U.S. Embassy in Dominican Republic: Global Exchange Program (Global U-GRAD)

Deadline: 28-Feb-21

The Global Undergraduate Exchange Program (U-GRAD) – an academic exchange program has been launched, aimed at low-income students throughout the Dominican Republic and opens to all academic areas. Successful candidates will be exposed to American academic institutions, society and culture, as well as the opportunity to enhance and increase their professional skills.

The Program is sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the United States Government.

U-GRAD is a scholarship to study for one semester at a university in the United States. The student will not receive a bachelor’s degree from this university; rather, the program seeks for the student to take courses that their university in the Dominican Republic does not offer and thus complement their program. In some cases, the student may validate some subjects, but it is the scholarship holder’s responsibility to make the arrangements for validation with their home university.

All academic fields of study are eligible. According to the J-1 visa regulations, candidates interested in medicine, nursing, veterinary medicine, pharmacy or other clinical fields of study, must be aware that direct patient care, including animal care, is not allowed, therefore, activities in courses and / or academic programs at participating US institutions may be limited.

The chosen candidates will live at the university with fellow Americans. To ensure that the student receives the necessary guidance to carry out their semester or year successfully, the university will be in charge of guiding them in topics such as: study techniques, methodology to carry out research, time management, techniques for taking notes of efficiently, etc. Students will participate in community service work for a minimum of 20 hours during the exchange semester.

Eligibility Criteria

Be a student at a university in the Dominican Republic and have completed at least one year of their bachelor’s program at the time of applying to the program;
Applicant must have at least one semester pending at their university in the Dominican Republic after returning from the program
Have an academic index of 3.0;
Be over 18 years of age at the time of applying to the program;
Demonstrate leadership and motivation in their academic life, be involved with the university community and participate in extracurricular activities;
Have not traveled to the United States or have little experience in the United States;
Fluency in the English language (all classes are offered in English);
Not have permanent residence status, or citizenship of the United States;
Be a citizen or resident of the Dominican Republic;
Have availability to start the program in August 2021 or January 2022.