Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program for the academic year of 2019-2020

The United States Embassy in Belarus is pleased to announce the competition for the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program for the academic year of 2019-2020.

Interested applicants must apply online before August 15, 2018.

Humphrey Fellowship Program

The Humphrey Fellowship Program provides young and mid‐career professionals from Belarus with an opportunity to enhance their professional capacities through participation in specialized 10‐month non degree programs developed specifically for small clusters of Humphrey Fellows at selected U.S. universities.

The Humphrey Program was launched in 1978 to honor the memory and accomplishments of the late U.S. Senator and Vice President, Hubert H. Humphrey.

Program Objective

During their year‐long stay at a host American university, Humphrey Fellows are invited to take graduate courses relevant to their professional interests. However, as the Humphrey Fellowship is not a degree program, participants spend a considerable portion of their time engaged in professional development activities including: consultations and affiliations with U.S. faculty and experts, field trips, workshops, research projects and the development of practical useful strategies that could be applied in the Fellows’ home countries.

General Information

Fields of Study

The Public Affairs Office of the U.S. Embassy in Belarus offers to qualified candidates Humphrey Fellowship opportunities in the following fields:

Sustainable Development

• Agricultural and rural development
• Economic development/Finance and banking
• Natural resources, environmental policy, and climate change
• Urban and regional planning

Democratic Institution Building

• Communications/journalism
• Law and human rights
• Public policy analysis and public administration
• Trafficking in persons policy and prevention
• Technology policy and management
• Human resource management

Education

• Educational administration, planning and policy
• Higher education administration
• Teaching of English as a foreign language

Public Health

• Public health policy and management
• HIV/AIDS policy and prevention
• Substance abuse education, treatment and prevention

General Fellowship Requirements:

• Candidates must hold at least a first‐level university degree (equivalent to a B.A. or B.S.) to enable them to undertake graduate level study in the U.S.;
• Candidates must be proficient in English as measured by the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), with a minimum score of 525 in the PBT version or 71 iBT;
• Humphrey Fellows are expected to be resourceful and display initiative. Their applications should indicate how they and their home institutions and countries could benefit from experiences to be acquired under the program.

Specific Eligibility Requirements

Prospective applicants must:

• be residents and citizens of Belarus;
• be a graduate of an accredited university or college and hold a Bachelor’s degree or its equivalent;
• have five years of substantial professional experience;
• show leadership ability and broadly defined commitment to public service;
• be proficient in English;
• be committed to returning to home country after completing the program.

Those Ineligible for Consideration Include:

 recent university graduates (even if they hold significant positions);

• university teachers with no management or policy responsibilities, except for teachers of English as a Foreign Language and specialists in drug abuse prevention and treatment;
• individuals who have attended a graduate school in the U.S. for one academic year or more during the seven years prior to the date of application;
• individuals with recent U.S. educational or work experience (more than six months during the five years prior to the date of application).

Process and Selection Criteria

Humphrey Fellowships are highly competitive, and applicants must fulfill the eligibility criteria outlined above. After a pre‐selection process by the Selection Committee, which is composed of Embassy Officials, the names of selected applicants are sent to the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board (FFSB) in Washington, D.C for final approval.

Candidates will be considered without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, political affiliation, marital status, status as a parent, protected genetic information, or sexual orientation.

Interested applicants must apply online and include all supporting documents.

The online application form and additional instructions are available at https://iie.embark.com/apply/humphreyfellowship2019

On-line applications must be submitted by August 15, 2018.

Benefits

The Humphrey Fellowship program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and coordinated by the Institute of International Education (IIE).

The Humphrey Fellowship Program provides the following benefits:

• Costs of standardized tests required for admission at those universities;
• Pre‐departure Orientation;
• Assistance in obtaining the J‐1 visa (Exchange Program Visa);
• Economy class round‐trip airline ticket;
• Medical Insurance provided by the Government of the United States, which fulfills the minimum requirements established by the J‐1 visa and by the Fulbright Program;
• Living expenses, which vary depending on city of destination. The Fellowship does not cover the expenses of the grantee’s accompanying family members;
• Pre‐academic orientation program in the U.S.

Visas

In order to make sure that the country continues to receive the benefits of this exchange program and meet U.S. visa requirements, visitors under an exchange program return to and remain in the CITIZENSHIP COUNTRY FOR A MINIMUM PERIOD OF TWO YEARS AFTER COMPLETION OF THEIR PROGRAMS. The embassy will assist grantees in obtaining visas for their spouses and minor children, though the grantees are responsible for their living expenses.

Additional Information

To learn more about the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program, please visit the program’s website: https://humphreyfellowship.org/

For additional questions, please call the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy at 375-17-210-12-83 /ext. 5612 or email us at 

https://by.usembassy.gov/education-culture/educational-exchange/