Fulbright Public Policy Fellowships

Bangladesh	Guatemala	Malawi
Burma (Myanmar)	Haiti	Nepal
Dominican Republic	Ivory Coast	Samoa
Ethiopia	Kazakhstan

Venues for Fulbright Public Policy Fellowships will be announced in September 2013 for the 2014-15 competition.

The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) of the U.S. Department of State inaugurated the Fulbright Public Policy Fellowship in academic year 2012-13. The Fulbright Public Policy Fellowship provides opportunities for U.S. citizens to build mutual understanding and contribute to the strengthening of the public sector abroad.

Fulbright Public Policy Fellows serve in professional placements in foreign government ministries or institutions. Fellows gain hands-on public sector experience in participating foreign countries while simultaneously carrying out an academic study/research project.

Fulbright Public Policy Fellows will function in a “special assistant” role for a senior level official. The goal of the professional placements is to build the Fellows’ knowledge and skills, provide support to partner country institutions, and promote long-term ties between the U.S. and the partner country. The U.S. Embassy, with the Fulbright Commission (where applicable), will provide administrative support and oversight during the Fellow’s program.

Embassies, Fulbright Commissions (where applicable), and host country governments will coordinate appropriate professional placements for candidates in all public policy areas including, but not limited to, public health, education, agriculture, justice, energy, the environment, public finance, economic development, information technology, and communications. While all public policy fields are eligible for placement, for some countries, there is a special interest in hosting Fulbright Public Policy Fellows with experience in certain fields; such opportunities will be announced in the fall of 2013.

Successful applicants must have a strong service orientation, flexibility and resourcefulness, outstanding organizational skills, a wide range of competencies including strong writing, communication and IT skills, and the ability to work behind the scenes in a supportive role. Fellows may be responsible for activities such as policy and budget development and analysis; program monitoring and evaluation; drafting speeches, talking points, and correspondence; record keeping and note taking; and general project management. Fellows will have the opportunity to use their subject area expertise, language fluency, and other skills, such as IT proficiency, during the program to support the achievement of host institution goals. Responsibilities will be finalized after the placement is made. Participants will also be expected to carry out an academic component, such as an independent research project or related coursework. Fulbright Public Policy Fellows will spend 32 hours per week in their professional assignments and 8 hours per week pursuing related academic projects.

• Be U.S. citizens by November 1, 2013.
• Have a Master’s with an area of focus that is applicable to public policy, OR a JD degree OR be currently enrolled in a doctoral program prior to the grant period which will commence in Fall 2014. Candidates who hold a doctoral degree at the time of application are not eligible.
• Have at least two years of full-time, professional work experience in policy-related fields.
  
  Applicants must select one country in the Online Application, but may rank one alternate participating country. Candidates who list more than one country should provide evidence of their qualifications for each country indicated. However, applicants may be considered for all participating countries based on individual country requirements and the applicant’s qualifications.

• Academic and professional record
• Proficiency in the local working language of the host country (additional information will be available when countries are announced). Proficiency will be determined by the application and also will be verified during the application process, which will require an interview in the host country language
• Knowledge of the host country/region (history, culture, etc.)
• Personal and professional qualifications
• Preference factors as indicated below

• Fluency in the local working language(s)
• Deep knowledge of the host country/region (history, culture, etc.)
• A strong service orientation and a high degree of versatility, resourcefulness, and creativity
• Applicable professional experience
• Advanced communication skills

Applicants are not eligible to apply for both programs. If you have applied to the traditional 2014-2015 Fulbright competition and instead would like to be considered for the Fulbright Public Policy Fellowship you must inform IIE (Ashley Prather – aprather@iie.org) of your decision to withdraw your application by November 15, 2013 and re-apply to the Fulbright Public Policy Program before the application deadline of February 3, 2014. Please note that if you withdraw your traditional Fulbright application you should expect to submit new essays and references that speak to your Fulbright Public Policy Fellowship qualifications.

If you have applied for the traditional 2014-2015 Fulbright competition and submit another application for the Fulbright Public Policy Fellowship your application will not be considered.

Applicants must select one country in the Online Application, but may also rank one alternate participating country.

In addition to the Statement of Grant Purpose and Personal Statement, the Fulbright Public Policy Fellowship application requires a supplemental Situational Response essay.

Unlike the traditional Fulbright program, candidates should NOT seek affiliation with an in-country host institution during the application process.

Unlike the traditional Fulbright program, finalists will be interviewed and expected to conduct part of the interview in the language required by the host country.

Yes. However,you should be aware that very strong preference is for those who have not previously held a Fulbright study/research award.

All Fulbright Public Policy Fellowship applicants must apply at-large, not through their university.

This will be determined by the qualifications of candidates, opportunity for making appropriate placements, and funding availability. From the 2012 competition, 21 Fellows were selected for placement worldwide.

10 months, from approximately September/October 2014 to approximately June/July 2015.

The Fulbright Public Policy Fellowship benefits are comparable to the traditional U.S. Student Fulbright Program, and are based on the cost of living in the host country. Grant benefits for all Fulbright U.S. Student grants include:

• Round-trip transportation to the host country
• Funding to cover room, board, and incidental costs, based on the cost of living in the host country. An additional settling-in allowance is also provided
• In-country assistance in setting-up housing, transportation needs, and safety/security planning
• Accident & Sickness Health Benefits

 

For more information please review the U.S. Student Fulbright award benefits.

Work experience may take many forms. Professional internships, various positions in a number of fields that inform public policy, as well as direct work experience in the public policy arena can count toward the two year requirement. Applicants are not required to have prior experience in the field of public policy or to have worked for an organization that is involved directly in public policy. Applicants should illustrate how their unique work experience, in an appropriate field, will benefit the host government in creating, analyzing, or carrying out policies of the host government.

Yes, professional internships should be counted towards the fulfillment of this requirement. Feel free to contact Ashley Prather if you have questions about specific types of experience or internships.

There are no pre-determined placements for which applicants apply.

Unlike the traditional Fulbright program, candidates should NOT affiliate with an in-country host institution during the application process. Candidates must NOT seek their own placements at this stage and must NOT submit any letters regarding placements/affiliations with their applications. Candidates who do not follow these guidelines may be deemed ineligible.

Host governments have consulted with U.S. Embassies to determine the language requirements for Fellows. Please check the individual country pages for countries that you are considering to determine the requirements. Public Policy Fellows will be required to carry out a position in a foreign government ministry effectively and seamlessly. Meeting the language requirements is critical for completing the daily requirements of the professional placement. Applicants should also keep in mind that they will be living in and need to function in the local economy. Applicants should be cognizant of this especially in cases in which the official or working language of government differs from the language used in daily life by the local population. Proficiency will be determined by the application and also will be verified at various times in the application process, including an interview meant, in part, to assess language capabilities.

Focusing your application on one country to demonstrate deep country knowledge is recommended. It may not be possible to demonstrate this level of knowledge for two countries, given language and knowledge requirements. Your second choice should be seen as an alternate and addressed with much less detail. Framing your application as that of a specialist would be the best use of the space allowed for defining your aims.

Eight hours per week are to be scheduled for an academic/research project and 32 hours per week will be spent in a professional placement at the Ministry. This program is not intended for Ph.D. candidates who wish to focus on research for their dissertations.

No. Experience in the host country can be a plus, particularly if it has promoted language acquisition. However, the five year rule still applies - anyone who has resided abroad for five or more consecutive years in the six-year period preceding the date of application is ineligible to apply.

M.D. or medical students or the equivalent (e.g., D.D.S, O.D.) who are pursuing or hold a policy-related degree are eligible to apply. Their research projects, however, cannot be for an activity for which a license to practice medicine or nursing is required.

Online application opens.	November 1, 2013
Online application deadline.	February 3, 2014 - 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time
Review of applications for technical eligibility.	February 2014
National academic screening committee review.	March 2014
J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board approves the final slate of candidates.	March 2014
U.S. Embassy or Fulbright Commission provides country-specific review of nominated candidates.	March/April 2014
Applicants will be interviewed, and expected to conduct part of the interview in the language required by the host country.	March/April 2014
Finalists selected for placement.	Spring 2014
U.S. Embassies and Host Governments negotiate professional placements.	Spring/Summer 2014
Final Placements are determined; Fulbright Public Policy Fellows are notified.	Summer 2014
Successfully placed Fellows are required to participate in a pre-departure orientation in Washington DC.	August 2014
Fellows travel to host countries to begin their assignments.	Fall 2014