Deadline: 1 May 2020
The U.S. Embassy in Iraq is currently seeking applications for the Fulbright Foreign Student Program scholarships to allow exceptional Iraqis to experience life and education in the United States first-hand.
Fulbright students also have the opportunity to share Iraq’s rich culture with Americans they meet and to serve as “student ambassadors” both in the classroom and in everyday life.
The Fulbright scholarship will fund up to two years of study at the Master’s degree level at a U.S. university starting in the fall of 2021. All disciplines and academic fields of study are available under this program, with the exception of medicine and other clinical studies. The program provides funding for tuition, round-trip international travel, living stipends, and health insurance.
All disciplines and academic fields of study are available under this program, with the exception of medicine and other clinical studies. The only medical fields that you can apply for are Neuroscience, Public Health, Pharmacology, Physiology, Psychology and Social Work. Medicine, Dentistry, Pharmacy, or Nursing cannot be covered by Fulbright Foreign Student Program. Iraq Fulbright scholarships fund a maximum of two years. Degrees in the fields mentioned above cannot be completed within a two-year time frame and involve clinical components or patient interaction which is not allowed under J-1 visa regulations.
Policies of the Iraq Fulbright Program
While there are overarching policies to which all Fulbright scholarship recipients from around the world must adhere to, there are also policies which are country-specific:
- Two-year home residency requirement: The J-1 visa is an exchange visa which requires all Fulbright scholarship recipients to return to their home country for at least two years upon successful completion of the program.
- Intention to return to Iraq: Your eligibility for a Fulbright scholarship is based, in part, on your intention to return to Iraq immediately following your program. If you show intent other than to remain in the U.S. for a temporary, specific, limited period (such as applying for an immigrant visa to the U.S., asylum in the U.S., or residency in a country other than Iraq) you will be ineligible to receive the Fulbright scholarship. Please carefully review the J visa policies for further information.
- No-dependents: J visa sponsorship is offered only to the Iraq Fulbright scholarship award recipient. J-2 visa dependents (spouses and children under the age of 21) cannot accompany the Iraqi scholarship recipient on his/her study program
Eligibility Criteria
Applicants must:
- Be Iraqi citizens who are resident in Iraq and demonstrate a clear commitment to return to Iraq at the conclusion of their program.
- Hold a B.A. or B.S. degree from an accredited institution of higher education at the time of application.
- Have a minimum of two years of work experience after graduation.
- Be proficient in English with the ability to score 80 or more on the internet-based TOEFL exam or 550 or more on the paper-based TOEFL.
- Candidates who are selected after interviews will be required to take TOEFL and GRE to gain admission to a U.S. university. Test fees will be covered by the program.
- Write their research objective and personal statement themselves, without copying from the Internet or any other source. Such copying is considered plagiarism and will result in applicant’s immediate disqualification.
Note: TOEFL score is not required at the time of application. Candidates who are selected after application review will be required to take ITP TOEFL as part of the selection process.
For more information, visit https://iq.usembassy.gov/education-culture/exchange-programs/fulbright-foreign-student-program/