Mastercard Foundation AfOx Scholarships (University of Oxford)

The Mastercard Foundation AfOx Scholarships fund African students to pursue graduate study at the University of Oxford. They come out of a partnership between Oxford’s Africa Oxford Initiative and the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program, and in recent cycles around 60 to 70 awards have been available for full-time one-year taught master’s courses, with a small separate allocation for the Said Business School MBA.

The funding is comprehensive. It covers full course fees including college fees and university levies for the entire duration of your fee liability, plus a living costs grant set at the UKRI minimum doctoral stipend rate, which came to at least 21,805 pounds for recent MBA awards. Logistical support may include a return economy flight, visa guidance and settling-in orientation. Beyond the money, scholars join a bespoke Leadership and Impact Programme focused on systems change in Africa, receive tailored academic and social support, and gain mentorship from AfOx Research and Innovation Fellows.

The application route is the part people most often get wrong. There is no separate scholarship application at the outset. You apply for your chosen Oxford course through the graduate admissions portal, and eligible offer holders are subsequently contacted by Student Fees and Funding and invited to complete a scholarship application. This means the deadline that matters is the December or January funding deadline for your specific course, which varies by programme. Oxford advises checking your course’s exact date well in advance, and missing it removes you from scholarship consideration entirely regardless of your merits.

Eligibility is restricted to African nationals ordinarily resident in African countries who intend to return to Africa after graduating. Some routes, including the MBA, additionally require that you do not already hold a master’s degree. The selection panel assesses four areas: academic merit and potential, leadership experience and capacity development, alignment with AfOx values and themes, and commitment to Africa’s development. AfOx particularly welcomes applications from people from financially disadvantaged backgrounds, women, refugees and displaced people, and people with disabilities. One practical note: the January deadline shifts slightly each year, so confirm the exact date on the AfOx site once the cycle opens.

• Open to African nationals who are ordinarily resident in African countries and who intend to return to Africa on completing their studies.
• You must be applying for an eligible full-time taught postgraduate course at the University of Oxford. Not every course participates, so check the eligible programmes list.
• For some awards, including the Said Business School MBA route, applicants must not already hold a master's degree.
• You must demonstrate a clear commitment to Africa's development, which is one of four formal selection criteria rather than a statement of intent.
• The panel assesses academic merit and potential, leadership experience and capacity development, alignment with AfOx values and themes, and commitment to Africa's development.
• Applications from people from financially disadvantaged backgrounds, women, refugees or displaced people, and people with disabilities are particularly welcomed.
• You apply for the course, not the scholarship. Eligible offer holders are then contacted by Student Fees and Funding and invited to complete a scholarship application.
• You must meet the December or January funding deadline for your specific course, which varies by programme.

• Full course fees including college fees and university levies, covering the entire fee liability for the agreed course.
• A living costs grant set at the UKRI minimum doctoral stipend rate, with recent MBA awards carrying at least GBP 21,805.
• A bespoke Leadership and Impact Programme built around systems change in Africa, delivered alongside your degree.
• Tailored academic and social support throughout your studies rather than funding alone.
• Logistical support that may include a return economy flight, visa guidance and settling-in orientation.
• Membership of both the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program alumni network and the AfOx Alumni Network, connecting you to African scholars across Oxford and beyond.
• Mentorship and career support from AfOx Research and Innovation Fellows and the wider AfOx network of research leaders and entrepreneurs.
• For some routes an optional Ubuntu Period of Service after the degree, a four to six month placement based in Africa.

• Application for graduate study submitted through the University of Oxford graduate admissions portal by the relevant course deadline.
• Academic transcripts and degree certificates for all previous higher education.
• References as required by your chosen Oxford course.
• Personal statement and any written work or research proposal required by the course.
• English language proficiency evidence to Oxford's standard for your programme.
• Evidence of African nationality and ordinary residence in an African country.
• GMAT or GRE where the course requires it, for example for the MBA.
• Scholarship application form, completed after you are contacted as an eligible offer holder.

• Understand the route first: you do not apply for this scholarship directly. You apply for the Oxford course, and eligible offer holders are then invited to apply for the scholarship.
• Check the specific December or January funding deadline for your chosen course, because it varies by programme and missing it removes you from scholarship consideration entirely.
• Confirm your course appears on the AfOx eligible programmes list before investing in the application, since not all Oxford courses participate.
• Submit the graduate application by the earliest relevant deadline rather than the latest, as Oxford advises checking well in advance.
• Build the application around the four stated criteria, giving leadership experience and commitment to Africa's development the same weight as academic merit.
• Watch for the email from Student Fees and Funding inviting you to complete the scholarship application, and respond promptly.
• Around 60 to 70 AfOx scholarships have been available in recent cycles for one-year taught master's courses, with a small separate allocation for the MBA.
• Confirm the exact date on the AfOx site once the cycle opens, since the January deadline shifts slightly year to year.