Applications are now open for the 2024-2025 Hubert Humphrey Fellowship Program! Application Deadline: July 31, 2023.  Visit: https://apply.iie.org/ to apply!

The Humphrey Fellowship Program was initiated in 1978 to honor the memory and accomplishments of the late Senator and Vice-President, Hubert H. Humphrey. Fellows are selected through a competitive process based on their potential for leadership and commitment to public service in the public or private sector.

The Humphrey Program is a one-year, non-degree Fellowship program offered to mid-career professionals who have a proven track record of leadership, a public service commitment, and the capacity to take full advantage of a self-defined program of independent study at a leading U.S. university. It’s unique in its practice orientation for the students, as they receive high quality networking opportunities in their field, which will last throughout their career.

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 Guyana offers to qualified Guyanese, Humphrey Fellowship opportunities in the following fields:

Human and Institutional Capacity:

• Economic Development
• Finance and Banking
• Public Policy Analysis and Public Administration
• Technology Policy and Management

 Rights and Freedoms:

• Law and Human Rights
• Communications/Journalism

 Sustainable Lands:

• Agricultural and Rural Development
• Natural Resources, Environmental Policy, and Climate Change
• Urban and Regional Planning

 Thriving Communities:

• Educational Administration, Planning

 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.
• 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 Guyana.
• Be a graduate of an accredited university or college and hold a Bachelor’s degree or its equivalent prior to August 2023.
• Have five years of substantial professional experience beyond attainment of a first university/undergraduate degree, and prior to August 2023 .
• Show leadership ability and broadly defined commitment to public service.
• Be committed to returning to Guyana 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.

• 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 U.S. in-country experience of any kind lasting more than six months during the five years prior to August 2023; and

• Individuals with dual U.S. citizenship or U.S. permanent resident status may not apply to the program; they are ineligible for a J visa.

 Program Calendar

The dates given here are approximate.

• Deadline for Application: July 31, 2023
• Interviewees are notified of the interview results: November 2023
• Announcement of awards of Fellowships: March 2024
• Pre-departure orientation for grantees: July – August 2024
• Fellowships begin: August – September 2024

The Humphrey Program provides the following benefits:

The Fellowship provides for:

• Payment of tuition and fees at the assigned host university;
• A maintenance (living) allowance, including a one-time settling-in allowance;
• Accident and sickness coverage;
• A book allowance;
• A one-time computer subsidy;
• Air travel (international travel to and from the U.S. for the Program and domestic travel to required program events);
• A Professional Development allowance for professional activities, such as field trips, professional visits and conferences.

Visas

In order to make sure that Guyana continues to receive the benefits of the exchange program, U.S. visa requirements state that visitors under an exchange program return to and remain in GUYANA FOR A MINIMUM PERIOD OF TWO YEARS AFTER COMPLETION OF THEIR PROGRAMS.

Application available at: Humphrey Application 

Question?
For questions about the application process, write to us here:  PDGeorge@state.gov