APPLY NOW! Berkeley Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program 2025

APPLY NOW! Berkeley Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program 2025

Application Sequence

Master’s degree program prospective applicants must first apply to the University through the regular admissions process before they can be nominated for the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program. After the graduate degree program admissions process is underway, the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at UC Berkeley will invite prospective candidates to apply for the Scholarship. If a graduate program has multilple admission rounds with staggered deadlines, only those who submit applications in the first round can be considered for the Scholars Program.

Eligibility 

The main eligibility criteria are:

• Being a citizen of a Sub-Saharan African country: This includes Africans who are refugees or displaced within the African continent. This scholarship is not intended for citizens of North African countries. Those with dual citizenship, asylee, refugee or permanent resident status in the US, Canada, UK or EU are not eligible.
• Having academic talent: All prospective Scholars must first be admitted to a UC Berkeley master’s degree program to be considered for the Scholarship. An important criteria for admission to the University is demonstrated academic excellence.
• Demonstrating leadership potential: The Program seeks those committed to developing the skills and mindsets associated with transformative leadership, i.e, that which engages others in an ethical manner to generate positive and lasting change.
• Coming from a socio-economically disadvantaged background: This Scholarship is designed for those extremely talented individuals who might not otherwise have access to quality further education.
• Having demonstrated the commitment to give back to your community, country, or continent: We are looking for well-rounded students who are engaged in activities beyond the classroom. Some may be directly related to your field of study, but this may also include other issues (social, economic, political) that you are working on and passionate about. Applicants should elaborate on their achievements both in their application to UC Berkeley, and then later in the Scholarship application.
• Having expressed the desire and intention to return to your home country after completing your studies: We are looking for students who are engaged with and passionate about issues affecting their communities, and who will take advantage of their education at UC Berkeley to better equip themselves with the knowledge and training to address these issues upon return. While important work can be done from abroad, the intention of the Program is to enable Scholars to return home, after forming valuable professional connections through internships, academic training and job placements.

Deadlines and Requirements

Graduate application deadlines vary by program. Please visit the Graduate Division Admissions Website(link is external) for up to date information on:

• Program deadlines(link is external)
• Admission requirements(link is external)
• Information for international students(link is external)

Which Master’s Degree program?

Please note that bachelor and doctoral programs do not qualify for the Scholars Program at UC Berkeley.

UC Berkeley offers many master’s degree programs. The following are eligible for the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program:

• Architecture (M.Arch)(link is external)
  • We only fund the two-year program. 
• Art (MFA)(link is external)
• Business Administration (MBA)(link is external)
  • MBA students need to secure additional funding from Haas Business School through obtaining Haas scholarships(link is external), which requires meeting the Round One application deadline(link is external). We encourage you to contact us if you are interested to learn more details about this unique process.
    • Education (MA)(link is external)
    • Energy & Resources (ERG)(link is external)
    • Engineering (M.DevEng, M.Eng, MS)
      • Master of Engineering (M.Eng), various concentrations (link is external)
      • Master of Science Civil and Environmental Engineering (MS)(link is external)
      • Industrial Engineering and Operations Research (MS)(link is external)
      • Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (MS)(link is external)
      • Mechanical Engineering (MS)(link is external)
      • Master of Development Engineering (M.DevEng)(link is external)
      • Master of Design (M.Des)(link is external)
    • College of Chemistry
      • Bioprocess Engineering (MBPE)(link is external)
      • Chemical Engineering (PDP)(link is external)
    • Folklore (MA)(link is external)
    • Journalism (MJ)(link is external)
      • Only applicants who meet the Round 1 deadline can be considered.
    • Information Management & Systems (MIMS)(link is external)
    • Global Studies (MA)(link is external)
    • Public Health (MPH, MS, MA)
      • Community Health Sciences (MPH)(link is external)
      • Health Policy and Management (MPH)(link is external)
      • Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology (MPH)(link is external)
      • Interdisciplinary Division (MPH)(link is external)
      • Environmental Health Sciences (MPH, MS)(link is external)
      • Epidemiology (MPH, MS)(link is external)
      • Biostatistics (MPH, MA)(link is external)
    • Environmental Science, Policy, and Management (MF, MS)
      • Masters of Forestry (MF)(link is external)
      • Masters of Science in Rangeland and Wildlife Management (MS) (link is external)
    • Public Policy (MPP)(link is external)
    • Social Welfare (MSW)(link is external)
    • LL.M. Programs(link is external) – Traditional(link is external)
    • Translational Medicine (MTM)(link is external)

    Contact us(link sends e-mail) if you are interested in UC Berkeley programs not listed here.

    Note: We only make awards for master’s degree program that are two years or less. Hence, concurrent and dual degree programs are not eligible since they take longer than two years.

    When considering any program, please keep in mind that it is your motivation for choosing your field, as well as your career goals that will determine if you are eligible for the Scholarship. Please revisit Eligibility Requirements to see if your goals are in line with those of the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program.

    Application Guidance and Tips

    • Watch the 2023 informational webinar(link is external) that took place during the UC Berkeley Diversity Recruitment Fair.
    • Mastercard Foundation Application Tip Series(link is external).
    • Resources from UC Berkeley’s Graduate Division
      • Steps for prospective students(link is external)
      • Getting into Graduate School (link is external)program.
      • Attend the next online Graduate Diversity Admissions Fair(link is external). Dates are annually announced in August.

• Education (MA)(link is external)
• Energy & Resources (ERG)(link is external)
• Engineering (M.DevEng, M.Eng, MS)
  • Master of Engineering (M.Eng), various concentrations (link is external)
  • Master of Science Civil and Environmental Engineering (MS)(link is external)
  • Industrial Engineering and Operations Research (MS)(link is external)
  • Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (MS)(link is external)
  • Mechanical Engineering (MS)(link is external)
  • Master of Development Engineering (M.DevEng)(link is external)
  • Master of Design (M.Des)(link is external)
• College of Chemistry
  • Bioprocess Engineering (MBPE)(link is external)
  • Chemical Engineering (PDP)(link is external)
• Folklore (MA)(link is external)
• Journalism (MJ)(link is external)
  • Only applicants who meet the Round 1 deadline can be considered.
• Information Management & Systems (MIMS)(link is external)
• Global Studies (MA)(link is external)
• Public Health (MPH, MS, MA)
  • Community Health Sciences (MPH)(link is external)
  • Health Policy and Management (MPH)(link is external)
  • Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology (MPH)(link is external)
  • Interdisciplinary Division (MPH)(link is external)
  • Environmental Health Sciences (MPH, MS)(link is external)
  • Epidemiology (MPH, MS)(link is external)
  • Biostatistics (MPH, MA)(link is external)
• Environmental Science, Policy, and Management (MF, MS)
  • Masters of Forestry (MF)(link is external)
  • Masters of Science in Rangeland and Wildlife Management (MS) (link is external)
• Public Policy (MPP)(link is external)
• Social Welfare (MSW)(link is external)
• LL.M. Programs(link is external) – Traditional(link is external)
• Translational Medicine (MTM)(link is external)

Contact us(link sends e-mail) if you are interested in UC Berkeley programs not listed here.

Note: We only make awards for master’s degree program that are two years or less. Hence, concurrent and dual degree programs are not eligible since they take longer than two years.

When considering any program, please keep in mind that it is your motivation for choosing your field, as well as your career goals that will determine if you are eligible for the Scholarship. Please revisit Eligibility Requirements to see if your goals are in line with those of the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program.

Application Guidance and Tips

• Watch the 2023 informational webinar(link is external) that took place during the UC Berkeley Diversity Recruitment Fair.
• Mastercard Foundation Application Tip Series(link is external).
• Resources from UC Berkeley’s Graduate Division
  • Steps for prospective students(link is external)
  • Getting into Graduate School (link is external)program.
  • Attend the next online Graduate Diversity Admissions Fair(link is external). Dates are annually announced in August.

Application Ongoing

CLICK HERE TO APPLY