Edinburgh Mastercard Foundation Scholars

This funds a one-year taught master's at Edinburgh for an African graduate under 35 who has faced real barriers to education. Cameroonians qualify — the rule is written as residence and citizenship in any African country rather than a named list. You need the equivalent of a UK upper second class honours degree, and to have been born on or after 1 January 1992.

The award is comprehensive: tuition, accommodation, flights, a living stipend and study materials, plus a climate leadership programme, with needs-assessed support for scholars with disabilities.

Two things will catch most people. First, the subject list is narrow and climate-weighted — ten named degrees including Food Security, Sustainable Energy Systems, Planetary Health, Climate Change Finance and Investment, and Data, Inequality and Society. You are expected to show experience, or at least ambition, in addressing the climate crisis.

Second, and more dangerous: the process is gated. You cannot reach the application form at all unless you register for and attend one of the mandatory virtual information sessions held between 15 and 24 September 2026. Miss that week and every later date is irrelevant to you.

This card counts down to the Applicant Declaration Form, due 19 October 2026 at 5pm UK time. The main application then closes 19 November. Edinburgh may close the declaration form early once a cap is reached.