Overview
Applications are open for the University of Cape Town Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program 2027, which provides comprehensive support to academically talented young people from African countries who face significant social and economic barriers.
Complete scholarship details
The 2027 programme supports eligible applicants who have applied to qualifying UCT undergraduate or taught postgraduate programmes. Eligible postgraduate routes include specified postgraduate diplomas in Health Sciences, honours programmes across UCT's six faculties and coursework master's programmes. The programme does not cover part-time study or research-only master's/PhD routes. Undergraduate scholarship applications close 30 September 2026, while eligible postgraduate scholarship applications close 31 October 2026. Undergraduate admission applications to UCT are already closed, so the undergraduate scholarship route is relevant to candidates who already submitted a qualifying UCT admission application.
Eligibility requirements
Applicants must be citizens of an African country, including South Africa, demonstrate academic talent, show significant social and economic barriers to higher education, and demonstrate leadership potential and commitment to giving back to their communities. Applicants must also meet UCT admission and programme-specific requirements for an eligible bachelor's or taught postgraduate programme.
Tips for this scholarship
Practical Job and Scholarship guidance. These tips do not replace official rules or create new eligibility requirements.
- Check eligibility, funding coverage, study/project level and every required document before investing time in the application.
- Prepare transcripts, references, language tests, proposal/motivation statement and proof documents early.
- Separate the scholarship deadline from any university/program admission deadline; they may be different.
- Treat “fully funded” as a source fact only when the official provider explicitly confirms the covered costs.
Verification notes
Verified against the official University of Cape Town Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program application page. Eligibility, supported study routes and separate undergraduate/postgraduate deadlines were preserved from the first-party source.
Job and Scholarship is the discovery and verification layer. Confirm eligibility, dates, salary/funding and application instructions on the original source before submitting anything.
University of Cape Town ↗Browse current Job and Scholarship listings from University of Cape Town →
