2025-2026 Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program

Overview

The Humphrey Fellowship Program was initiated in 1978 to honor the memory and accomplishments of the late Senator and Vice-President Hubert H. Humphrey. Fellows are selected through a competitive process based on their potential for leadership and commitment to public service in the public or private sector. Over 6,600 Fellows representing 163 countries have participated in the program since its inception.

The Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program, a Fulbright exchange, enhances leadership among international professionals who collaborate to address local and global challenges and foster change for our collective good. Through academic study and professional development with U.S. counterparts, this growing global network shares best practices and builds expertise in fields of critical importance to advance societal and institutional capacity, promote human rights and freedoms, ensure sustainable lands, and develop thriving communities.

This ten-month Fellowship program is offered to mid-career professionals who have a proven track record of leadership, a public service commitment, and the capacity to take full advantage of a self-defined program of independent non-degree study at a leading U.S. university. By providing future leaders and policy makers with experience in U.S. higher education, society, culture, and professional organizations, the program provides a basis for lasting, productive ties between Americans and their professional counterparts overseas.

Program Goals

The Humphrey Fellowship Program aims to: 

• establish and enhance long-lasting, productive partnerships and relationships between U.S. citizens and individuals from other parts of the world;  
• develop leaders whose knowledge and skills have been informed by exposure to American values, models and ideas – leaders who will have a multiplier effect on their societies;  
• expand and improve the range of international exchange and training programs; and  
• increase U.S. citizens’ knowledge and understanding of international issues and of other cultures and societies. 

Study Fields

These priority fields align with U.S. foreign policy and Mission goals and advance the development of a network of international leaders with experience in the U.S. who serve as key interlocutors for posts.

Human and Institutional Capacity 

• Economic Development
• Finance & Banking
• Public Policy Analysis and Public Administration
• Technology Policy and Management

Rights and Freedoms 

• Communications/ Journalism
• Law and Human Rights

Sustainable Lands 

• Agricultural and Rural Development
• Natural Resources, Environmental Policy, and Climate Change
• Urban and Regional Planning

Thriving Communities 

• Public Health Policy and Management
• Substance Abuse Education, Treatment and Prevention
• Educational Administration, Planning, and Policy

Eligibility Requirements

Candidates must be policymakers, managers, or administrators in leadership positions with a commitment to public service from the public or private sectors including non-governmental organizations. Fellowships are competitive and will be awarded on the basis of excellence in professional and personal qualifications as well as leadership potential. 

All applicants must:

• Possess Nepali citizenship 
• Be employed at a mid-career, policy level with progressively more responsible working experience in the government, NGO or private sector 
• Have at least 5 years of progressively responsible professional experience in Nepal as of the application submission deadline. Volunteer jobs, internships, and work done as a requirement for an academic degree shall not be counted towards the required duration of work experience; 
• The professional experience should be in the relevant field, after the completion of a university degree, i.e. a 4-year bachelor’s degree, or, if the bachelor’s degree is of 2-year/3-year duration, then a master’s degree is also required. Candidates who have two or more 2-year/3-year bachelor’s degrees in different fields, but who do not have a master’s degree, are not eligible to apply. 
• Be proficient in speaking, reading and writing English (see the Supplemental English Program) 
• Have a demonstrable commitment to public service and potential for national leadership 
• Have a wish to develop problem-solving capacities, enhance capabilities to assume greater career responsibilities, and return to a significant public service role upon completion of the Humphrey Program 

The Humphrey competition is not open to: 

• Recent university graduates (even if they have significant positions)
• University teachers with no management or policy responsibilities, except for teachers of English as a foreign language, and specialists in substance abuse prevention and treatment
• Individuals who have spent substantial time in the U.S. (more than 3 years) and have not been back in Nepal and employed at a level of professional responsibility for at least four years since returning
• Individuals who have attended a graduate school in the U.S. for one academic year or more during the seven years prior to August 2025
• Individuals with more than six months of U.S. experience during the five years prior to August 2025
• Individuals who have participated in U.S. government- sponsored exchange programs within the last three years prior to August 2025
• Individuals with, or in the process of obtaining, dual U.S. citizenship or U.S. permanent resident status are ineligible for a J visa
• Local employees of the U.S. Mission in Nepal who work for the Department of State or the U.S. Agency for International Development, including temporary employees and contractors, and their spouses and dependent children (they are not eligible for grants during the period of their employment and for one year following the termination of employment).

Visa Sponsorship 

All selected Humphrey Fellows receive an exchange visitor (J-1) visa which requires that they return to Nepal upon completion of their fellowship. They are not eligible for an immigrant visa, for permanent residence, or for a non-immigrant visa as a temporary worker (“H” visa) or trainee, nor as an intra-company transferee (“L” visa), to re-enter the U.S. until they have accumulated two years’ residence in Nepal after returning from the U.S. on an exchange visitor visa. This does not preclude the individual from going to the U.S. on other visas during the two-year period. 

Application Link & Documents Required

Application link https://apply.iie.org/huberthhumphrey  

The completed application, including recommendations, must be submitted online no later than 11:59 PM (NPT), July 31, 2024. Incomplete or late applications will not be considered.

All academic documents must be attested. Attestation of photocopies of documents may be made by the issuing institution, Government of Nepal, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu University or by USEF-Nepal.

Program Timeline

More Information: 2025-2026 Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program

• Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program 2022-2023
• Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program 2024-2025

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