Deadline: June 17, 2026.

The Mo Ibrahim Foundation, an African organisation founded and funded by Dr Mo Ibrahim and dedicated to strengthening leadership and governance across the continent, has generously established a new scholarship at SOAS. In line with the Foundation’s core values, preference will be given to applicants who are ordinarily resident in Africa and to those who demonstrate a clear interest in governance and/or development in Africa.

There are two awards available for 2026/27, each with a total value of £45,479. Tuition fees will be deducted from this amount with the remainder being paid directly to the student as a maintenance stipend.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

In order to be eligible, applicants must:

• Be a new admission, starting in September 2026.
• Be an Overseas fee status applicant.
• Have a minimum 2:1 bachelor’s degree from a UK university or international equivalent.
• Hold an unconditional offer for their programme by the time the scholarship panel meet.
• Any full-time 1-year taught masters degree programme beginning in 2026/27.

BENEFITS

Tuition fees and maintenance stipend

APPLICATION

To apply for this scholarship, applicants should follow the following steps:

1. Apply for your programme. To apply for a masters degree programme, please see taught masters applications. Applicants applying for scholarships must submit an application for admission as soon as possible. Please note that complete applications for admission can take up to 4 weeks to be considered by the department, although this duration can vary depending on the time of year. You should be prepared to wait up to 6 weeks in busy periods.
2. Apply for the scholarship by 12 noon UK local time on 17 June 2026. You must apply for this scholarship via the admissions portal and will need to have applied for a course to get login credentials for this.

Find more information on the OFFICIAL WEBSITE