Fulbright Master's Fellowships for Leadership Development

The Fulbright Master's Fellowships for Leadership Development are designed for outstanding young Indians to pursue a master's degree program at selected U.S. colleges and universities in the areas of Business Administration, Communication Studies, Economics, Environment and Public Administration. The program is for highly motivated individuals who demonstrate leadership qualities, have completed the equivalent of a U.S. bachelor's degree, have at least three years professional or work experience, and are committed to return and contribute to their communities. The fellowships, for one to two years, will provide funding for tuition and fees, round-trip airfare, and living and related costs in support of the recipient's graduate study in the U.S.

Selected scholars are expected to begin their graduate program in the U.S. during the academic year 2009-2010. The scholars will travel to the U.S. on J-1 visas and will be subject to J-visa regulations.

Grant Benefits
The fellowship will provide the following benefits:

• J-1 visa support;
• Round-trip airfare from fellow's home city to the host institution in the U.S.;
• Funding for tuition and fees, living and related costs;*
• Accident and sickness coverage per U.S. Government guidelines; and
• Pre-academic English language training (if necessary).

* USIEF funding may not cover all costs and the scholar may need to supplement grant benefits with other resources.

The Fulbright Master's Fellowship program provides no financial support for dependents.

Eligibility Requirements
In addition to the General Prerequisites, the applicants should:

• have completed an equivalent of a U.S. bachelor's degree from a recognized Indian university with at least 55% marks. Applicants should either possess a four-year bachelor's degree or a completed master's degree, if the bachelor's degree is of less than four years' duration;
• have at least three years' full time (paid or voluntary) professional or work experience relevant to their proposed field of study;
• preferably be in the age group of 25-30 years;
• demonstrate experience in leadership and community service; and
• should not have another degree from a U.S. university or be enrolled in a U.S. degree program.

Eligible Fields of Study

Each applicant should choose one field of study that matches his/her chief area of interest.  The following field descriptions are illustrative and applicants should note that individual academic host institution programs of study may differ in course offerings, subspecialties, and academic requirements.

• Business Administration:  The study of management as it relates to the management of organizations in the public and private sectors, including those that are not-for-profit.  Subspecialties include: accounting, advertising and public relations, banking and finance, entrepreneurship, hospitality management, human resources, insurance, international business, management information systems, management strategy and policy, marketing, and organizational behavior, among others.
• Communication Studies: The study of all aspects of mass communication, including print (newspapers, journals) and broadcast (radio, television, internet) media, media management, and communications research and strategy. Subspecialties include: marketing, media management, public relations, print journalism, online journalism, and broadcast journalism, among others.
• Economics: The study of production, demand and allocation of resources in society, economic trends, effects of government economic policy on the economy. Subspecialties include: development economics, international economics, macroeconomics, microeconomics, labor economics, agricultural economics, and public finance, among others.
• Environment: The study of the environment in all its complexities. Subspecialties include: environmental toxicology, natural resource management, pollution prevention, environmental law, environmental engineering and environmental policy analysis, among others.
• Public Administration: The study of management as it relates to the government sector (local, state, federal) or organizations serving the public. Subspecialties include: policy analysis, non-profit management, international development, public sector management, public finance, healthcare management, and city/urban development, among others.

How to Apply
Please refer to Application Procedure and Guidelines and download Application Material.

Application Due Date: July 15, 2008

Timeline and Placement Process

July 15, 2008                    Application due date for 2009-2010 awards

July-August 2008               Field-specific screening committees review applications to short-  list candidates

Mid to late August 2008    National interviews of short-listed candidates in Delhi

September 2008               USIEF notifies finalists and alternates that they are recommended and they then take tests (TOEFL/GRE/GMAT/TSE)

October 2008                   USIEF forwards applications of recommended candidates to the U.S. for Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board (FSB) approval and placement

March-April 2009             USIEF notifies finalists

May-June 2009               Pre-Departure Orientation

July-August 2009            Pre-academic training in the U.S. (if required)

August-September 2009  Degree programs begin

Placement of successful candidates is done by the Institute of International Education (IIE). Recommended applicants do not need to apply to U.S. institutions on their own. IIE/Fulbright Program will apply to four different institutions on their behalf, taking into consideration the candidates' preferred institutions and the candidates' competitiveness. If a recommended candidate has previously applied to U.S. institutions and has requested a deferral from the institution, the candidate must notify USIEF immediately.  If a recommended candidate already has a deferral, then IIE will not apply to any other institution and will seek to confirm placement only at the deferral institution.