Recruitment of Eligible Candidates
Approximately 120 American embassies and commissions worldwide are eligible to nominate candidates, who will undergo additional screening by U.S.-based independent panels of academics and professionals with regional and field-specific expertise. The presidential-appointed J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board must also approve all candidates recommended by the U.S.-based independent panels before a grant can be offered.
Appropriate applicants are mid-career professionals in leadership positions and who have a commitment to public service and the potential for professional advancement. It is important that applicants have considerable initiative if they are to benefit from the program. Prospective fellows should have a minimum of five years full-time professional experience prior to August of the grant year in the relevant field, after completing a university degree, and should be interested in the policy aspect in the field of their specialization.
- Applicants must have completed a university degree program requiring at least four years of full-time study in order to qualify.
- Applicants should be proficient in both written and spoken English. Finalists will be required to have a minimum Test Of English As A Foreign Language (TOEFL) score of 525 paper-based, or 71 on the Internet Based Test (IBT), although exceptionally strong applicants with lower scores may be nominated for the Long-Term English (LTE) training. Please note that if you do not have a TOEFL score, we will arrange for you to take the examination if you are nominated.
- Applicants should have at least five years of relevant professional experience beyond the university degree. In general, applicants should have both the need to participate in the program and the potential to benefit from it. Accordingly, they should demonstrate the required experience, skills, and commitment while also indicating how they can benefit from this program in ways that they have not experienced previously and are not likely to experience without the Humphrey program.
- An applicant may be removed from consideration if he/she does not meet all of the technical eligibility requirements.
- Ineligible applicants include recent university graduates, university teachers or academic researchers with no management responsibilities, individuals who have attended a graduate school in the United States for one academic year or more during the seven years prior to August of the grant year; and individuals with other recent U.S. experience (more than six months during the five years prior to August of the grant year). An applicant with resent third country experience, especially in developed countries, may have a less compelling need for Humphrey program than a candidate who has never had a significant professional stay abroad.
- As per the guidelines of the J. William Fulbright Scholarship Board, local employees of U.S. Missions abroad who work for the U.S. Department of State and members of their families are ineligible for grants during the period of their employment and for one year following the termination of employment.
- Individuals with dual U.S. citizenship or U.S. permanent resident status may not apply to the program, since they are ineligible for a J visa.