Fulbright Fellowships

Introduction

In April every year, United States Education Foundation of India (USEFI) invites applications from Indian nationals for Fulbright fellowships to go to the United States.

The duration of the fellowships: Ranges from two to approximately nine months.

The fellowships are available in the categories of Students, Lecturers, Researchers and Professionals. Some of these fellowships are cost-shared and supported by industry and philanthropic organizations.

Currently, fellowships are available in the following categories

1. Visiting Lectureships

2. Research Scholar

3. Travel-Only

4. Educational Administration

5. Pre-doctoral Study/Research

6. The Arts

7. Information Science & Technology

8. Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowships

9. Leadership in Management

10. Scholar-in-Residence

11. The East-West Center in Honolulu, Hawaii, also awards fellowships to Indian citizens. These are administered directly by the Center.

General Prerequisites for Fellowship

Applicants should

• Be a representative and responsible Indian citizen who can contribute to a full and fair picture of the culture and civilization of India, and thereby help to promote understanding and friendship between the peoples of the United States and India
• Be present in India at the time of submitting the application, and for the interview, if required;
• Not have been in the US during the past three years on a teaching, research, study or professional assignment for a continuous period of three months or more, at the time of submitting the application;
• Have a high level of academic/professional achievement;
• Be eligible for leave, if employed;
• Demonstrate proficiency in the English language which is commensurate with the project that the applicant wishes to pursue, and is adequate to adjust to life in the US. The applicant may be required to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL);
• Be in good health.

Application guidelines

Requests for application material must be sent to the USEFI office in your region along with a self-addressed and stamped (Rs. 15.00) 10" x 7" envelope. Application forms will be sent only to those who state their: (i) academic / professional qualifications (ii) date of birth (iii) present position (iv) the fellowship category.

The Application Form

You can download the appropriate application form from USEFI's site http://www.fulbright-india.org/ or e-mail a request to info@fulbright-india.org specifying the grant category. USEFI will e-mail you the file as an attachment.

The completed applications (including enclosures, if any) must be submitted through the appropriate administrative authority (Vice-Chancellor / Registrar / Director / Principal) to the USEFI Office within your region.

Applications must reach USEFI by the specified deadline date, or the following Monday if the deadline falls on a weekend.

In the case of Central or State government employees, a copy of the completed application should be sent through proper channel to the "Director (U-4), Department of Education, Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD), Shastri Bhavan, New Delhi 110011", to reach the Ministry two weeks before the application deadline. Such candidates are advised to send an advance copy (a photocopy of the complete application) along with a copy of the forwarding note to the Ministry of Human Resource Development, to USEFI, New Delhi, well before the application deadline.

Consideration will, however, be given only if the application forwarded by the Ministry of HRD reaches USEFI by the deadline.

Incomplete applications, or applications not forwarded through proper channel will not be considered.

Applicants are also advised to request three referees to send in their recommendations, either on the Reference Report Form or the referee's letterhead (as specified in the Preliminary Application Form), directly to the USEFI office in New Delhi.

In case of employed candidates, the employer's comments in the application form must indicate that leave will be granted for the fellowship.

All entries in the application form must be typewritten, or computer generated, and not hand-written. Their content must be limited to the space provided, unless otherwise specified. If the application form is being downloaded, its format, pagination, fonts, or type size should not be changed. The form must be signed before submission. Completed applications should not be sent as e-mail attachments. To confirm receipt of applications, applicants should call or email the USEFI office in their region, or enclose a self-addressed post-card along with their applications.

Selection Process

Expert Committees will review all eligible applications. Applicants recommended by the committees will be required to appear for an interview by USEFI's National Selection Committee in New Delhi. In case of certain fellowship categories, applicants may be required to appear for regional level interviews, at their own expense, prior to the national interviews in New Delhi. Those called for the National Selection interviews in Delhi will be reimbursed round-trip direct route rail fare. All candidates called for interviews (Regional/National) will have to bring along the originals of degrees/mark sheets/ certificates (starting with the school leaving certificate), and any other documents that they may wish to present before the interview committee.

Decisions taken by the various committees in connection with the selection process will be final and requests for reconsideration will NOT be entertained.