Ford Foundation International Fellowships Program

About the International Fellow

The International Fellowships Program
The Ford Foundation International Fellowships Program (IFP) seeks to build a new generation of social justice leaders worldwide. Ford Foundation International Fellows come from groups and communities that have traditionally lacked access to higher education, and are selected on the strength of their academic achievement, leadership, skills and social commitment.

IFP was launched in 2000 with the largest single grant in the history of the Ford Foundation. IFP Fellows may study in any country in the world including their own. They enroll in masters, doctoral or professional programs to pursue degrees in the many academic disciplines and fields related to the Ford Foundation’s areas of interest. By 2010, the program will select more than 3,000 Fellows from 22 eligible countries and territories in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East, as well as Russia: see map below

IFP continues to promote greater access and equity in higher education by sponsoring graduate study for talented and committed individuals who would otherwise lack this opportunity. IFP believes that its Fellows’ success is an important example for higher education worldwide, and hopes that other international education programs will gain from IFP’s experience.

The Ford Foundation International Fellowships Program (IFP) was launched in East Africa in the year 2000, with a regional secretariat based at the Inter University Council of East Africa (IUCEA) offices, Kampala, Uganda. In order to serve the East African region effectively, the Program opened offices in Kenya and Tanzania in October 2003. The program will run up to the year 2012.

Currently, the Program is hosted by the Forum for African Women Educationalists (FAWE) in Kenya, which is also the regional coordinating partner in East Africa. The Economic and Social Research Foundation (ESRF) is the International Partner in Tanzania while in Uganda the International Partner is the Association for the Advancement of Higher Education and Development (AHEAD). So far, the region has carried out three (3) successful selections. Eight Fellows from the first cohort have so far successfully completed their studies and are back in the region.

So far, the region has carried out three (3) successful rounds of selection. Eight Fellows from the first cohort have so far successfully completed their studies and are back in the region.