Deadline: 2-Jun-23
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 2023 United States South Pacific (USSP) Scholarship Program and the FY 2023 United States Timor-Leste (USTL) Scholarship Program.
Purpose
- United States South Pacific Scholarship Program Overview:
- The USSP Scholarship Program was established by the United States Congress to provide opportunities for eight (8) U.S. undergraduate and graduate degree students from South Pacific nations to study 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 degree 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 EAP regional bureau representatives and Public Affairs Sections 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 three (3) scholarships can 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.
Funding Information
- Approximate Total Funding: $1,375,000
- Approximate Number of Awards: 1-2
- Approximate Average Award: $1,000,000 for the administration of USSP program;
- $375,000 for the administration of USTL program
- Floor of Award Range: $375,000
- Ceiling of Award Range: $1,375,000
Participants
The U.S. South Pacific Scholarship Program and the U.S. Timor-Leste Scholarship Program emphasize the selection of young men and women with leadership experience or potential who will have a positive impact on their country’s future development. The Bureau seeks scholarship participants who represent all aspects of their home country’s diversity. Individuals living in the United States are not eligible and preference is given to those without significant U.S. or third-country undergraduate study experience.
Timorese applicants should have functional English skills but often require pre-academic English training in the United States prior to beginning their undergraduate study. South Pacific applicants will not need pre-academic English training, but at the master’s level may benefit from up to one year of preparatory study, known as a bridging semester or year, if they possess the three-year baccalaureate degree commonly offered in the Pacific Islands region.
Eligibility Criteria
- U.S. public and private academic and cultural institutions, exchange-of-persons, and other notfor-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. Please see the Proposal Submission Instructions (PSI) for additional information.
- Other Eligibility Requirements
- The following additional eligibility requirements apply to this NOFO announcement:
- ECA’s grant guidelines require that organizations with less than four years of experience in conducting international exchanges be limited to $130,000 in ECA funding. ECA anticipates making one to two cooperative agreement(s), in an amount of over $130,000 to support all costs required to implement this exchange program. Therefore, organizations with less than four years of experience in conducting international exchanges are ineligible to apply under this competition.
- All proposals must comply with the requirements stated in the NOFO, POGI (if applicable), and the Proposal Submission Instructions (PSI); non-compliance will result in your proposal being declared technically ineligible and given no further consideration in the review process.
- Only one proposal will be considered by ECA from each applicant organization. In cases where more than one submission from an applicant appears in grants.gov, ECA will only consider the submission made closest in time to the NOFO deadline; that submission would constitute the one and only proposal ECA would review from that applicant.
- The following additional eligibility requirements apply to this NOFO announcement:
For more information, visit ECA.