MSc Motorsport Scholarship Programme FAQs

The MSc Motorsport Scholarship Programme, supported by Mission 44, helps UK-based students pursue a master’s degree in motorsport or a related field. Applicants must hold (or be completing) an undergraduate degree in engineering, a STEM subject, or a related field, and plan to study an MSc in motorsport or a related course in the UK for 2026/27. Graduates must have finished their undergraduate degree within the last five years and not already hold a Master’s or higher qualification in a related subject.

The Scholarship Programme was launched in 2022 to address a specific recommendation within The Hamilton Commission's first report, Accelerating Change: Improving Representation of Black People in UK Motorsport.  Sir Lewis Hamilton HonFREng formed The Hamilton Commission, alongside the Royal Academy of Engineering to address the underrepresentation of Black people in UK motorsport and the STEM sector.  

For 2026 the eligibility criteria is being expanded. As well as Black and mixed-Black applicants, the scholarship will now be open to women and individuals from a less advantaged socio-economic background.  The ambition is to broaden access to more groups of young people who are underrepresented within the Motorsports industry. Through the scholarship, we want to create opportunities and pathways to careers into Motorsports for as many young people as possible.

Underrepresentation of Black and mixed Black talent is well known within the sport. The Hamilton Commission estimated that less than 1% of the workforce in Formula 1 comes from Black or other minority ethnic backgrounds. The Hamilton Commission report also refers to significant socioeconomic barriers that continue to persist, primarily due to the high costs associated with early involvement in opportunities such as karting, lack of proximity to the UK’s motorsport valley which can result in internships and apprenticeships being difficult to obtain. Due to this it is important to provide a pathway for those that may have struggled to have proximity to F1, and those who are unable to engage with unpaid opportunities.

Women are also underrepresented within Formula 1, and increasing the representation of women has been accepted as a key objective (in 2022, 30.4% of personnel in Formula 1 were women according to the F1 gender and pay gap report). With the significant increase in F1’s female fanbase, we can use this scholarship as an opportunity to accelerate progress in women pursuing careers in the sport.

Please visit our eligibility criteria page for detailed information about who can apply. 

Yes you can still apply, please detail this in your application.

The programme will close for applications at 4pm, 6 May 2026

If you reach the interview stage you will be interviewed by a panel of representatives from different areas within the Motor Sport sector. Each interview will be held online, via MS Teams or Zoom, and will last for up to forty-five minutes. 

If you were unsuccessful at the 1st review stage you can re-apply. If you were unsuccessful at the interview stage, you cannot re-apply. 

Please check our eligible course list to see which Master's degrees you can undertake as part of this scholarship.

This list has been compiled in consultation with the motorsport sector, with consideration given to the technical engineering content within the courses and their relevance to the motorsport sector. 
The list only contains courses listed on the UCAS website, and not all universities list their courses on this platform. Therefore, if there is a specific course that you have applied to (or intend to apply to) that isn't listed, please contact us via [email protected] before starting your application, with full details of the course. We will review the course and if we deem it to be relevant we will add it to the list, allowing you and others to apply to the scholarship. 

The programme will aim to make 12 scholarships in 2026.

If you are successful, your funding will be awarded under the Scholarships and Bursaries Terms and Conditions found on the Academy’s website. This agreement has been developed to ensure funding aligns with our Academy values, is used for the purposes for which it was awarded, and is managed in compliance with our own funders’ agreements, UK legislation and funding best practice.