Public Policy Candidates

Biographical Data: The first pages of the application ask for all of your basic personal information such as your name, contact information, birth date, etc. They also ask for the details of your academic background, occupational experience, extracurricular activities, publications, and previous foreign experience. Here, also, you must include a project title and an abstract of the Statement of Grant Purpose, along with a brief explanation of your future plans upon returning to the U.S.

Consult the Fulbright Public Policy Fellowships page fore more details

Statement of Grant Purpose: You should carefully the Essay Instructions for Fulbright Public Policy Fellowship Applicants page before beginning the Statement of Grant Purpose. This section will be comprised of two essays—Policy Fellowship Goals and a Situational Response.

Policy Fellowship Goals (2 pages): You should explain what knowledge, experience and skills would be brought to the Fellowship that would enable you to be successful as a special assistant to high ranking official in a foreign government ministry, addressing any specific strengths, versatility, relevant work experience, and prior experience(s) living or working in a foreign culture. Please tailor your application to the country for which you are applying and provide examples of familiarity with the culture and chief public policy challenges of the country/region; describe challenges that might be faced as a foreign national working in the host country government and how to address or manage them. Include a brief explanation of the proposed academic component (research project, academic coursework, etc.) to be carried out during the program.

Situational Response (1 page): You must respond to one of the following scenarios:

1. Describe a situation in which you were effective in working with a group or providing support for a supervisor or colleague on a complex project.

2. Describe a situation when you were resourceful and/or flexible when dealing with a significant challenge in the workplace.

3. Describe a public policy issue faced by the country for which you are applying. Suggest and analyze a range of policy and/or programmatic solutions. Describe how your skills or experience may be useful in a special assistant role in supporting the proposed solution(s).

Format: Single spaced, 12 point Times New Roman, 1 inch margins

Personal Statement: This 1-page narrative describes your motivation for applying for the Fulbright Public Policy Fellowship. It should give the reviewers a picture of you as an individual. It is an opportunity to tell the committee more about the trajectory that you have followed and what plans you have for the future. The statement should: (1) Cite relevant experience that has led to applying for the program; (2) Outline career and/or personal goals related to the application.

The statement can deal with your personal history, family background, intellectual development, and the educational, professional, or cultural opportunities to which you have been exposed and explain their impact. This should not be a reiteration of facts already listed in the Biographical Data sections or an elaboration of the Statement of Grant Purpose.

Format: Single spaced, 12 point Times New Roman, 1 inch margins.

Foreign Language Forms: Applicants are required to be proficient in the working language of the host country government.

For countries where language skills are required or recommended, you must submit both a Language Self Evaluation and a Foreign Language Evaluation Form, which is completed by a professional language teacher.

For countries where there may be more than one working language, you may submit additional language evaluation forms.

For programs in countries where English is the working language of the government, you are not required to submit any foreign language forms unless a foreign language is required by a specific project.  However, it is strongly encouraged to submit forms for any languages that may be beneficial.  For example, in the case of Bangladesh, English is all that is required, but Bangla is recommended so if applicants have even an introductory knowledge of Bangla, they should submit the foreign language forms.

Applicants who are successful in the panel review and country review phase will have their language proficiency assessed through an interview.

References: You must submit three reference letters as part of the application. The authors should be the three individuals who can best speak to your ability to be successful in the fellowship based on your intellectual and professional preparation. You should provide the reference writer with a copy of the Statement of Grant Purpose before requesting the reference letter. The reference letter should NOT simply be a character reference as this will be of no value in assessing your ability to successfully complete the fellowship.

Transcripts: The Fulbright Program requires a complete academic record of your higher education. You must provide transcripts from all undergraduate and graduate institutions from which you received degrees. Transcripts must also be submitted from other institutions where you studied and received credit for coursework.

Failure to submit all required transcripts will result in your being declared ineligible.

Resume: All applicants to the Fulbright Public Policy Fellowship should include a Resume with their applications that details their relevant professional experience.  Resumes in English should be uploaded to Affiliation Upload Page 1 in the Embark application. Applicants who are applying to a host country that speaks a language other than English and  who are proficient in the language should upload a second Resume in the host country language. Host country language Resumes should be uploaded to Affiliation Page 2 in the Embark application.

Resume length is limited to a maximum of two single-spaced pages. Longer Resumes will not be presented to screening committees.