2008 Near East and South Asia
Undergraduate Exchange Program
(NESA UGRAD)
Call for Applications
The Embassy of the United States of America is pleased to announce that it is currently accepting applications for the Near East and South Asia Undergraduate Exchange Program (NESA UGRAD). NESA UGRAD, a program of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the United States Department of State, provides opportunities for first-, second-, and third-year undergraduate students, as well as students in their final year of secondary school, from the Middle East, North Africa and the South Asia for one semester or one academic year of full-time, non-degree study in the United States. Applications are due to the U.S. Embassy, Cairo on February 21, 2008.
Background Information
This program includes academic work as well as a community service component and an internship. Both semester and academic year scholarship participants will be enrolled full-time in undergraduate course work chosen from the host institution’s existing curriculum. This will allow students ample opportunity for substantive interaction with U.S. faculty and student peers, and the opportunity for exposure to U.S. academic and classroom culture. In addition, to help ensure students are successful in their new academic environments, host institutions will offer tailored instruction on topics including academic research and writing, critical thinking, time management, note-taking, and studying for and taking tests. Participants will live on-campus with American peers. Students will be encouraged and given the opportunity to participate in community service activities. Additionally, an internship component will be offered for all full academic year participants during the academic component of the program. Internships will be related to the participant’s field of study and/or career plans.
Students will not be able to choose their host institution. This is a non-degree program and it will be the students’ responsibility to check with their university in Egypt regarding the transfer of credits accumulated during the program.
Who is eligible to apply?
Candidates will be considered without respect to race, color, religion, national origin, or gender. Persons with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.
Competition for the Near East and South Asia Undergraduate Exchange Program (NESA UGRAD) is merit-based and open to anyone who
Is a citizen or national of Egypt, and is residing in Egypt;
Is completing his/her final year of secondary school or enrolled in first-, second- or third-year full-time undergraduate study at the time of application at a registered academic institution in his/her country and is in good academic standing. Part-time students or correspondence students are not eligible;
Submits a complete application with all required documents by the application deadline;
Is able to begin the academic exchange program in the United States in Summer 2008;
Is committed to returning to their home country after completion of the program; and
Is proficient in spoken and written English at the time of application.
The U.S. Embassy encourages applicants who have shown leadership potential and are involved in their communities.
What is the Application Process? Application forms and Application Instructions can be downloaded from this page.
Complete applications are due to the U.S. Embassy, Cairo by February 21, 2008
Applications should be either e-mailed to:
CairoStudyUS@state.gov or hand-delivered in a sealed envelope to the following address:
Embassy of the United States of America
Public Affairs Office/Cultural Affairs Section/ Exchanges
Lazoughly Street, Garden City
Cairo, Egypt
Additional Information
Information about this program and its requirements can be found at
http://egypt.usembassy.gov/. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Male finalists are required to have appropriate military service permission prior to travel.
The TOEFL ITP exam is available through AMIDEAST/Cairo or AMIDEAST/Alexandria. For details and registration, please contact AMIDEAST on the web at
http://www.amideast.org/, by phone at 19263 or visit AMIDEAST at the following address:
23 Mossadak Street, Dokki, Giza, Egypt
or
3 El Pharaana Street, Azarita, Alexandria.
All TOEFL scores must be submitted with the application.
For questions, please contact the Public Affairs Office at:
CairoStudyUS@state.gov
