Scholarship details
The University of Cape Town is a public research university located in Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. UCT was founded in 1829 as the South African College making it the oldest higher education institute in South Africa. In terms of full university status, it is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant university in Sub-Saharan Africa together with Stellenbosch University which received full university status on the same day in 1918.
The University of Cape Town is the highest-ranked African university in the QS World University Rankings, the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, and the Academic Ranking of World Universities, and its Commerce, Law, and Medicine Faculties are consistently placed among the hundred best internationally. It is the only African member of the Global University Leaders Forum (GULF), within the World Economic Forum, which is made up of 26 of the world’s top universities.
The MasterCard Foundation has partnered with the University of Cape Town (UCT) to oversee the implementation of financial, academic, social, and post-graduation support to awarded candidates under the scholarship titled The MasterCard Foundation Scholars Program at the University of Cape Town. The vision of the Program is to transition promising young people from beneficiaries to benefactors, preparing them with the necessary values, knowledge, skills, and leadership to fuel economic and social progress across Africa.
As a matter of fact, The MasterCard Foundation shares its name with a number of scholarships that respective universities can partner with.
The Program targets academically qualified undergraduate and postgraduate candidates who are economically disadvantaged young people with leadership potential from Sub-Saharan Africa.
In 2017, 42 opportunities were available for students who intend to commence with their first year of registration for full-time undergraduate and Masters’s studies. This steadily increased by 2019 and has given thousands of students in Bostwana considerable advantage. That is to attend a highly revered university to pursue their higher education experience.
As of 2016, there were 29,074 students enrolled (18,500 undergraduates and 10,700 postgraduates), and 4,700 staff were employed (1,200 academic and 3,500 professional, administrative, support and service staff).
In addition to the plethora of student societies, there are several student organizations dedicated to the development of communities surrounding the university in the Cape Metropolitan Area. Some of the biggest include SHAWCO, Ubunye, and RAG. Recently, several students movements have developed, such as the Green Campus Initiative.
Eligibility
- The first requirement for admission into the undergraduate program is a national senior certificate (NSC) which must be certified by Analisi also with an achievement rating of 3 (moderate achievement, 40-49%) or better in four recognized NSC 20-credit subjects.
- To be considered a candidate for this scholarship, applicants must be academically talented, must value learning, and be driven to complete their education.
- Priority will be directed towards students who are considered economically disadvantaged and facing significant financial barriers to accessing education.
- The panel of judges will only consider students who show that they are committed to giving back to their own communities once their studies are completed.
- Students must show that they would return to their home countries and take a leadership role in promoting social and economic improvement.
- Students must be from Southern Africa – no other country is eligible to apply.
- Students that have decided to major as an undergraduate in Commerce, Engineering and Built Environment, Health Sciences, Humanities, Law or Sciences at the University of Cape Town are able to apply for this scholarship.
Requirements
Students must not have any prior criminal offenses, otherwise, their application plus enrollment to the University of Cape Town will be dismissed.
Basic student requirements require test scores (ACT, SAT, etc.) and transcripts. Typically, with this type of scholarship students who apply should be considered extraordinary, for example, students who routinely help their own community or volunteer in some way will need to show that they have indeed have completed these actions. Anything from journal entries to social media can help to prove that the student has done what they said they have accomplished.
There will be a need for at least 3 letters of recommendation for the student. This is a minimum requirement and it cannot be any of the student’s family that writes these recommendations. It must be a faculty member, professor, or teacher.
How to Apply
All individuals first off, will be selected by the panel of judges on these requirements:
- Applicants must have received a firm offer to study at University Cape Town.
- Applicants must come from an economically disadvantaged background.
- Applicants must demonstrate leadership potential and must have acted in a leadership capacity.
- Applicants must meet the set academic criteria.
This scholarship is considered a merit-based and a financially-based needed scholarship. If a student qualifies for only one of the two, then their scholarship application could easily be dismissed since they do not qualify for both.
In order to follow the rules, students must apply to the University of Cape Town and enroll. This is the only official and legal way to enter this scholarship. From there the university will go ahead and submit the student’s acceptance to the university forward and this acts as a scholarship form submission.
Reward – Extra Benefits
Around 60 students are awarded per year for this scholarship. Which allows for a pretty tough competition.
Students can expect as part of their award accommodation at the University, but only as long as they attend Cape Town. Temporary medical coverage (insurance) for the duration of the student’s stay. A monthly allowance that would serve as textbook fees and potential monthly living expenses. However, students will be guided on how they can use their rewards.
Some students may only qualify to have certain things paid for and in this case, most students only receive $4,500 USD to use towards tuition and textbooks.
Deadline
September 30, 2022, is the next closing deadline date. As of right now, submissions are closed and will reopen in 2022.
Open Submission Window Time Frame
The submission time frame starts from March 2022 – to September 2022. This allows students enough time to gather all of their intended paperwork and to see if they have been accepted to the University of Cape Town.
Annual
This is an annual fully funded scholarship.
