Full Program Details
The Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at Sciences Po pays the full cost of a two-year master's degree in Paris for African students, and Nigerians from 12 named universities can apply for the 2027 intake. Applications close on 23 November 2026 or 14 December 2026, depending on when you want your admission decision.
Sciences Po says the program "covers the full financial needs of selected Scholars and provides comprehensive support throughout their two years of study."
READ ALSO: CMU-Africa Mastercard Scholars 2027: Master's in Kigali
READ ALSO: SI Scholarship for Global Professionals 2027: Master's in Sweden
Details at a glance
- Host: Sciences Po, Paris, with the Mastercard Foundation
- Level: two-year master's programmes only
- Funding: full financial need for two years, plus support for incoming Scholars
- Who: citizens of an African country under 35 on 1 September 2026, with no master's degree
- Deadline 1: 23 November 2026, for a master's admission decision by 11 February 2027
- Deadline 2: 14 December 2026, for a master's admission decision by 1 April 2027
- Scholarship results: April 2027, whichever deadline you use
- Application fee: a waiver can be requested by eligible applicants
What It Covers
The program covers the full financial needs of each Scholar for the two years of the master's, and Sciences Po's Scholars team supports students from the moment they accept their offer, including online information sessions before arrival in France. Sciences Po was the first university in continental Europe to join the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program.
Who Can Apply
You must meet every one of these conditions, according to Sciences Po:
- Hold the citizenship of an African country. Dual citizens who also hold a non-African nationality are not eligible.
- Be completing, or already hold, a bachelor's degree from one of the universities on Sciences Po's eligible list. Graduates of other universities qualify only through an approved bridge or mentoring programme, or if they hold or held UNHCR refugee status.
- Be under 35 on 1 September 2026.
- Not already hold, or be studying for, a master's degree.
- Be applying to this program for the first time.
- Meet Sciences Po's minimum academic results for your home university's country.
- Apply to and be admitted to a two-year master's. Dual degrees and one-year master's programmes do not qualify.
Current Sciences Po students and anyone studying at or graduated from a French university cannot apply.
Eligible Nigerian universities
This is the condition most Nigerian applicants miss. Sciences Po's official list includes these 12 Nigerian institutions:
| Eligible Nigerian institutions |
|---|
| University of Ibadan |
| University of Lagos |
| University of Nigeria, Nsukka |
| Obafemi Awolowo University |
| University of Benin |
| University of Port Harcourt |
| University of Jos |
| Covenant University |
| Osun State University |
| Nile University |
| Pan-Atlantic University |
| Lagos Business School |
If your degree is from another Nigerian university, you are not eligible through this route unless you took part in one of the approved bridge programmes, such as the African Leadership Academy or FAWE, or hold refugee status.
How to Apply
- Check the academic threshold. Open Sciences Po's table of minimum academic results and confirm your grades meet the bar for Nigeria. If they do not, Sciences Po asks you not to apply.
- Confirm your university is on the list above.
- Apply for the Scholars Program on Sciences Po's dedicated application platform and request the application fee waiver.
- Apply for a two-year master's through Sciences Po's international graduate admissions procedure, the only route that is considered for the scholarship.
- Upload every supporting document. Sciences Po treats missing transcripts, missing language test results or recommendations sent from personal email addresses as incomplete, and incomplete applications are not reviewed.
- Prepare for selection. Admitted and eligible candidates go through application review and interviews before the scholarship decision in April 2027.
Timeline
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| 23 November 2026 | First deadline, admission decision by 11 February 2027 |
| 14 December 2026 | Second deadline, admission decision by 1 April 2027 |
| April 2027 | Scholarship results for all applicants |
The earlier deadline gives you your admission answer sooner, but it does not speed up the scholarship decision.
GizPulse Verdict
Who this is for: graduates of the 12 listed Nigerian institutions, under 35, with strong grades, who want a two-year master's in the social sciences at one of Europe's best-known policy schools and have no master's yet.
Who should pause: anyone from a university not on the list, anyone who already holds a master's, dual citizens with a non-African passport, and anyone eyeing a one-year master's.
One tip: ask your referees now and make sure they send recommendations from their official university email. Sciences Po rejects recommendations from personal email addresses, and it is the easiest way to lose a strong application.
Official page: Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at Sciences Po, graduate study. Last verified: 2 November 2026.
