Educational Exchange

Various Opportunities

Please click on the relevant link to the left to learn more about opportunities for scholarships and educational exchange.  Some opportunities are listed below:

Fulbright Alumni Initiative Awards

Alumni of the Fulbright Visiting Scholar program from 1998 to 2001 are encouraged to consider applying for a Fulbright Alumni Initiative Award. These grants will be awarded through a competitive selection process to up to thirty Fulbright alumni worldwide. Grant amounts are likely to range from $1,000 to $25,000.

Alumni Initiative Awards are intended to transform an individual scholar’s experience into a long-term institutional partnership. They are not designed simply as an extension of the teaching or research project that was the subject of the initial Fulbright grant. Proposals will need to show the likelihood of broad and ongoing impact from the activities for which the applicant is seeking an Alumni Initiative Award.

Applications must be submitted jointly with a U.S. institution.  Fulbright Visiting Scholar alumni should review the information on the website of the Center for the International Exchange of Scholars (CIES), at http://www.cies.org, for information and application forms. If you are unable to download forms from the Internet, contact Micaela Iovine at CIES (miovine@cies.iie.org) or Roz Swenson in the Office of Academic Exchange Programs in the Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (swensonrl@state.gov) to have the forms mailed.

Fulbright Alumni Development Grants

Eligibility Requirements:

• Applicants must be alumni of the Fulbright Foreign Student Program from one of the following areas: Egypt, Yemen, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia, Oman, Bahrain, the West Bank or the Gaza Strip.
• Applicants must have fulfilled their J-1 visa, two-year home residence requirement.
• This competition is limited to applicants who are citizens or residents of areas listed above.
• Examples of Previous Alumni Development Grants:
• Embarked on a study tour of micro-credit projects in Egypt.
• Attended a short-term training course in the field of clinical drug development in North Carolina.
• Conducted a professional visit to an American research institute to identify possible collaborative research on restructuring of the electrical industry.

The application deadline for the 2005 competition has passed. Please continue to check this website and the AMIDEAST website, www.amideast.org for more information and the 2006 competition dates. The Fulbright Alumni Development Grants are sponsored by AMIDEAST and the United States Department of State.

Democracy Fellowships

The National Endowment for Democracy (NED) invites applications to its annual Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellows Program.  Established in 2001 to enable activists, scholars, and journalists from around the world to deepen their understanding of democracy and enhance their ability to promote democratic change, the fellowship program is based at NED's International Forum for Democratic Studies, in Washington, D.C.

Eligibility: The Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellows Program is intended primarily to support practitioners and scholars from new and aspiring democracies. Distinguished scholars from the United States and other established democracies are also eligible to apply. Practitioners are expected to have substantial experience working to promote democracy. Scholars are expected to have a doctorate, or academic equivalent, at the time of application. The program is not designed to support students working toward a degree. A working knowledge of English is an important prerequisite for participation in the program.

Application: For further details and instructions on how to apply, please download the "Information and Application Forms" booklet available online at www.ned.org/forum/R-FApplication.pdf or visit http://www.ned.org and follow the link to "Fellowship Programs". Please note that all application materials must be type-written and in English.

U.S. Fulbright Scholars and Professionals

U.S. citizens may apply for Fulbright scholarships to lecture or do research abroad through CIES. Applicants may be full time lecturers or researchers in the field specified by the institution or be a serial/regional scholar. The experience of scholars who visit the region is unique.

Information on other programs encompassed by the Fulbright program, such as Fulbright Hays Foreign Area and Language Training Programs, is available from the U.S. Department of Education.

For an overview of the Fulbright Scholarship programs please visit the Council for International Exchange for Scholars (CIES).

Woodrow Wilson Center Fellowships

Fellowship opportunities are available annually through the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Please visit their website for more information.

United States Institute of Peace (USIP) Grants on Education and Islam

USIP invites innovative proposals that explore and/or promote the role educational programs -- both school- and community-based -- play in enhancing interreligious understanding. Practical initiatives to strengthen teacher training and develop new curricular or other educational materials are eligible for funding ($25,000-$45,000), along with policy oriented research projects.

USIP will not review proposals that focus on issues relating to interreligious conflict or cooperation within the United States. It will, however, consider projects designed to improve knowledge in the United States about Islam, or to promote peaceful relations between Americans in the United States and moderate Muslims abroad.

The application deadline for the 2005-2006 academic year has passed. Announcement of awards will not be made until March 31, 2006.

For application materials and more information about requirements and eligibility, please call or write or visit the USIP website: http://www.usip.org/grants

United States Institute of Peace
Grant Program, Fall 2005 Solicited Grants
1200 17th Street NW, Suite 200
Washington, D.C. 20036-3011

Tel.: 202-429-3842
Fax: 202-429-6063
E-mail: grants@usip.org