Sciences Po Mastercard Foundation Scholarship 2027: Fully Funded Two-Year Master's in Paris Closes 23 November or 14 December - ApexTutorial Blog

<p>The Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at Sciences Po in Paris is open for the 2027 intake, offering full funding for a two-year master's degree to African students. For Nigerian applicants, the key condition is the university list: only graduates of 12 named Nigerian institutions can apply through this route, unless they qualify through an approved bridge or mentoring programme or hold or held UNHCR refugee status.</p> <p>There are two application deadlines, and which one you meet decides when you get your master's admission decision. Apply by Monday 23 November 2026 for a master's admission decision by 11 February 2027, or by Monday 14 December 2026 for a decision by 1 April 2027. Scholarship selection results are communicated in April 2027 whichever deadline you use, so the earlier deadline gives you your admission answer sooner but does not speed up the scholarship decision.</p> <p>This is a different programme from the Edinburgh Mastercard Foundation scholarship already covered on this blog: that one is invitation only for the 2027/2028 intake, while Sciences Po is an open application for eligible African graduates to a two-year master's in Paris.</p> <h2>Quick information</h2> <ul> <li>Host: Sciences Po, Paris, France, with the Mastercard Foundation</li> <li>Programme: Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program, graduate study, 2027 intake</li> <li>Level: two-year master's programmes only. One-year master's programmes and dual degrees do not qualify</li> <li>Funding: full financial needs of selected Scholars for the two years of the master's, with support from the Scholars team from acceptance</li> <li>First deadline: Monday 23 November 2026, for a master's admission decision by 11 February 2027</li> <li>Final deadline: Monday 14 December 2026, for a master's admission decision by 1 April 2027</li> <li>Scholarship results: April 2027, whichever deadline you use</li> <li>Application fee: eligible applicants can request an application fee waiver through the Scholars Program route</li> <li>Who this is for: African citizens under 35 on 1 September 2026, with no master's degree, applying to Sciences Po for the first time through this programme</li> </ul> <h2>Who can apply</h2> <p>Every condition below must be met, according to Sciences Po:</p> <ul> <li>Hold the citizenship of an African country. Dual citizens who also hold a non-African nationality are not eligible</li> <li>Be completing, or already hold, a bachelor's degree from one of the universities on Sciences Po's eligible list, or qualify through an approved bridge or mentoring programme, or hold or held UNHCR refugee status</li> <li>Be under 35 on 1 September 2026</li> <li>Not already hold, or be studying for, a master's degree</li> <li>Be applying to this programme for the first time</li> <li>Meet Sciences Po's minimum academic results for your home university's country</li> <li>Apply to and be admitted to a two-year master's programme at Sciences Po</li> </ul> <p>Current Sciences Po students and anyone studying at or graduated from a French university cannot apply.</p> <h2>The 12 eligible Nigerian universities</h2> <p>This is the condition most Nigerian applicants miss. Sciences Po's eligible list includes these 12 Nigerian institutions:</p> <ul> <li>University of Ibadan</li> <li>University of Lagos</li> <li>University of Nigeria, Nsukka</li> <li>Obafemi Awolowo University</li> <li>University of Benin</li> <li>University of Port Harcourt</li> <li>University of Jos</li> <li>Covenant University</li> <li>Osun State University</li> <li>Nile University</li> <li>Pan-Atlantic University</li> <li>Lagos Business School</li> </ul> <p>If your degree is from another Nigerian university, you are not eligible through this route unless you took part in an approved bridge programme, such as the African Leadership Academy or FAWE, or hold or held UNHCR refugee status. Check the official page, linked below, for the full eligible list and the bridge programme conditions before you spend time on an application.</p> <h2>What the scholarship covers</h2> <ul> <li>The full financial needs of selected Scholars for the two years of the master's programme</li> <li>Comprehensive support throughout the two years of study, including online information sessions before arrival in France from the Scholars team</li> <li>An application fee waiver for eligible applicants, requested through the Scholars Program route at the same time as the master's application</li> </ul> <p>Note carefully: being found eligible for the Scholars Program does not guarantee admission to Sciences Po or selection for the scholarship. Eligibility is conditional on admission, so the academic threshold and the master's application matter as much as the scholarship request itself.</p> <h2>How to apply step by step</h2> <ol> <li>Check the academic threshold first. Open Sciences Po's table of minimum academic results and confirm your grades meet the bar for Nigeria. Sciences Po asks candidates who do not meet it not to submit an application, because scholarship eligibility is conditional on admission.</li> <li>Confirm your university is on the eligible list above, or that you qualify through an approved bridge programme or refugee status.</li> <li>Submit your eligibility request on the dedicated Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program application platform, linked from the official page below.</li> <li>At the same time, create an application for a two-year master's programme on the Sciences Po admissions platform. If you skip this step at this stage, you will not be able to benefit from the application fee waiver later, even if you are found eligible afterwards.</li> <li>Complete your master's application, including all required supporting documents, well before any short deadline in the admissions email. Sciences Po warns that the time allowed after that email will be very short.</li> <li>Upload every supporting document. Missing transcripts, missing language test results, or recommendations sent from personal email addresses count as incomplete, and incomplete applications are not reviewed. Ask referees to send recommendations from their official university email addresses.</li> <li>Prepare for selection. Admitted and eligible candidates go through application review and interviews before the scholarship decision in April 2027.</li> </ol> <h2>Documents and details to get ready early</h2> <ul> <li>Your bachelor's degree certificate or evidence that you are completing your bachelor's degree</li> <li>Official transcripts meeting Sciences Po's minimum academic results for Nigeria</li> <li>Language test results where required for your chosen master's programme</li> <li>Recommendations from referees using their official institutional email addresses, not personal email addresses</li> <li>Your chosen two-year master's programme, confirmed as eligible under the Scholars Program before you apply</li> </ul> <h2>Common mistakes to avoid</h2> <ul> <li>Applying from a university that is not on the eligible list, without a qualifying bridge programme or refugee status</li> <li>Applying for a one-year master's or a dual degree, which do not qualify for this scholarship</li> <li>Applying for the scholarship but not creating a master's application on the Sciences Po admissions platform at the same stage, which loses the fee waiver</li> <li>Leaving documents or recommendations until the deadline, when a short admissions email window can leave no time to recover them</li> <li>Using personal email addresses for recommendations, which Sciences Po treats as incomplete</li> <li>Assuming eligibility guarantees admission or selection. It does not: admission and scholarship selection are separate decisions</li> </ul> <h2>Scam warning</h2> <p>This scholarship is applied for through Sciences Po's own platforms, linked below. Do not pay any agent, individual or page for a Sciences Po Mastercard Foundation scholarship slot, an eligibility guarantee, or an admission guarantee. Sciences Po states plainly that eligibility does not guarantee admission or selection, so anyone selling a guaranteed place is not acting for Sciences Po. Do not share your login details, passport details or payment information with unverified individuals or pages.</p> <h2>Important official links</h2> <p><a href="https://www.sciencespo.fr/students/en/fees-funding/bursaries-financial-aid/mastercard-foundation-scholarships/graduate-study/">Sciences Po Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program, graduate study (official programme page, eligibility, deadlines and application platforms)</a></p> <p><a href="https://admission.sciencespo.fr/">Sciences Po admissions platform (create your two-year master's application)</a></p> <h2>Frequently asked questions</h2> <p>What is the final deadline for the Sciences Po Mastercard Foundation Scholarship 2027?</p> <p>There are two deadlines. Apply by 23 November 2026 for a master's admission decision by 11 February 2027, or by 14 December 2026 for a decision by 1 April 2027. Scholarship results are communicated in April 2027 whichever deadline you use.</p> <p>Can any Nigerian graduate apply?</p> <p>No. Nigerians must hold or be completing a bachelor's degree from one of the 12 institutions listed above, unless they qualify through an approved bridge or mentoring programme or hold or held UNHCR refugee status. Other conditions also apply, including being under 35 on 1 September 2026 and not already holding or studying for a master's degree.</p> <p>Does the scholarship cover the full master's?</p> <p>Yes, for selected Scholars it covers their full financial needs for the two years of the master's programme, with support from the Scholars team. It applies only to two-year master's programmes; one-year master's programmes and dual degrees do not qualify.</p> <p>Do I apply for the scholarship and the master's separately?</p> <p>You do both at the same stage: submit your eligibility request on the dedicated Scholars Program platform and create your master's application on the Sciences Po admissions platform. Skipping the master's application at this stage means you cannot benefit from the application fee waiver later, even if you are found eligible afterwards.</p> <p>Does being eligible mean I am admitted or selected?</p> <p>No. Sciences Po states this plainly: being eligible for the Scholars Program does not guarantee admission to Sciences Po or selection for the scholarship. Admission and scholarship selection are separate decisions, and scholarship results come in April 2027.</p> <p>What happens if my recommendations come from personal email addresses?</p> <p>Sciences Po treats recommendations sent from personal email addresses as incomplete, and incomplete applications are not reviewed. Ask your referees to use their official institutional email addresses and confirm they have sent them well before the deadline.</p>