Humphrey Fellowship Program
- The Humphrey Fellowship Program is for experienced professionals interested in strengthening their leadership skills through a mutual exchange of knowledge and understanding about issues of common concern in the U.S. and Fellows’ home countries. As a non-degree program, the Fellowship offers valuable opportunities for professional development through selected university courses, attending conferences, networking, and practical work experiences. During the year, Fellows pursue both their individual program goals and work closely with their Humphrey colleagues in workshops and seminars. Unlike a typical graduate school experience, the Program encourages Fellows to travel away from their host campus to learn more about American culture and to network with their American peers. If you are interested in broadening your perspectives and becoming a global leader, the Humphrey Fellowship is for you.
- Embassies and Commissions must submit their nominations to the Institute of International Education office in Washington, DC by October 1. The deadlines for applicants vary by country.
- An undergraduate (first university or Bachelor's) degree
- A minimum of five years of full-time, professional experience
- Limited or no prior experience in the United States
- Demonstrated leadership qualities
- A record of public service in the community
- English language ability
- Please contact the U.S. Embassy, Public Affairs Section or Binational Fulbright Commission in your country of residence to learn about possible specific program requirements
Sustainable Development
Agricultural and Rural Development
Suitable candidates include individuals from the public sector,
non-governmental organizations, and business focused on agricultural and
food system development and/or rural development. The field includes,
but is not limited to, the following areas of specialization: food
security, sustainable farming systems, agricultural research, extension
management, agricultural marketing and value-chain management,
post-harvest technology and food safety, trade and food policy, and
rural livelihood enhancement.
Economic Development
This field may be interpreted very broadly. Suitable candidates
include policy makers and administrative managers focusing on
contemporary development issues including population growth, agriculture
and industrial development, poverty and income distribution, labor
markets, and foreign trade. Individuals who are working in the fields of
sustainable development and micro-finance in the public or private
sector are also appropriate.
Finance and Banking
Suitable candidates include individuals who are involved in the
management of financial institutions, the regulation of depository
institutions and securities, transnational lending and trade financing,
or public-private partnerships. Corporate financial managers and
analysts are appropriate if they are interested in and able to convey
how their work will impact the development of the country. Individuals
in this field are not suitable for the Humphrey Fellowship Program if
they are primarily concerned with expanding a corporate entity's market
share.
Natural Resources, Environmental Policy, and Climate Change
Natural resource and environmental managers are appropriate
candidates for this field. Policy makers working on the protection of
natural resources, water quality, pollution control, land use,
conservation, and environmental impact assessment are also suitable.
Climate change is a critical emerging field open to professionals
working in a range of disciplines, including policy development, clean
technologies, carbon management, and response planning or adaptation to
new climate patterns.
Urban and Regional Planning
Appropriate candidates for this field include architects, engineers,
planners, urban designers, urban economists and sociologists, and
historic preservation specialists. The field of Urban and Regional
Planning should be broadly interpreted to include the following: urban
infrastructure, transportation policy and planning, water and
sanitation, town and rural planning, land use and urban design, housing
and real estate development, international and comparative planning,
environmental protection and planning, ecological land development,
public policy, social policy, urban redevelopment policy, economic
development and planning, regional economic integration, economic
conversion, urban finance management, and urban spatial analysis using
geographic information systems.
Democratic Institution Building
Communications/Journalism
Appropriate candidates include those using media in all its current
forms to facilitate global development for their country. Journalists in
this field could work for private media outlets or state-run public
broadcasters with a focus on independent reporting and transparency.
Journalists can work in any platform (print, broadcast, online) using
digital and social media tools to cover a wide variety of subject beats,
including but not limited to public affairs, arts and features, social
issues, business news and investigative topics. Other individuals might
manage the public or internal communications for non-governmental
organizations, for state-run media, governmental agencies and private
business enterprises.
Law and Human Rights
Attorneys, judges, and human rights activists are the most suitable
candidates in this field. The range of law specializations is far
reaching; some of the more common include: constitutional, criminal,
business, civil rights, family/child, alternative dispute resolution,
international humanitarian, international trade, international business,
intellectual property, and telecommunications law. Individuals engaged
in legal and judicial reform and the administration of justice also are
appropriate candidates.
Public Policy Analysis and Public Administration
This field may be interpreted very broadly. Policy issues that past
Fellows addressed have included: regional economic and workforce
development planning; public management and leadership; financial
management in public and non-profit organizations; poverty and
inequality; gender; public finance and revenue administration; domestic
and foreign development policies; political transition to market-based
democracy; planning and the global knowledge economy; and private sector
development.
Trafficking in Persons Policy and Prevention
Candidates include foreign government officials, NGO activists, and
media specialists who are focused on anti-trafficking issues. Humphrey
Fellows can focus in areas of public administration, NGO administration,
law and human rights, social work, communications and journalism, and
public health as applied to anti-trafficking program management and
policy-making.
Technology Policy and Management
Network administrators, engineers, and urban planners involved in
formulating technology policy and planning and managing technological
change and systems are suitable candidates in this field. Officials in
the Ministry of Education and educators who teach technology and science
in higher education institutions and can demonstrate leadership in
curriculum development or administration in this field are also
appropriate candidates.
Human Resource Management
The most suitable candidates in this field are those individuals
dealing with institutional change and setting personnel policies and
procedures. These might be human resource managers or individuals from
various fields who have been charged with re-organizing a department or
ministry, for example.
Education
Educational Administration, Planning and Policy
Individuals who are contributing to national or regional education
planning, policy development and implementation make good candidates.
University professors with an exclusively academic focus are not
suitable; however, university professors in administrative or
policy-making positions are eligible. Candidate profiles also include
those focused in the more technical areas of education: curriculum
development, instruction and learning assessment techniques, program
design and adult learning, teacher training, and the use of technology
in higher education. These individuals may be teachers if they also have
additional responsibilities in the areas above.
Higher Education Administration
Higher Education Administration
This field of study is intended for individuals who devote a
significant portion of their professional life to policy formation,
strategic decision-making, planning and management in higher education.
Individuals holding administrative or policy-making positions at
institutions of higher education, non-profit organizations or government
ministries are eligible. Suitable candidates also include those focused
on functional areas of higher education, such as curriculum design
techniques for instruction and learning assessment, vocational and
life-long learning programs, and areas of higher education
administration such as financial management, student affairs, academic
affairs, business affairs, recruitment and admissions, development and
alumni relations, and the use of technology in higher education. These
individuals can be faculty at institutions of higher education if they
also have significant responsibilities in the areas listed above.
Teaching of English as a Foreign Language
Appropriate candidates include teacher trainers and master teachers
in the field of Teaching English as a Foreign Language if they are
interested in teacher training, curriculum development, and methodology.
Public Health
Public Health Policy and Management
Physicians, clinicians with management responsibilities, health
educators, and other practitioners with policy-making responsibilities
in this field are suitable candidates. Past Fellows' interests have
included: management of public health care organizations, health care
delivery through community-based organizations, reproductive, adolescent
and child health, and epidemiology in public health practice.
Candidates who are primarily practitioners in their field are not
appropriate. For example, dentists whose program goals are to be more
effective dentists in a clinical setting are not appropriate candidates
for the program. Instead, dentists or other practitioners who are
interested in acquiring skills and knowledge to become better
administrators of public health programs, which might, for example,
promote health education in their community or country, would be a
better fit for the program.
HIV/AIDS Policy and Prevention
Physicians, health educators, communication specialists, and policy
analysts who are interested in HIV/AIDS policy, treatment and prevention
are appropriate candidates for this field. Candidates with a primary
focus on clinical treatment are not appropriate.
Substance Abuse Education, Treatment and Prevention
Candidates in this field may be focused on problems of alcohol, drug
and tobacco use as well as broader areas of public health that relate to
substance abuse, such as HIV/AIDS, mental health, medicine, psychology,
social work and counseling. Previous Fellows in the substance abuse
field have come from schools and universities, community-based treatment
and prevention programs, hospitals, criminal justice settings and local
or national policy agencies. Fellows in this field will have access to
strong university-based research program as well as contacts with
community, state and national professionals and provider groups working
in substance abuse.
Participating Countries
In 26 countries, the Humphrey Fellowship Program is administered by a Binational Fulbright Commission. In all other participating countries, the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy is charged with the operation of the Program.
To find out if citizens of your country/region are eligible to participate in the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program, click on your region. If your country/region appears on the list, you are eligible to apply.
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Europe and Eurasia
- Middle East and North Africa
- East Asia and Pacific
- South and Central Asia
- Western Hemisphere
Selection Process
Stage 1: National Screening
The Humphrey Program is facilitated overseas by Binational Fulbright Commissions/Foundations or the Public Affairs Sections of U.S. Embassies. Commissions and Embassies review applications submitted for the Humphrey Fellowship Program, invite selected applicants for interviews, and determine which applications are to be forwarded for further consideration to the Institute of International Education in Washington, D.C. Please contact the Embassy or Commission in your country to learn of its selection criteria.Stage 2: Screening by the Institute of International Education
Embassies and Commissions must submit their nominations to the Institute of International Education (IIE) office in Washington, DC by October 1. The deadline for applicants to submit their applications to the Embassy or Commission varies by country. Please check with the Embassy or Fulbright Commission in your country to learn of its application deadline.IIE reviews all submitted applications for basic eligibility and then convenes regional Candidate Review Committees (CRC) to evaluate the applications.
Stage 3: Candidate Review Committees
Candidate Review Committees convene in Washington, DC in December. Independent expert panelists with regional experience who work in academia, international organizations, or non-governmental organizations are recruited to review applications from a particular region of the world.Stage 4: Approval by the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board
The J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board (FSB) was created by Congress to supervise the Fulbright Program and other Fulbright exchange activities, including the Humphrey Fellowship Program. The FSB sets policies and procedures for administration of the Humphrey Fellowship Program, has final authority for selection of all Fellows, and supervises the conduct of the Program both in the United States and abroad.Stage 5: Placement of selected Humphrey Fellows
After receiving approval from the FSB, the Department of State will announce the final selection results to participating U.S. Embassies and Binational Fulbright Commissions, who will inform candidates of their status. The Institute of International Education places the approved candidates at U.S. universities that have been selected to host Humphrey Fellows. Placements are determined by candidates' fields of study and the program plan statements expressed in their applications.Fellowship Provisions
- Payment of tuition and fees at the assigned host university;
- Pre-academic English language training, if required;
- A maintenance (living) allowance, including a one-time settling-in allowance;
- Accident and sickness coverage;
- A book allowance;
- A one-time computer subsidy;
- Air travel (international travel to and from the U.S. for the Program and domestic travel to required program events);
- A Professional Development allowance for professional activities, such as field trips, professional visits and conferences.
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