What Carnegie Mellon University Africa Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program actually covers.
The Carnegie Mellon University Africa (CMU-Africa) Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program is a fully funded master's scholarship exclusively designed for young Africans, housed at CMU's campus in Kigali, Rwanda. This programme is among the most complete scholarships available to African students anywhere in the world: it covers full tuition and fees, accommodation, a living stipend, health insurance, travel costs, academic-related expenses, application support, and even entrepreneurship and leadership development. CMU-Africa focuses on building the next generation of technology and engineering leaders on the continent, offering master's degrees in Information Technology (MSIT), Electrical and Computer Engineering (MSECE), and Engineering Artificial Intelligence (MSEAI). The programme is deeply aligned with Africa's development goals and explicitly targets students who are committed to using their technical education to benefit their communities and continent. Applicants must be African citizens, demonstrate financial need, show strong academic performance, and hold a bachelor's degree or be in their final year. CMU's global reputation in computer science and engineering ensures that graduates are competitive in both African and international job markets. Scholars benefit from CMU's vast global alumni network, access to research labs at the cutting edge of AI, data science, and engineering, and a community of driven African peers from across the continent. With an early deadline in December and final deadline in January, prospective students should begin preparing their applications by October.
Who can apply.
Open to masters applicants seeking to study in United States. Eligible nationalities are listed below.
46 more eligible countries — full list available on the official application page.
Every academic discipline is accepted.
This programme does not restrict by field. Research proposals across humanities, sciences, engineering, agriculture, and medicine are all accepted.
From here to submitted.
Scholar Africa helps you discover, shortlist, and track. The application itself is submitted on the provider's site.
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Save itAdd this to your shortlist so we can recommend similar scholarships and remind you of the deadline.
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Prepare your documentsMost providers ask for the same set — transcripts, references, a personal statement, ID. Use the checklist below to track progress across all your applications.
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Apply on the provider's siteSubmit on the provider's site before January 15, 2027 · 187 days left.
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Track the outcomeAdd to your tracker so you can update the status as the provider responds (shortlisted, interview, decision).
Document checklist
Checks are local to this device — they're not stored. Always confirm exact requirements on the provider's official application page.
What we checked, when we checked it.
Scholar Africa runs a link-liveness check on every listing before it goes live and an admin manually reviews every scholarship submitted by providers. Carnegie Mellon University Africa Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program has been reviewed and verified by our team. Five deeper checks (contact, organisation, winners, third-party, formal audit) are on the roadmap.
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Other scholarships worth a parallel application.
Same eligibility window or destination. Many strong applicants apply to three or four programmes per cycle.