Application and Selection Sequence
- September through early January: Master's degree program prospective applicants must first apply to the University of California, Berkeley through the regular admissions process(link is external). Admission application deadlines vary(link is external) from September to early January with most in December. If a graduate program has multilple admission rounds with staggered deadlines, only those who submit applications in the first round (before January) can be considered for the Scholars Program.
- November 15: The Scholars Program and some graduate degree programs are able to provide a limited number of admission application fee(link is external) waivers. Applicants from African countries who complete the basic demographic information and provide the names of at least two recommenders in the UC Berkeley graduate admission online application(link is external) by November 15 will receive an invitation by email to apply for admission application fee waivers. Applicants will be informed of fee waiver decisions before December 1.
- February: The Scholars Program at UC Berkeley will invite candidates nominated by the graduate degree programs to complete a supplemental application.
- March: The Scholars Program will invite selected candidates for an online interview.
- Late March/early April: The Scholars Program will communicate final decisions.
Deadlines and Requirements
Graduate application deadlines vary by program. Please visit the Graduate Division Admissions Website(link is external) for up to date information on:
- Program deadlines(link is external)
- Admission requirements(link is external)
- Information for international students(link is external)
Which Master's Degree program?
Please note that bachelor and doctoral programs do not qualify for the Scholars Program at UC Berkeley.
UC Berkeley offers many master's degree programs. The following are eligible for the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program:
- Haas School of Business
- Business Administration (MBA)(link is external)
- MBA students need to secure additional funding from Haas Business School through obtaining Haas scholarships(link is external), which requires meeting the Round One application deadline(link is external). We encourage you to contact us if you are interested in learning more details about this unique process.
- Business Administration (MBA)(link is external)
- School of Education
- College of Engineering
- Engineering (M.Eng), various concentrations (link is external)
- Civil and Environmental Engineering (MS)(link is external)
- Industrial Engineering and Operations Research (MS)(link is external)
- Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (MS)(link is external)
- Mechanical Engineering (MS)(link is external)
- Development Engineering (M.DevEng)(link is external)
- Design (M.Des)(link is external) (joint with College of Environmental Design)
- Translational Medicine (MTM)(link is external)
- College of Environmental Design -
- Architecture (MArch)(link is external) - only two year program
- City & Regional Planning (MCP)(link is external)
- Design (M.Des)(link is external) (joint with College of Engineering)
- Environmental Planning (MLA EP)(link is external)
- Landscape Architecture (MLA 2D)(link is external)
- School of Information
- Graduate School of Journalism
- Journalism (MJ)(link is external)
- We will consider only those applicants who meet the Round 1 deadline.
- Journalism (MJ)(link is external)
- School of Law
- Law (LLM)(link is external) - Traditional(link is external) Program
- College of Letters and Science
- College of Natural Resources
- School of Public Health
- Community Health Sciences (MPH)(link is external)
- Health Policy and Management (MPH)(link is external)
- Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology (MPH)(link is external)
- Interdisciplinary Division (MPH)(link is external)
- Environmental Health Sciences (MPH, MS)(link is external)
- Epidemiology (MPH, MS)(link is external)
- Biostatistics (MPH, MA)(link is external)
- Goldman School of Public Policy
- School of Social Welfare
Contact us(link sends e-mail) if you are interested in UC Berkeley programs not listed here.
Note: We only make awards for master's degree program that are two years or less. Hence, concurrent and dual degree programs are not eligible since they take longer than two years.
When considering any program, please keep in mind that it is your motivation for choosing your field, as well as your career goals that will determine if you are eligible for the Scholarship. Please revisit Eligibility Requirements to see if your goals are in line with those of the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program.
Application Guidance and Tips
- Watch the 2023 informational webinar(link is external) that took place during the UC Berkeley Diversity Recruitment Fair.
- Mastercard Foundation Application Tip Series(link is external).
- Resources from UC Berkeley's Graduate Division
- Steps for prospective students(link is external)
- Getting into Graduate School (link is external)program.
- Attend the next online Graduate Diversity Admissions Fair(link is external). Dates are annually announced in August.
