Deadline: 8 June 2020
The Office of Academic Exchange Programs of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) announces an open competition for an assistance award to administer the FY 2020 United States South Pacific (USSP) Scholarship Program and the FY 2020 United States Timor-Leste (USTL) Scholarship Program.
United States South Pacific Scholarship Program Overview:
The USSP Scholarship Program was established by the United States Congress to provide opportunities for U.S. degree study to students from South Pacific nations in fields important for the region’s future development. Public Law 103-236 authorized academic scholarships to qualified students from the sovereign island nations of the South Pacific region to pursue undergraduate and graduate study at institutions of higher education in the United States. Students from the following nations are eligible to apply for these scholarships: Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Niue, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu. Fields of study are based on recommendations from U.S. Department of State regional bureau representatives and Public Affairs Sections (PAS) at U.S. embassies in the region and include public administration, public health, STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), education, environmental studies, agriculture, business, NGO management, political science, gender studies, journalism, and others. Students selected for these scholarships enroll in undergraduate degree programs or in master’s degree programs. South Pacific student applicants will not require pre-academic English training, but at the master’s level may benefit from up to one year of preparatory study in the U.S. prior to enrolling in a formal master’s degree program if they possess the three year baccalaureate degree commonly offered in the Pacific Islands region.
United States Timor-Leste Scholarship Program Overview:
The goal of the USTL Scholarship Program is to identify a select cadre of academically talented Timorese who are expected to assume future leadership roles in Timor-Leste’s development and support their undergraduate level study and degrees at accredited higher education institutions in the United States. An objective of the USTL program is to develop the human resource capacity of the Timorese people, especially in fields such as agricultural science, business, communications, economics, education, environmental science, international relations, political science, psychology and sociology. The eligible academic fields of study were selected to emphasize the areas of critical development need in Timor-Leste. Students selected for these scholarships pursue undergraduate degree programs plus up to one year of pre-academic English training. In almost all cases, USTL students will have undergraduate credits for transfer from their home institutions.
Award Information
- Approximate Total Funding: $700,000
- Approximate Average Award: $700,000 for the administration of two programs; $350,000 for the administration of one program
- Floor of Award Range: $350,000
- Ceiling of Award Range: $700,000
- Anticipated Award Date: August 1, 2020
Eligibility Criteria
- Eligible applicants:
- U.S. public and private non-profit organizations meeting the provisions described in Internal Revenue Code section 26 USC 501(c)(3) may submit applications for this competition. Applicants must have nonprofit status with the IRS at the time of application.
- Other Eligibility Requirements:
- Bureau grant guidelines require that organizations with less than four years of experience in conducting international exchanges be limited to $130,000 in Bureau funding. ECA anticipates making one cooperative agreement, in an amount up to $700,000, or two cooperative agreements of up to $350,000 each, to support program and administrative costs required to implement the exchange program(s). Therefore, organizations with less than four years of experience in conducting international exchanges are ineligible to apply under this competition.
- Eligible applicants may not submit more than one proposal in this competition. If more than one proposal is received from the same applicant, all submissions will be declared technically ineligible and will receive no further consideration in the review process. Please note: Applicant organizations are defined by their legal name, and EIN number as stated on their completed SF-424 and additional supporting documentation outlined in the Proposal Submission Instructions (PSI) document.
For more information, visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=326204