Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program

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The Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship program brings mid-career and young professionals from several developing countries to USA for a year of leadership development, non-degree graduate-level education, and professional collaboration with their American counterparts. Through this fellowship program, the selected students will be able to pursue their higher education in any one of the 12 US universities. Over the last four decades, more than 4,600 Fellows from 157 countries have taken part in the program and have been hosted by more than 40 universities in the USA.

Features of Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowships Program:

The major components of the Humphrey Fellowship program include academic enrichment, professional development, English language courses, the Humphrey Seminar, and a four-day seminar.
The fellowship covers almost all the expenses of the selected candidates:
- Air travel
- Tuition & fees & Book allowance
- Pre-academic English language training
- Monthly living allowance
- One-time settling-in stipend for student housing in USA
- Sickness and accident coverage
- One-time subsidy for computer
- Allowance for all professional activities like field trips & conferences
Application deadline for the Hubert H. Humphrey Program varies in different participating countries. For Indian students, it was on July 1, 2024.

Once nominations are submitted, finalized fellowship recipients are announced in March next year. The selected participants begin their program between April and September the same year, based on the extent of English language training needed by them. The Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship program reaches its end in June next year.

Highlights

Scholarship Type	Merit-Based
Offered by	Government bodies
Organization	USIEF
Application Deadline	Jul 01 ,2024
Number of Scholarships	156
Amount	Variable Amount
Renewability	No
International Student Eligible	Yes
Scholarship Website Link	https://www.usief.org.in/Hubert-H-Humphrey-Fellowship-Program.aspx
Application Form	Click Here

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility requirements for the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Programs are quite straightforward. Only those who fulfill these requirements given below will be considered for the program:

Citizenship: National of any of the 131 participating countries including India, Peru, Bangladesh, Pakistan.
Academic Qualification: Must hold an undergraduate degree from an accredited university.
Professional Experience: Minimum 5 years of full-time work experience, preferably in a relevant field.
- Part-time work experience is not considered.
Language Proficiency: Must be proficient in the English language & attempt TOEFL/IELTS exams to demonstrate the same.
Must have a public service record in the community and minimal to no prior experience in the USA.

Eligible Courses

Professionals from the following fields are eligible for participating in the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship program:

Rural Development and Agriculture	Economic Development	Finance and Banking
Natural Resources, Climate Change, and Environmental Policy	Regional and Urban Planning	Journalism/Communications
Human Rights and Law	Public Administration and Public Policy Analysis	Trafficking in Persons Prevention and Policy
Technology Management and Policy	HR Management	Educational Administration, Policy and Planning
Higher Education Administration	The Teaching of English as Foreign Language	Public Health Management and Policy
HIV/AIDS Prevention and Policy	Substance Abuse Prevention, Education and Treatment

NOTE: For any program-related inquiry, applicants must contact the U.S. Embassy, Public Affairs Section, or Binational Fulbright Commission in their respective country.

Application Process

The Humphrey Fellowship program is overseen by a binational Fulbright Commission in 26 countries while in other countries, it is administered by the U.S. Embassy’s Public Affairs Section. Application deadlines vary according to the applicant’s country. For Indian students, Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship program application deadline was July 1, 2024. Screening of applicants will begin in late July, 2024 and applicants will be notified with the results at the end of July, 2024. All shortlisted candidates will be interview in mid-August.

To apply for the fellowship, Indian applicants need to complete the documents:

Hubert Humphrey Fellowship Program Application
Confidential Letter of Reference (2)
Confidential Letter of Reference from Current Employer
Employer’s Endorsement Form

All these documents must be completed and sent to humphrey@usief.org.in before the application deadline.

Note I: In case of central or state govt. employees, the signed copy of employer’s endorsement form must be forwarded via cadre controlling authority.
Note II: Recommendation letters must be sent to

Senior Program Officer,
Indian Program, USIEF,
Fulbright House, 12 Hailey Road,
New Delhi 110001

Selection Process

The Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program is administered either by the U.S. Embassy’s Public Affairs Section or the Binational Fulbright Commission. While the selection criteria may differ according to the applicant’s country, the overall selection process of the Humphrey Fellowship Program application takes place in five stages:

National Screening: The commission reviews all applications and invites potential recipients for an interview session. Post that, applications of shortlisted candidates are forwarded to IIE in Washington for further evaluation.
Screening by the Institute of International Education: IIE reviews all applications, verify the eligibility, and then summons the regional Candidate Review Committees (CRC) for further evaluation of the applications.
Screening by CRC: The committee assembles in Washington, D.C., in December and evaluates applications from a specific region. It comprises of independent experts who hold regional professional experience in international organizations, academia, or NGOs.
Approval of J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board (FSB)*: This board sets procedures and policies for the supervision of the program and has the final authority over decisions regarding the selection of Fellows.
Placement of the Selected Candidates: After FSB has approved the candidates selected by CRCs, the Department of State informs the same to participating commissions and embassies which, in turn, will apprise the selected candidates.

Post that, IIE places the approved Fellows at the selected host universities in the USA. The placements are based on the Fellow’s field of education and the program plan statements included in their applications. Fellows don’t have any sway over the decision regarding the university they will attend.

*Congress established FSB to administer the Fulbright programs, which also include the Humphrey Fellowship programs.

Grant Details

The Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program was introduced in 1978 in the honor of the late Hubert H. Humphrey, the former vice president and senator of the United States. This fellowship program was first announced in Venezuela by Jimmy Carter with intention to create a program that must carry democratic values and asssit develop nations all over the world. In the year 1979, a total of 27 mid-career professionals arrived to the United States from 24 countries into 11 US universities.

The summary of the Humphrey Fellowship Program are tabulated below:

Scholarship Type	Merit-based
Eligible Candidates	Citizen of a participating country; minimum full-time professional experience of five years
Average Number of Fellowships Awarded Annually	150
Available To International Candidates	Yes
Application Deadlines	Varies by country; India: July 1, 2024 (Closed)
Participating Countries	Botswana, South Africa, Russia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, China, Indonesia, India, Costa Rica, Argentina, and many more
Official Website	www.humphreyfellowship.org

Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program applications for 2024 session are ongoing. While the deadline for Indian applicants has passed, interestes applicants can prepare their applications for the the 2024 session.