive an email to the address you registered with asking you to choose a convenient time slot for your interview. Interviews will usually be held via video connection e.g. MS Teams/ Zoom.

If undertaking your interview via a video connection is not possible, we will work with you to find a solution. We will also request a reference for all short-listed applicants at this stage.


We are keen to know as much as we can about each of our short-listed applicants. A reference is important to ensure we are awarding the scholarship to applicants who meet the eligibility criteria and who will benefit most from the experience at Edinburgh.


You will not need to instruct your referees what to include in their reference letter. The reference letter request will be sent directly to your chosen referee. The referee will be provided with guidance on how to complete the reference for you.

We would encourage you to ensure your chosen referee is aware you have nominated them and that they have explicitly agreed to oblige, as and when requested. These could be your teacher, lecturer, supervisor or mentor. We do not accept references from friends and family members. 


We do not request reference letters at the application stage, you will simply need to provide their name and email address. Referees will be provided with instructions on how to submit a reference only when your application and interviews have been successful. Therefore, this will be around February/March 2025.


All interviews should last approximately 30 minutes. We will ask you questions directly related to the scholarship and it is our opportunity to get to know you better. There will also be a chance for you to ask questions.


Applicants should undertake reasonable preparations to ensure the interview goes smoothly. This includes a quiet environment with a good connection for you to concentrate and for us to hear you.

We understand that sometimes unavoidable technical difficulties can affect the interview and we take this into consideration. As a last resort, we may have to reschedule your interview if we are not able to connect with you at all.


We aim to notify all short-listed applicants of the outcome of their interview as follows:

On-campus applicants by mid-March 2025

Online applicants by the end of March 2025

If you are successful, the outcome will be a conditional offer of the Program. You will then be required to apply to the University of Edinburgh. Over the next few months, the Program team at Edinburgh will support and guide you so that your offer becomes unconditional.


Applicants will receive emails from SM Apply directly. These emails sometimes end up in the junk mail folder by default. To ensure you receive timely updates and notifications regarding your application, we strongly advise marking these emails as 'safe sender' or 'not junk' and regularly checking your junk folder throughout the application process.


Offer stage

We expect applicants who accept their offer to take up their place on the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program. Once your offer is unconditional, the scholarship and admission to the University of Edinburgh is binding.


We will notify shortlisted on-campus applicants by mid of March, and shortlisted online applicants by the end of March whether they have successfully been offered the scholarship.

As much as we are confident you will also gain admission to the University of Edinburgh, for most applicants, the offer is still conditional at this stage and could still be subject to the conditions mentioned above.


Please ensure you have read all the guidance provided to you via this website and the application form. 

If you are still unable to find an answer to your query, please contact the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program team via email at: mcfsp@ed.ac.uk. 

Please also follow us on social media where we will be sharing content to help support those in the application process: 

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