Global Undergraduate Exchange Program 2010
Global Undergraduate Exchange Program 2010
Summary: the office of academic exchange programs in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (eca) is pleased to announce a new exchange program for undergraduate studies -- the 2010 Global Undergraduate Exchange Program (global ugrad program). This is a non-degree program. The goal of the program is to provide a diverse group of emerging student leaders with a substantive exchange experience at a u.s. college or university.
Global ugrad program participants must return to their home countries upon completion of the program and may not stay on for degree study in the u.s.
Program design: the global ugrad program will provide one-semester and academic-year scholarships to outstanding undergraduate students for the academic year 2010-11, the program will place undergraduate students from El Salvador at u.s. colleges and universities. Eca will award academic-year scholarships (approximately 10 months), and one-semester scholarships (approximately five months).
The length and start date of the scholarship award will depend upon the student applicant’s interests and availability, as well as placement options and availability of funds. Students will not be able to choose their host Institution. This is a non-degree program and it will be the student’s responsibility to check with their home institutions whether credits accumulated during the exchange can be transferred.
Eca is committed to supporting under-represented ethnic, racial, and socio-economic groups, and has designated funding to provide up to three students per country with 3-6 months of intensive English language training in the United States prior to the start of the academic residency portion of the program.
All global ugrad program participants will be enrolled full-time in undergraduate course work chosen from the host institution’s existing curriculum to allow the student’s ample opportunity for substantive interaction with u.s. faculty and student peers, and for exposure to u.s. academic and classroom culture. To ensure that students succeed in their new academic environments, host institutions will offer tailored instruction on topics including academic research and writing, critical thinking, time management, note-taking, and studying for and taking tests. Participants will live on-campus with American peers.
Students will be provided with opportunities to participate in up to ten hours of community service activities per semester. Additionally, an internship component will be offered for all academic-year participants during the academic component of the program. Internships will be related to each participant’s field of study and/or career plans.
Eligibility: Scholarships will be granted to students who currently are enrolled in an undergraduate degree program in their home country, and who have completed their first, second, or third year of undergraduate study.
Candidates should be highly motivated students from colleges, universities and other institutions of higher education in eligible countries who demonstrate leadership through academic work, community involvement, and extracurricular activities. All nominations must include evidence of English fluency through either a minimum toefl test score of 500, or a personal interview/academic reference that demonstrates the likelihood a participant will achieve that score after pre-academic English language training. Candidates must also meet all other requirements of the institution where admission is being sought.
Candidate nominations must be submitted through the electronic version of the official application sent with attachment in low resolution of the requested documents to: becahumphrey@state.gov.
CHECKLIST FOR COMPLETE APPLICATION DOSSIER:
Before submitting your application to the address on the front page, please be sure you have included all of the following REQUIRED components:
- Completed, signed Global Undergraduate Exchange Program application form
- Personal statement in English, 350-500 words, typed
- Copy of the data/photo pages of your passport
- Official transcripts covering years of university study
- Official results of the national general secondary school leaving exam PAES
- Three letters of recommendation from teachers/professors, including one from the candidate’s secondary level institution.
- TOEFL or ITP score report, minimum 450 (or 133 on CBT TOEFL), 500 (or 173 CBT) preferred.
- Two passport-sized photos
For more details about November 13th deadline and how to apply, please visit the Spanish version of the page.