Sciences Po Mastercard Foundation Scholarship: Master’s Guide

The Sciences Po Mastercard Foundation scholarship supports eligible African students pursuing a two-year master’s degree in France. Begin with the official scholarship eligibility and application-fee-waiver process, then follow the academic admission instructions. Check the current programme conditions and sequence before submitting; a general university application alone may not establish scholarship consideration.

Submitting a general university application without checking that sequence can leave an applicant with an admission file but no valid scholarship consideration.

2026 application timetable

The official graduate scholarship page says the eligibility and application-fee-waiver process runs from October to mid-December 2026. At the time of checking, precise dates and further instructions were still due to be published. This window is not a substitute for your master’s application deadline. Check the linked page again before submitting.

Eligibility: several conditions must be met together

Applicants must be African citizens without additional non-African citizenship, under 35 on 1 September of the application year, and applying to the programme for the first time. They must not already hold or be pursuing a master’s degree.

A qualifying bachelor’s background must connect to an approved partner institution, recognised bridge or mentoring programme, or current or former UNHCR refugee status. Current Sciences Po students and people enrolled in or graduated from French higher education are excluded. Academic thresholds also apply.

Use the complete official eligibility checklist and partner list to assess your own case. Nigerian nationality, or citizenship of another African country, does not by itself satisfy all these conditions.

Which study routes and support are included?

The programme overview describes support for two-year master’s study, covering selected Scholars’ financial needs and providing wider assistance. One-year programmes and dual degrees are excluded from this route. Confirm the financial package and arrival arrangements in your offer rather than relying on a cash figure quoted elsewhere.

How to approach the process

1. Check the official eligibility page first. Record which qualifying educational or refugee-status pathway applies to you.
2. Prepare for the fee-waiver stage. Follow the form and instructions published by the programme; the button below leads to that official starting point.
3. Follow the instructions you receive. Use the appropriate international graduate admission route and meet the relevant course requirements.
4. Keep both stages organised. Retain eligibility correspondence and academic application confirmations separately.
5. Wait for the formal selection outcome. Academic admission alone is not a scholarship award.

Build a document checklist before you upload

Use a simple table with columns for the document requested, the office or person providing it, the required format, and its status. Compare it against the current official instructions. Do not use a checklist circulated in a messaging group as your final authority.

Look for differences in names, dates and qualification titles across your records. Where a discrepancy exists, ask the relevant institution how to explain it. If a document needs translation, confirm the accepted standard before paying for the service.

Write in your own voice

Choose experiences that you can discuss in detail. What did you notice? What action did you take? Where did your first approach fail? What changed after you listened to other people? Those questions help turn an abstract claim about leadership into an account a reader can understand.

Draft your own responses to the actual prompts. Do not copy this guide, a model essay or generated text into a personal statement. Your application should express your independent reflection and accurately represent your work.

Prepare a realistic study and career case

Read the course curriculum closely. Identify the methods or subject knowledge you lack, then explain how acquiring them would improve your next professional step. A specific plan is easier to assess than a promise to solve every development challenge.

Keep an alternative funding plan while awaiting decisions. If a deadline or requirement is unclear, send the programme team a focused question naming your intended course and the rule you need clarified. That is more useful than asking whether you can “get a scholarship” without context.

Official application and scholarship updates

Gallant Edu Travel is an independent information publisher, not the scholarship provider. The institution controls eligibility, deadlines and selection. Joining our WhatsApp channel is optional and is not part of an application.

Illustrative licensed image; it does not depict the named institution or its scholarship recipients.. Explore more scholarship guides.