Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at Makerere University 2026/2027: Historical Reference

Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at Makerere University 2026/2027: Historical Reference

The 2026/2027 Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program master’s round at Makerere University is closed. Makerere University’s official announcement set the application deadline at 5 June 2026 at 11:59 p.m. East Africa Time. The official pages reviewed do not announce a later round, so this page is a historical reference to the completed cycle, not a current invitation to submit an application.

That distinction matters. The official announcement still describes the selection rules and the application route, while the front matter retains the real closing date and marks the entry with historicalReference = true. A reader should not treat the date as an upcoming deadline or assume that a form from this cycle remains available. Anyone looking for a future Makerere call should wait for a new announcement from Makerere University or the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program office rather than infer a new date from this archive.

Verified details

The announcement describes the programme as part of a wider effort to support 1,000 young people from Africa with access to university education and transition into dignified and fulfilling work. It says the scholars are academically talented young men and women from Sub-Saharan Africa whose access to higher education is constrained by social and economic barriers. The 13 master’s places are therefore a limited, targeted part of the wider Makerere partnership, not a general tuition discount open to every postgraduate applicant.

What the scholarship provides

The official Makerere FAQ describes the support as a comprehensive financial package covering tuition, accommodation, meals, scholastic materials, and incidentals. It also lists health insurance and a laptop among the benefits. Makerere does not publish a single cash award figure for this master’s round on the announcement page, so a reliable listing should not invent a dollar amount, convert the package into an unsupported stipend, or imply that every benefit is paid directly to the scholar.

The package is designed to remove several costs that can prevent a qualified graduate from enrolling or staying in school. Tuition is only one part of the problem. Housing, food, books and other academic materials, routine incidentals, health coverage, and access to a computer can determine whether a student can participate fully. The official description presents these items together, which is why the amount field records the package rather than a made-up cash value.

The scholarship application itself was free. The FAQ separately cautions that the programme generally does not cover Makerere admission application fees and that applicants should normally have secured admission before being considered. That means “free scholarship application” should not be confused with “every step of university admission has no cost.” Applicants in a future round should read the new admission notice and scholarship guidance together.

Who the 2026/2027 master’s round was for

The official announcement identifies several groups that the programme sought to reach:

• Refugees and internally displaced persons.
• Young persons with disabilities.
• International students.
• Young people living or working in a refugee host community.
• Young people from underrepresented ethnic groups in Uganda, described by Makerere as minority tribes.
• Other Ugandan youth.

Applicants also had to meet the academic and financial conditions. They needed to have applied for admission to Makerere University Main Campus for the 2026/2027 academic year and to have completed their undergraduate education in an African country. The notice required evidence of financial constraints that limited the applicant’s ability to afford graduate education. It also required demonstrated engagement in leadership and/or community service.

The master’s round was for people entering graduate study, not for continuing master’s students. An applicant could not already be pursuing or have completed a master’s degree, and could not hold another scholarship. The official wording also says that an applicant must have applied for one of the degree programmes prioritised under the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program. Admission to an arbitrary Makerere master’s programme was not enough by itself.

Age rules were specific. Most applicants had to be 35 years or younger at the application deadline. Applicants in the refugee, internally displaced person, and young persons with disabilities categories could be 40 years of age or younger at the deadline. The official wording says “40 years of age or younger,” so the archive uses that wording rather than the looser phrase “under 40.” Refugee applicants also needed a valid Refugee Identity Card or Family Attestation documentation.

Makerere’s announcement gives additional detail for internally displaced applicants: the note describes IDPs as people forced to flee their homes because of conflict, violence, persecution, or natural disasters, and says they should have a recommendation or resettlement letter from the Office of the Prime Minister or its representative in the area. A future call could adjust this evidence requirement, so applicants should verify it against the new notice before relying on this archived list.

Priority master’s programmes

The official priority-programmes PDF names the master’s degrees considered for the 2026/2027 Mastercard Foundation scholarship. The list covers selected programmes in several Makerere colleges and schools:

• College of Education and External Studies: Master of Adult and Community Education; Master of Instructional Design and Technology; and Master of Education, with options including Educational Management, Foundations of Education, Educational Policy and Planning, Early Childhood Education and Development, Language and Literature Education, Social Science and Humanities Education, and Science Education.
• College of Business and Management Sciences: M.A. in Economic Policy Management, Master of Business Administration, and Master in Public Infrastructure Management.
• College of Humanities and Social Sciences: Master of Journalism and Multimedia, Master of Social Work, and M.Ed. in Educational Psychology.
• School of Law: Master of Laws.
• College of Health Sciences: Master of Medicine in Pediatrics and Child Health, and Master of Medicine in Obstetrics and Gynecology.
• College of Computing and Information Sciences: Master of Science in Computer Science and Master of Science in Information Systems.

The priority list is one of the most important parts of the notice because it prevents an applicant from assuming that every postgraduate course is covered. The list also shows why the admission step had to come first: the scholarship form was connected to a specific academic programme and to admission at the Main Campus. If Makerere publishes a new cycle, its priority list should be checked afresh because programmes and conditions can change.

How the completed application process worked

The official process had several linked stages. They are recorded here to explain the 2026/2027 cycle, not to suggest that late applications can still be filed.

1. Apply for Makerere admission first

Applicants were told to apply for admission to Makerere University Main Campus, with the programme announcement and FAQ referring to the private sponsorship route. The Department of the Academic Registrar is responsible for university admissions. The scholarship office is not a substitute for the admission application, and submitting a scholarship form did not guarantee admission or a scholarship.

2. Choose a priority programme

Before completing the scholarship form, the applicant needed to confirm that the intended master’s degree appeared in Makerere’s official list of programmes prioritised under the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program. This check should happen before drafting responses or uploading documents. A mismatch between the admission course and the priority list could make an otherwise well-prepared submission ineligible.

3. Prepare evidence

Applicants needed material supporting their admission, education, identity, financial circumstances, and eligibility category. A practical file set would include the admission application or admission evidence, undergraduate academic records, identification, and any documents relevant to refugee, IDP, disability, or international-student status. Refugee applicants specifically needed a valid Refugee Identity Card or Family Attestation documentation. IDP applicants were advised to obtain the recommendation or resettlement evidence described in the official note.

The leadership and community-service requirement also called for concrete evidence. Applicants should have been ready to describe projects, work, volunteering, mentoring, organising, research, or other responsibilities that show initiative and service. The official notice does not require a grand title; it requires demonstrated engagement. A clear account of what the applicant did, who benefited, and what responsibility they held is more useful than a list of flattering adjectives.

4. Complete the online scholarship form

The application form was available through Makerere’s online application portal at no cost, and the official page strongly encouraged applicants to use a computer. Applicants were advised to read the application guidelines before completing the form. They should also have checked each response and upload carefully because the programme states that dishonesty, falsified documents, and false or incomplete information can result in disqualification, cancellation of an award, repayment of funds, and possible legal action.

The programme also warned applicants about fraud. The official application process was free, and Makerere cautioned the public against anyone soliciting money in exchange for a promised scholarship. A future applicant should use only the official Makerere portal and published programme contacts.

5. Submit before the fixed deadline

The completed 2026/2027 form had to be submitted by 5 June 2026 at 11:59 p.m. EAT. The official notice did not describe the deadline as rolling, did not promise acceptance after the closing time, and did not say that applications would remain open until places filled. That is why the archive retains the fixed date rather than changing it to rolling.

6. Wait for selection communication

Only shortlisted applicants were to be contacted for further selection engagements. Makerere also stated that only successful applicants would be notified at every stage and that applicants who had not heard from the programme by the end of August 2026 should consider their applications unsuccessful. Even a complete form was not a guarantee of selection. The programme applies merit principles and has zero tolerance for attempts to improperly influence the process.

What applicants should take from this archive

The strongest lesson from the 2026/2027 notice is that this was a combined admission-and-scholarship process. A candidate needed more than a good transcript. They needed the right Makerere admission route, a programme on the priority list, a credible explanation of financial constraint, and evidence of leadership or community service. The eligibility categories also mattered: the programme was designed for students whose access to graduate education was limited by social or economic barriers.

The support package was substantial, but it was not presented as an unrestricted cash award. Applicants should therefore avoid relying on blog summaries that attach a round number to the scholarship without citing Makerere. The official FAQ is the correct source for the package categories, while a later call would be the correct source for any revised benefits.

Finally, the completed cycle should not be treated as evidence that a new application window is open. The official Makerere announcement and scholarship pages reviewed for this update continue to identify the 2026/2027 round and its 5 June 2026 closing date. They do not publish a subsequent cycle. For a future application, check the official Makerere Mastercard Foundation portal, the Makerere University website, and the programme’s published contact details for a new notice before preparing documents or paying any admission-related charge.

Official source

The verified source for the archived master’s announcement is the Makerere University Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program announcement. Makerere’s official priority-programmes PDF records the degrees considered for the 2026/2027 round, and the programme’s official FAQ describes the comprehensive support package and free scholarship application process.

This entry preserves those verified facts as an archive. It does not claim that applications are currently accepted, does not invent a later deadline, and does not treat the old application form as a live route.