FULBRIGHT VISITING SCHOLAR PROGRAM

16/09/2010

The Public Affairs Section of the Embassy of the United States of America in Armenia is pleased to announce the annual competition for Fulbright Scholarships in the
United States for the 2011-2012 academic year.
Deadline for Submission: November 12, 2010.

“The Fulbright Program aims to bring a little more knowledge, a little more reason, and a little more compassion into world affairs and thereby to increase the chance that nations will learn at least to live in peace and friendship.”

J. William Fulbright
The Fulbright Visiting Scholar Program awards grants to foreign scholars to conduct post-doctoral research at U.S. universities for an academic year or term. The Fulbright Program was named after Senator J. William Fulbright from Arkansas, who proposed the program in 1946 "to increase mutual understanding between the people of the U.S. and the people of other countries." All grants are approved by the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board (12 members), which is appointed by the President of the United States.
 
BASIC REQUIREMENTS FOR THE SCHOLARSHIP:

 · Armenian citizenship and residency
 · Evidence of employment in the Republic of Armenia
 · Ph.D.
 · Proficiency in English
 · Completed online application
 · References
 · Good health and physical condition

PRIORITY FIELDS ARE:

 · Political Science, Economics, Social Science
 · International Relations, Journalism and Law
 · American Studies (History, Literature, Society & Culture of the United States)
 · Environmental Studies and Public Health
 
APPLICATION PROCEDURES AND COMPETITION SCHEDULE

Application Submission Process:
Interested applicants must complete an online application on the https://apply.embark.com/student/fulbright/scholars/30/ site. Please register by creating a user name and a password, and proceed with the application as prompted by the application. P lease save your data after completing each page. After saving a page, you will be able to log off and return to your application later. The applicants will be able to send online requests for recommendation letters to their recommenders. Please submit your online application ONLY when the information is complete and the supplementary documents are obtained. Once you submit your application, you will not have access to it and will not be able to view it.
Only online applications will be considered.
Applications must be completed in English. Handwritten, incomplete and late applications will not be considered. Recipients of a Fulbright scholarship within the past 5 years will not be considered. All applications, including references, undergo technical and academic reviews. Candidates who satisfy all requirements will be interviewed by the Embassy Fulbright Selection Committee. The Committee will submit the names of the finalists to the Fulbright Board of Foreign Scholarships in the United States by January 10, 2011, for final approval. Selected grantees will be notified of final approval when their affiliations at U.S. universities are confirmed in June 2011.

For more information about the scholarship please contact Anahit Khachatryan, Cultural Affairs Assistant, Public Affairs Office, U.S. Embassy, tel: 010-464700, ext: 4310 (leave a message on voice mail).
 
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:

· How strict are the deadlines? Deadlines are firm.
· If I was not successful in previous competitions, can I apply again? Yes.
· What are the selection criteria? The following factors are considered: professional qualifications, project proposal (quality, feasibility), how the acquired knowledge will be used upon return, English language competence, need for the project to be undertaken in the United States, personal qualifications, quality of references. Preference will be given to candidates with little or no previous experience in the United States.
· What are the basic benefits? Round trip airfare, monthly stipend, book allowance, and settling-in allowance.
· Can family members accompany? Yes, but you will be financially responsible for them.
· Do I have to arrange university affiliation in the United States? It is recommended that you submit a letter of invitation from a U.S. university in your application package. If you don’t know where your project can be accomplished, the affiliation will be arranged by one of the Fulbright administering agencies.
· How should I provide the references? References should be provided online together with the application. The request for the letter is sent to the recommender through the online system and is received by the program coordinator at the U.S. Embassy. You will receive a notification when the recommendation letter is submitted.