Educational Exchange
Fulbright Junior Staff Development Program
Applications for the Fulbright Junior Staff Development Programs for the 2010 – 2011 academic year are now closed.
About the Grant: The highly competitive Fulbright Junior Staff Development (JSD) Program is designed to strengthen African universities and other educational or cultural institutions by financing Masters or Doctoral degree study at U.S.universities for outstanding staff members. Candidates must be nominated or strongly endorsed by their employing institutions.
Grantees seeking degrees will receive funding for two years at a U.S. university. Since Doctoral programs usually last up to five years, candidates must secure funding to complete the program. Grantees are expected to complete their work within this time frame. Awards are for one degree only. Should the period of study need to be extended, the grantee must secure other funding to cover the period of the extension.
The fields of Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Medicine are excluded from the JSD Program.
Academic programs are expected to begin in August or September, each year, although some grantees may be required to complete summer courses prior to the start of the regular academic year.
Prerequisites: Applicants must be Zambian citizens with fluent English language skills (TOEFL score 600 or above) and strong academic backgrounds. They should possess a Bachelors or Masters degree related to their professional field. Ph.D. candidates must already possess a Masters degree. Applicants seeking higher degrees in fields unrelated to earlier university studies or their professional fields must provide especially strong justification for the switch. Applicants should be committed to continuing their work with their institutions following their return to Zambia.
Grant Benefits: Grants include round-trip international travel, travel allowances, a settling-in allowance, tuition and fees at the U.S. university, a monthly maintenance allowance, books and supplies, funding for course-required fieldtrips, a cultural enrichment grant, and medical insurance coverage. These benefits are intended to cover the grantee only; they will not be increased to provide for accompanying dependents. Grantees are expected to arrange for their own housing in the United States: those receiving acceptances from U.S. universities should contact that institution's housing office immediately.
How to Apply: The 2008 application season is closed and the next applcation season will start in 2009 for the 2010-2011 academic year. Preliminary application forms for the JSD program must be typed, with certified copies of University certificates and transcripts attached, along with two (2) letters of recommendations, of which one of them should be from current employer. Completed forms must be submitted to the Cultural Affairs Assistant at the American Embassy, with all supporting documents attached, no later than the specified date in the notice.
Completed applications will be closely reviewed and selected candidates will be interviewed. Based on these assessments, the applications of qualified candidates will be forwarded to the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarships Board in Washington for final review. Only shorlisted candidates will be informed of acceptance or non-acceptance by letter in May, 2009.
The Institute of International Education (IIE) will also seek placements (at no cost to the grantee) at other appropriate universities. Approved grantees who are fully funded by Embassy Public Affairs Section and who are offered a substantial scholarship at an institution contacted by IIE will be required to accept admission at that institution, regardless of personal preference for another university. IIE will accept admission on behalf of the grantee and will give notice through the American Center. This office will conduct pre-departure orientation programs for successful candidates.
Examinations: All applicants for the JSD Program will be required to take the TOEFL examination. Applicants seeking degrees in Business Administration will be required to take the GMAT; most others will be required to take the GRE. Application bulletins for these examinations are available from the Student Advising office of the American Center. JSD applicants will receive vouchers to cover the costs of these examinations.