U.S. EMBASSY MAURITIUS AND SEYCHELLES CALL FOR APPLICATIONS DEADLINE APRIL 30, 2021
The Embassy of the United States of America to Mauritius and Seychelles is accepting applications from qualified Mauritian and Seychellois citizens only for the 2022-2023 Fulbright Foreign Student Program. Grantees will be funded for up to two years of degree study. Students accepted to degree programs less than two years are only eligible to receive funding through the designated period of degree completion – as stipulated by the host institution. Awards are contingent upon approval by the J. William Fulbright Scholarship Board (FSB), availability of funds, and successful academic placement.
The Fulbright Foreign Student Program is also open to persons with disabilities as special accommodations are available. The U.S. Department of State’s Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) Bureau has provided previous grantees with a screen reader and note taking software, laptops, cell phones, canes, and/or wheelchairs to assist them while on their grant in the U.S.
Interested applicants must be aware that U.S. Embassy will prioritize the selection of Fulbright Master’s candidates over Ph.D. candidates.
CRITERIA
- Nominees must be citizens of the Republic of Mauritius/Republic of
- Nominees must have at least the equivalent of four (4) years of university study and the equivalent of a U.S. bachelor’s degree. Nominees that have three (3) years of tertiary study should have the equivalent of thirteen (13) years of primary and secondary school and their undergraduate degree should allow them to be eligible to pursue higher education in their home country. Please note that final equivalency decisions will be determined by each U.S. university and not all institutions will accept a three (3) year undergraduate
- Nominees should have a sufficient level of English proficiency to enable them to engage in full-time graduate level study in the S.
- Nominees must meet the minimum scores on required standardized
- Nominees should have a high motivation and a serious commitment to completing the program as scheduled and to returning
- Nominees with no extensive or recent U.S. experience will be given
- No applicant may receive more than one Fulbright Student grant, including Humphrey Scholar
GRANT OBJECTIVE AND DURATION
Awards are granted as follows:
- Degree program: One (1) to two (2) years of funding (depending on the degree length) towards one degree only – Master’s or Ph.D. (Eligible grantees may apply for one renewal grant); or
- Non-degree research (Visiting Researcher): Participation in an academic year (9- 10 months) non-degree research program. (Grants are not renewable).
FUNDING
The Fulbright Foreign Student Program provides a maximum of TWO years of funding for a master’s degree or doctoral program. Students accepted to degree programs less than two years are eligible to receive funding through the designated period of degree completion – as stipulated by the host institution. Master’s applicants are given placement priority. Ph.D. candidates who secure funding from outside sources will remain under Fulbright visa sponsorship rather than have sponsorship transferred to the host institution. Ph.D. candidates unable to secure funding for the additional years will return home without completing their degree.
APPLICATIONS
Applications must be completed online before or by the deadline at
https://apply.iie.org/ffsp2022/
TESTING
The Foreign Student Program is extremely competitive and high test scores are crucial. Candidates should familiarize themselves with the test form and practice tests. Princeton Review, Kaplan, and ETS materials are found at www.toefl.org, www.gre.org, and www.gmac.org.
Test scores are not required at the time of the application but pre-selected candidates –
after the interviews – will be expected to take the required exams free of charge. See below.
- TOEFL is required of all nominees (IELTS exam is also acceptable). A score of 70 on the Paper-delivered Test and 90 on the IBT (Internet-based Test) is desirable; however, 80/100 is preferable. Candidates should take their first TOEFL by May/June 2021; candidates scoring less than 80/100 should re-take the TOEFL no later than October
- GRE is required for candidates in all fields except law and business. Candidates should re-take the GRE if they are below the fiftieth percentile in any section. Candidates should plan to have one GRE score submitted by October
- GMAT is required in the field of business in lieu of the GRE. A minimum 550 GMAT score is required for Master’s candidates; a minimum score of 600 is required for Ph.D. candidates. An applicant must submit a sufficient GMAT score for submission to universities.
ACADEMIC PLACEMENTS
Academic placements are arranged by IIE in consultation with ECA. ECA budget, tuition, and related costs are important factors. Consideration may be given to a candidate’s university preference; however, an application will not be submitted to a preferred school if admissions requirements are not met or if the institution does not offer an appropriate program. IIE will notify the Embassy of academic placement.
IIE will arrange placements for non-degree research candidates either as a non-degree student or Visiting Researcher (VR). A non-degree student is eligible to take classes at the university in their field of study; however no cost-sharing is offered for these students and certain fields may not be a good academic fit. In these cases, IIE will recommend that students switch to a VR. VRs should identify U.S. university professors with whom they wish to work. IIE will handle the communication with the U.S. university on behalf of the VR. VRs are not eligible to take classes at the U.S. institution at which they are assigned.
Fields of Study:
We welcome applications in all fields of study. However, the U.S. Embassy strongly encourages applications that focus on:
- STEAM Education (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics)
- Entrepreneurship & Innovation
- Democracy & Rule of Law
- Transparency and Good Governance
- Women’s Empowerment
Note: The program does not apply for Medicine, Law, Veterinary and Architecture studies.
A complete application includes:
- Duly filled Application Form (to specify 2022-2023 cycle when applying)
- Official transcripts with the degree certificates (see below for details);
- English translations of official documents where applicable;
- Three references with at least two of them being academic for Master’s degree and one professional and one academic for PhD. and
- Study Objectives and Personal Statements
Tip: Please avoid uploading irrelevant attachments such as certificates of attendance/participation when you submit your application online. Lengthy documents such as full degree theses are also discouraged.
Applicants are encouraged to explore institutions outside Ivy League schools when they enter their university preferences in the application form.
We wish to reiterate that final selection/placement of candidates is determined by IIE based on test scores, the strength of their application, the availability of the field of study of the candidate at a given host institution and cost-sharing with the host institution/funding availability.
Special note on transcripts:
Transcripts or mark sheets are a vital component of the application package and can help the university admissions committee learn more about the candidates’ academic
background and preparedness for the graduate program to which IIE is applying.
Transcripts are considered official when they are sent directly from the home university to the U.S. academic institution in a sealed envelope OR if a copy is verified by a university authority or other appropriate authority. Official transcripts can also be hand carried in a sealed envelope to the U.S. Embassy. Scanned, faxed or certified photocopies of transcripts are NOT considered official transcripts.
Applicants must provide transcripts for all year studies.
Transcripts:
- Must list all courses taken and grades received
- Must be ‘official’
- Official language of country & translations (original and certified)
- Copy of diploma(s) & original translations
9. Other:
Only shortlisted candidates will be called for interview at which time, the originals of all documents must be produced. Incomplete applications or applications submitted past the deadline will not be considered.
For any query, please send an email to portlouis_pas@state.gov with subject line
“Query: Fulbright Foreign Student Program”.
