Minutes recorded by:
Chair: Mary E. Kirk, Director, IIE-Budapest, Hungary
Speakers:
Ami Golden, Program Coordinator, Soros Foundation, New York
Alexandra Hattemer, Program Officer, E/ASA, USIA, Washington DC
Martha Henry, Scholarships Office, Adviser, Central European University, Prague, Czech Republic
Henry Scott, NIS-REAC, IREX Office, Moscow, Russia
The session was opened by Ms. Mary Kirk presenting the speakers and the aim of discussions - to provide an update on the status of educational programs sponsored by the US Information Agency, the Soros Foundation (including the Central European University
) and the International Research and International Exchange (IREX).
Remarks by Alexandra Hattemer:
Alexandra started with a brief presentation of US Information Agency and its future in relationship to the policy in Washington DC.
In the next 2 years up one can expect cuts of up to 15% in the USIA budget - in the Fulbright Program and Exchange Programs. She stated that due to the new orientation toward international education, the profession of overseas adviser will become more ind
ependent.
Remarks by Ami Golden:
"George Soros became a name more familiar in Central and Eastern Europe for the money spent on education." She also presented the Soros Open Society Institute Programs:
I. Consortium for Academic Partnership (CAP)
CAP funds students and scholars from Eastern & Central Europe, Newly Independent and Baltic States, and Burma.
In 1995 CAP will award $11 million to roughly 3,000 students at the undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate levels. Grants are awarded through open, merit-based competitions for study primarily in the social sciences and humanities.
Listed programs:
A). Virtual University
A1) The virtual University Undergraduate Exchange Program offers undergraduates from ECE, NIS and Baltic States one year of study at a college or university in the USA. Grants are awarded to third- and fourth-year students who will return to their home in
stitutions to complete their degrees.
A2) The Virtual University Graduate Exchange Program - offers one year of doctoral research in the USA to Ph.D. candidates from ECE universities. Grants are awarded to students finishing their second year of Ph.D. coursework.
A3) Virtual University Supplemental Programs - enhance grantees' academic experience through a variety of extracurricular activities, including predeparture orientations, newsletters, a winter conference in Washington DC, and alumni networks in students'
home countries.
The Virtual University is funded in part by the US Agency for International Development.
B). The Edmund S. Muskie Fellowship Program
In 1992, in response to the dissolution of the former Soviet Union, the United States Congress created the Edmond S. Muskie Fellowship Program. The program provides fellowships to qualified citizens of the NIS and Baltic States for one year of graduate s
tudy at accredited institutions of higher education in the USA.
Fellowships are awarded by CAP for study in law and public administration and include practical training opportunities in these and related fields for up to 12 weeks after the successful completion of the academic program.
Awards in other fields are offered by cooperating organizations.
The program is funded by the US Information Agency and is administered on its behalf by CAP, the Institute of International Education (IIE), the American Council for Teachers of Russian (ACTR), and the International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX).
C) Freedom Support Act Fellowship Program
The Freedom Support Act Fellowship Program supports qualified citizens of the NIS for one year of graduate study. CAP awards fellowships in law, public administration, and education administration.
Fellows participate in pre-departure orientation programs and a spring networking workshop in Washington DC, practical training in their field for up to 12 weeks following successful completion of their academic programs.
The selection by host universities and the placement of grantees is coordinated with the Muskie program. The program is funded by USIA and administered on its behalf by CAP, ACTR, and IREX.
D) Supplementary Grant Opportunities
CAP funds and administers supplementary grant programs for:
1) Students whose tuition costs have been partially met
2) Students who have succeeded in funding their tuition but need additional support for housing and living expenses
3) Students who have secured all necessary funds but cannot afford additional expenses such as textbooks, health care insurance, travel, and supplies.
D1) The Supplementary Grant for Students from the Former Yugoslavia was established to assist students displaced by the war who are enrolled in academic institutions worldwide.
Grants are given to students who are willing and likely to return to their countries to work for the cessation of the war, the opening of boundaries, open communication, and the economic and democratic rebirth of the region.
Orientations, seminars, summer schools, newsletters, and other publications are offered to more than 2000 CAP-funded students from the former Yugoslavia studying at universities around the world.
D2) Supplementary Grant Program for Burmese Students is intended primarily, but not exclusively, for university refugee students who actively participated in the pro-democracy movement of 1988 and whose education was subsequently disrupted.
D3) Supplementary Grants at Central European University (CEU): * Graduates of the CEU are eligible for scholarships for one-year of doctoral study in the USA or Western Europe. Applicants must be admitted to a doctoral program and receive a tuition waiver
in order to be considered for supplementary funding.
*Note: Please refer to the CEU.
E) Western European Scholarship Programs
CAP administers one-year scholarships and one-month research grants for students and scholars from Central and Eastern Europe and the Newly Independent and Baltic States to study at several academic institutions in England.
E1) Cambridge Colleges Hospitality Scheme invites scholars from ECE and the Baltic States to use their facilities for one month during the summer to continue research in various fields. The British Council contributes funding for this program.
E2) Oxford Colleges Hospitality Scheme offers every year from July to September one-month scholarships for research or consultations in various fields. Applicants from ECE and the Baltic States are considered. The British Council contributes funding; Oxfo
rd provides housing.
E3) University of Cambridge Program offers scholarships for a one-year Master's degree in selected fields of the social sciences and humanities. Applicants from ECE and the Baltic States are considered. The program is funded in part by the Cambridge Over
seas Trust and the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
E4) University of Manchester Program offers one-year graduate fellowships leading to a Master's degree in political science. Participating countries may vary from year to year. This program is funded in conjunction with the British Council and the Britis
h Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
E5) University of Oxford Program offers nine-month felowships in any subject offered at the University of Oxford for students from ECE and Russia. Students who have completed their first university degree and also postdoctoral scholars are eligible. The p
rogram is funded in part by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
E6) University of Warwick Program provides one-year scholarships for studies leading to a Master's degree in various fields in the sciences and humanities. Participating countries may vary from year to year. The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office and
the University of Warwick contribute funding for this program.
F) George Soros Economics Scholarship**
Through a grant from the Scholarship Committee of Soros Fund Management, five students in the 1995/1996 academic year will receive full support to pursue Ph.D. programs in economics at accredited institutions in the USA. Grantees are selected from student
s completing the Master's program at the Central European University (CEU).
**Please refer to CEU.
G) American University in Bulgaria (AUBG)
CAP awards 20 scholarships for four years of undergraduate study at AUBG. Participating countries include: Albania, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgkyzstan, FYROM, Moldova, Romania, and Yugoslavia.
H) Secondary School Programs
Through an open, merit-based competition, secondary school students from ECE are given scholarships to study for up to one year in the USA or England. A variety of academic programs is available each year, including: one-year scholarships to American and
British private schools, one semester and one-year programs at American public schools, and summer academic opportunities.
Remarks by Martha Henry:
Martha addressed scholarship opportunities outside of CAP but also connected with Open Society Institute, another great Soros initiative - Central European University (CEU)
The CEU - an international academic institution with campuses in Prague, Budapest, and Warsaw, offers up to 500 one-year scholarships for graduate study. Scholarships covering tuition, fees, room and board, and travel are available for graduate students f
rom ECE, NIS and the Baltic States, China and Africa.
Areas of study
a) Budapest:
- MA in Economics: A two - year program, the first year takes place at the University of Essex (UK), the second year and the Master's thesis at the CEU Budapest. The course is accredited by Essex University (UK).
- MSc in Environmental Sciences and Policy: A one-year program ( five modules ) or five - year program ( one module per year for those students who want to keep their jobs). The course is accredited by the University of Manchester (UK).
- MA in Central European History - a one-year program, courses are accredited by the Board of Regents of the State of New York (USA).
- LL.M. (Legal Studies) in Comparative Constitutional Law and LL.M. in International Business Law: a one-year program, both courses are accredited by the Board of Regents of the State of New York (USA).
- MA in Medieval Studies - a one -year program which focuses on the Middle Ages (700 to 1550) in East-Central Europe; courses are accredited by the Board of Regents of the State of New York (USA).
- MA in Politics and Political Economy- a one-year program which focuses on the post-Communist transition. Courses are accredited by the Board of Regents of the State of New York (USA).
b) Prague
- MA degree in International Relations and European Studies: a one-year program accredited by the Open University (UK).
c) Warsaw - Sociology
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