From: Rachel Surkin <rsurkin@irex.org>
Date: Mon, 13 Oct 2008 10:39:03 -0400
Subject: Muskie 2009 Program Announcement
The Government of the United States of America is pleased to announce the 2009 Edmund S. Muskie Graduate Fellowship Program (Muskie). The deadline to submit the application for this program is October 31, 2008.
Established by the US Congress in 1992 to encourage economic and democratic growth in Eurasia, the Edmund S. Muskie Graduate Fellowship Program is a program of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the United States Department of State, and administered by IREX. The program provides opportunities for graduate students and professionals from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan for one-year non-degree, one-year degree or two-year degree study in the United States.
All fellows will attend classes full-time for one to two years and will be required to create and implement a project related to their professional interests that benefits the local community. Fellows will also be required to participate in a full-time summer internship after their first academic year.
The fellowship provides J-1 visa support, round-trip travel from fellows’ home cities to their US host institutions, university tuition and mandatory university fees, accident and sickness coverage, monthly allowance for living expenses, limited book allowance, limited allowance for professional enrichment activities, pre-academic English-language training (if necessary), and a wide variety of alumni networking and training opportunities.
The Muskie Program selects outstanding citizens from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan (herein referred to as Eurasia) to receive fellowships for Master’s level study in the United States in the fields of business administration, economics, law, public administration, and public policy. Candidates from countries other than Russia and Ukraine will also be considered in additional fields of education, environmental management, international affairs, library and information science, journalism/mass communications, and public health.
Applications for the Muskie program are available at http://www.irex.org/programs/muskie/muskie_info.asp. Applications can also be obtained and submitted by contacting IREX field offices and representatives in Eurasia http://www.irex.org/contact/field.asp. See application for eligibility requirements.