Deadline: 4-Jan-21
Undergraduate students from Pakistan interested in the topic of Comparative Public Policymaking are invited to apply for participation in the Study of the United States Institute for Student Leaders. If conducted in-person, the Institute will take place at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst from late June to early August 2021.
However, there is a strong possibility that by then, in-person programs will still not be possible. In that case, they will offer a virtual version of the Institutes instead. The program will be intensive, academic, and highly interactive. The program sponsors seek energetic applicants who are ready to develop their skills in order to be effective leaders in their schools and communities.
Study of the U.S. Institutes (SUSIs) for Student Leaders are intensive short-term academic programs whose purpose is to provide groups of undergraduate student leaders with a deeper understanding of the United States while simultaneously enhancing their leadership skills. The Institutes will consist of a balanced series of seminar discussions, readings, group presentations, and lectures. The coursework and classroom activities will be complemented by educational travel, site visits, leadership activities, and volunteer opportunities within the local community
U.S. Government will cover all participant costs, including program administration; international and visa travel, travel allowances, domestic travel and ground transportation; book, cultural, mailing and incidental allowances; and housing and subsistence as well as arrange and pay for participants’ international and visa travel costs and travel allowances within set limits if the program is conducted in-person.
Eligibility Criteria
The participants are expected to be highly motivated first through third-year undergraduate students from colleges, universities, and other institutions of higher education, who demonstrate leadership through academic work, community involvement, and extracurricular activities. Their fields of study will be varied and may include the sciences, social sciences, humanities, education, business, and other professional fields. Candidates applying for this program should:
- Be proficient in English;
- Be interested in the topic of local, state, and federal public policymaking;
- Be between 18 and 25 years of age;
- Have at least one semester left of their undergraduate studies, and therefore be committed to returning to their home universities following completion of the program;
- Demonstrate strong leadership qualities and potential in their university and community activities;
- Indicate a serious interest in learning about the United States;
- Have a sustained high level of academic achievement, as indicated by grades, awards, and teacher recommendations;
- Demonstrate a commitment to community and extracurricular university activities;
- Have little or no prior study or travel experience in the United States or elsewhere outside of their home country;
- Be mature, responsible, independent, confident, open-minded, tolerant, thoughtful, and inquisitive;
- Be willing and able to fully participate in an intensive academic program, community service, and educational travel; and,
- If participating in-person, be comfortable with campus life, prepared to share living accommodations, and able to make adjustments to cultural and social practices different from those of their home country.
How to Apply?
- Complete an application form and submit it latest by 11:59 pm on Monday, January 04, 2021. Only emailed applications will be considered for review. Take special care in answering the essay questions. While saving the file and e-mailing the application, kindly use the following format for the subject line: Applicant Name, Name of Institution, City in which you study, for e.g. KAMRAN IQBAL, NUST, ISLAMABAD. (This is important, please do not ignore this!)
- While answering questions, please be mindful of the word limits.
- The Public Affairs Section will contact applicants selected for interviews, as demonstrated in the application. Interviews will take place in or around mid-January 2021, whether in-person or virtual. Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.
- The list of finalists and alternates will be announced by approximately mid to late April 2021.
- Selected participants will need to obtain passports and apply for U.S. visas with the assistance of the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy.
- Students will receive orientation materials in the weeks prior to the start of the program to help prepare them for the program and their trip to the United States if an in-person program is conducted. Participants may have an opportunity to speak with the Public Affairs Section about the program.
- Subject to travel restrictions due to COVID and visa approvals, participants will travel to the United States for the Institute in the summer of 2021.
For more information, visit https://bit.ly/3nNN1kS