Deadline: 19-Feb-23
The U.S. Embassy Tokyo’s Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Department of State announces an open competition to promote study abroad, focusing on U.S. graduate educational institutions.
This project intends to promote U.S. graduate schools by providing informative sessions and workshops nationwide, creating links between prospective students and alumni, and, therefore, increasing the number of Japanese who pursue U.S. graduate studies to include PhD in hard sciences.
American and/or Japanese non-profit organizations may submit proposals to manage and administer innovative and creative programs designed to increase the number of Japanese students studying at U.S. graduate schools in a variety of fields. The proposals must also include plans to increase Japanese seeking PhDs in the hard sciences. Informative sessions, workshops must cover U.S. graduate schools in general, and promotion solely to a specific higher education institution or state will not be considered, although single/state may be use as case studies or examples.
Program Objectives: The U.S.-Japan relationship is strong, in part because of the goodwill built between Americans and Japanese over decades academic and other people-to-people exchange opportunities. At its peak, the number of Japanese students studying in the U.S. exceeded 47,000; however, over the subsequent decades, those numbers have dropped to under 13,449 (in the 2021-2022 school year according to Open Doors statistics). In order to ensure the strong, multigenerational support for the U.S.-Japan relationship that comes from studying in the U.S., it is important to reverse this trend.
The Embassy welcomes proposals that address this complex issue.
The Embassy is particularly interested in supporting the following priority areas:
- Promote study at the graduate level in the U.S. through providing information and resources to Japanese college students and young professionals;
- Highlight opportunities afforded by attending an American graduate-level program;
- Encourage interested audiences by providing opportunities to meet with U.S. graduate school alumni in Japan at specialized workshops and providing networking events.
- Promote Japanese seeking PhDs in the hard sciences. Potential fields of hard sciences include, but are not limited to:
- Robotics
- Artificial Intelligence (AI)
- Quantum physics
- Engineering
- Biotechnology.
Funding Information
- Length of performance period: Up to 24 months
- Number of awards anticipated: 1-3 awards
- Award amounts: awards may range from a minimum of $10,000 to a maximum of $50,000
- Type of funding: FY23 Smith Mundt Public Diplomacy Funds
- Anticipated program start date: No later than September 30, 2023
- Funding instrument type: Grant, Fixed Amount Award, Cooperative Agreement, or Individual Award. Cooperative agreements are different from grants in that bureau/embassy staff are more actively involved in the grant implementation.
- Program Performance Period: Proposed programs should be completed in 2 years or less.
Note: This notice is subject to the availability of funding.
Participants and Audiences: Programs should target Japanese college students and young professionals.
Eligibility Criteria
- The following organizations are eligible to apply:
- Not-for-profit organizations, including think tanks and civil society/nongovernmental organizations
- Public and private educational institutions
- Public international organizations and governmental institutions.
For more information, visit Promote Study Abroad.