While UCT often grabs the international headlines, the University of Pretoria (UP) is a massive, highly respected institution that produces a significant portion of South Africa's engineers, agricultural scientists, and corporate managers. UP’s iteration of the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program is incredibly focused on specific, pragmatic disciplines.
Quick Overview
Full Requirements & Details
Academic Requirements
- Min. CGPA
- 3.0
- Offer Degrees
- Masters
- Subjects
- Agriculture, Biology, Business, Chemistry, Economics, Engineering, Mathematics, Physics
- Seats Available
- Hundreds annually
- Study Gap Allowed
- No Restrictions (Gap Allowed)
- Research Publication
- Optional
- Work Experience
- No
- Age Range
- No Min - 35
Language Requirements
- IELTS
- Optional
- TOEFL
- Optional
- GRE
- Not Required
- Local Language
- English
- Local Lang Test
- No
- Study Languages
- English
Financial Details
- Type
- Full
- Fund Details
- See Description
- Monthly Stipend
- ZAR 0/mo
- Tuition
- Full
- Living Costs
- Full
- Travel & Health
- Yes / Yes
- Application Fee
- Free (No Application Fee)
- Spouse Allowed
- No
What Matters Most
Required Documents
Why You Should Apply
It is a fully comprehensive ride to one of Africa's most beautiful and secure campuses. The funding covers your full master's tuition, provides housing in a dedicated postgraduate residence, covers your medical aid, provides a laptop, pays for your flights, and drops a reliable monthly stipend into your bank account. UP is deeply integrated into the South African agricultural and engineering sectors.
Application Process
You must secure admission to a specific postgraduate program at UP. The catch is that the Mastercard program at UP does not fund every degree. You must apply for a program within the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences, or the Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and IT.
Once admitted, you submit the exhaustive Mastercard financial aid forms.
How to Win This Scholarship
Alignment is everything. If you apply for a master's in history, you will be rejected immediately, regardless of your brilliance. You must propose a study plan that directly targets African food security, infrastructure development, or economic management.
Your essays must prove you intend to return to your home country to implement pragmatic solutions, not just write academic papers.
Benefits After Completing Study
UP's agricultural and engineering networks are unparalleled in Southern Africa.
Pretoria is a relatively conservative, quiet city compared to the vibrant chaos of Johannesburg or Cape Town. It is an excellent place to focus on heavy research, but do not expect a wild social scene.
Official Source
For complete details and to verify all requirements, please refer to the scholarship provider's official website.
Visit Official Source