Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship 2028-2029: Eligibility, Country Deadlines and How to Apply

The Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program is a fully funded, ten-month, non-degree fellowship in the United States for mid-career professionals in public service. The US Department of State funds it and the Institute of International Education (IIE) runs it. Fellows spend an academic year at a US host university taking graduate-level courses, attending leadership seminars and completing a professional placement with an American organisation. You come home with a US government certificate and a network of other Humphrey Fellows, not a master’s degree.

You cannot apply to the Humphrey Fellowship directly in Washington. Every application goes through the US Embassy or the Fulbright Commission in your own country, and that office sets the deadline. For the 2027-2028 programme year, national rounds closed between early July and late August 2026, so the applications you can prepare for now are for the 2028-2029 year, with calls expected in mid-2027. Below are the eligibility rules, country deadlines, benefits and the application steps, checked on the Humphrey site, IIE material and Embassy and Commission pages on 25 October 2026.

What the Humphrey Fellowship is

The programme was founded in 1978 to honour Hubert H. Humphrey, the former senator and US vice president. The first group of 27 professionals from 24 countries arrived in 1979 and was placed at 11 universities. It is part of the Fulbright family of exchanges, and the official site counts more than 6,450 alumni.

The fellowship is built for people already doing serious work in government, civil society, media, health or the private sector. It does not pay for a degree. Fellows can take university courses to update their knowledge, but the year is organised around leadership training, seminars, professional visits and a placement of at least six weeks with a US organisation in their field (the professional affiliation).

• Funder: the US Department of State (Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs).
• Administrator: the Institute of International Education, Washington, DC.
• Duration: about ten months on campus, usually August to June, plus pre-academic English training before that if you need it.
• Outcome: a certificate from the US government, not a degree.
• Visa: J-1 exchange visitor visa, sponsored and administered by the programme.

Humphrey Fellowship fields of study for 2027-2028 onwards

The programme recently cut its long list of fields down to six. Older guides (including the Scholars4Dev page many people still read) list 17 fields such as HIV/AIDS policy or substance abuse education. The 2027-2028 calls from India, Romania and the US Embassy in Fiji all use the new six:

Some countries still describe their call in broader themes. The 2026 Bangladesh call, for example, talked about rights and freedoms and sustainable lands, and the Philippines call listed Sustainable Lands as a seventh area. If your work sits between two fields, write your application around the one where you have management or policy responsibility.

Humphrey Fellowship eligibility

The core rules are set by IIE and the State Department. Each Embassy or Commission then adds its own conditions. These are the requirements that appear on the official site and in most 2027-2028 national calls:

• Citizenship of a participating country. You must apply in your country of citizenship, and most calls require you to live there during selection.
• A first university degree. Several countries (India, Brazil, Bangladesh) ask for a four-year bachelor’s degree. India accepts a shorter bachelor’s plus a full-time postgraduate diploma, or a completed master’s.
• At least five years of full-time professional experience after your degree, completed before August of the application year (for the 2027-2028 round, before August 2026). Part-time work alone may not count.
• Leadership and a record of public service. Many calls specifically want management or policy responsibility.
• English good enough for graduate study (see the English section below).
• Limited previous experience in the United States.

Who is usually not eligible

National calls repeat the same exclusions. Check your own country’s version, but expect these:

• US citizens, dual US citizens and US permanent residents (green card holders).
• Recent graduates, and university lecturers or researchers who have no management or policy role. Teachers of English as a foreign language are accepted in some countries, such as India.
• Anyone who did one academic year or more of graduate study in the US in the last seven years.
• Anyone with more than six months in the US in the last five years (Brazil, Bangladesh and Israel use this rule). The Humphrey FAQ is a little softer: past US time is acceptable if it was three years or less and you have been back home, working at a professional level, for at least four years.
• People who took part in a US government exchange in the last three years (India, Romania).
• Some US Mission employees.

English requirements

You do not need a test score to apply in most countries. Shortlisted candidates take a test later, and the Embassy or Commission often pays for it. USIEF in India gives the clearest published minimums for 2027-2028: TOEFL iBT 72, IELTS 6.0 or Duolingo 100, with the test taken by 1 October 2026. Romania asked finalists for a TOEFL score by 12 October 2026. The Humphrey FAQ says IELTS and the Duolingo English Test can now be used by all candidates.

If your score is borderline, you are not automatically out. Fellows who need it receive several weeks of intensive English training in the US before the academic year starts (Israel’s timeline puts this in May and June 2027). Your interview and essays count for a lot here, because selectors use them to judge whether you can handle seminar discussion.

Humphrey Fellowship deadlines by country

These are the deadlines for the 2028-2029 programme year. No country has opened its 2028-2029 call yet, so the dates below repeat each office’s 2027-2028 closing date one year later (based on this year’s date; confirm on the official page when the call opens).

If your country is not in the table, look up the Humphrey page of the US Embassy in your capital (Public Affairs Section) or your Fulbright Commission. Calls usually go up between May and July. Many more countries take part than the eight listed here; these are the ones whose 2027-2028 dates I could confirm.

What the fellowship pays for

The benefit list is the same across countries because IIE pays it:

• Tuition and fees at your assigned host university.
• A monthly maintenance (living) allowance, plus a one-time settling-in allowance. The amount depends on the cost of living at your host campus.
• Accident and sickness coverage under the State Department’s programme.
• A book allowance and a one-time computer subsidy.
• International flights to and from the US, and domestic travel to required programme events.
• A professional development allowance for field trips, professional visits and conferences.
• Pre-academic English training if required.
• J-1 visa sponsorship and administration.

Costs the Humphrey Fellowship does not cover

• Your family. There is no dependent allowance. You can apply to bring a spouse or children after arrival, but you must show proof of funds, insurance that meets State Department rules and child care plans before J-2 visas are approved. Some countries do not allow dependents at all.
• Your salary at home. Most fellows take unpaid or study leave, and India requires the employer to confirm in writing that leave will be granted.
• Passport costs, medical examinations at home (Israel asks selected candidates for a medical report) and anything spent before the grant starts.

Host universities

You do not choose your university. IIE assigns fellows in groups (the FAQ says 13 to 15; USIEF says 8 to 15) to a campus that matches their field. The Fulbright Commission in Brazil’s most recent call listed 13 host institutions:

Host lists change as the fields change, so treat this as a guide to the type of campus, not a promise.

How to apply for the Humphrey Fellowship

The online form is the same everywhere. The paperwork around it varies by country.

1. Find your nominating office: open the Humphrey page of your US Embassy or Fulbright Commission and download the current announcement and applicant instructions.
2. Check the fine print: confirm the national deadline, which fields your country accepts and whether it wants extra items (Brazil asked for a 30-second English video in its last call).
3. Create an IIE account: the application lives at apply.iie.org/huberthhumphrey. Start early, because you can save and return.
4. Write your essays: expect questions on your professional goals and your public service record (the US Embassy in Suva names these two statements). Write in English and keep each answer specific to your job.
5. Invite two referees: through the portal. One should be your current supervisor in most countries. Referees must submit before the deadline.
6. Upload your documents: degree certificate and transcripts (with certified English translations), CV, and an employer endorsement or leave letter if your country asks for one.
7. Submit, then prepare for the interview: shortlisted candidates are interviewed by a national panel, usually in August or September.

Documents checklist

How to write a strong Humphrey application

Selectors are not looking for academic brilliance. They want evidence that you already lead something and that a year in the US will make you better at it when you return. The applications that do well usually have three things: a clear problem at home that the applicant works on, a record of having done something about it, and a plan for using the US year that fits one of the six fields.

Open your goals essay with your work, not with your childhood. Something like: “I run the procurement audit unit of a state health ministry, where three of every ten contracts we review last year had no record of competitive bidding.” That sentence tells the panel your job, your level of responsibility and the problem you want to solve. Follow it with what you have already done, then what you want to learn and from whom in the US, then what you will change when you return.

For the public service essay, use one or two concrete examples of unpaid or community work and what came of them. Panels see many essays that list memberships. Fewer applicants explain what the group achieved and what their own part was.

Common mistakes

• Applying straight to IIE without checking the national call. Your Embassy or Commission may want extra forms.
• Counting part-time work or internships towards the five years.
• Choosing a field because it sounds prestigious instead of matching your current job.
• Asking a referee who does not supervise you, or who submits after the deadline.
• Treating the fellowship as a degree route. If you want a master’s, Fulbright is the better fit.

What happens after you apply

The timelines published by Israel, India and Romania follow the same pattern:

Final approval rests with the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. Being nominated by your country is not a guarantee of selection.

Humphrey Fellowship compared with similar programmes

For a wider list of fully funded US awards, see our guide to the best American scholarships for international students. If you want something you can apply for in the coming months, our list of US scholarships with upcoming deadlines is updated as dates change.

Who should apply, and who should not

Apply if you have five or more years in a policy, management or public-facing role, your employer will release you for a year, and you can name a specific problem you want to work on at home. Journalists, civil servants, NGO managers, health managers and regulators are the core group.

Skip it, at least for now, if you are a recent graduate, if your job is purely academic research or technical with no management side, if you need a degree for promotion, or if you cannot be away from your family for ten months without a dependent allowance.

FAQs

Is the Humphrey Fellowship fully funded?

Yes. It pays tuition and fees, a monthly living allowance, a settling-in allowance, books, a computer subsidy, health cover and your flights. It does not pay anything for family members who come with you.

When is the Humphrey Fellowship deadline for 2028-2029?

It depends on your country. Based on this year’s dates, the deadlines in our table run from 6 July 2027 (Thailand) to 31 August 2027 (Romania), and all of them fall before IIE’s mid-September nomination date.

Do I need IELTS or TOEFL to apply for the Humphrey Fellowship?

Usually not at the application stage. Shortlisted candidates take a test later, often paid for by the Embassy or Commission, and IELTS and Duolingo are now accepted alongside TOEFL.

Does the Humphrey Fellowship give a master’s degree?

No. It is a non-degree fellowship and you receive a certificate from the US government. You can take graduate courses during the year, but they do not add up to a degree.

Sources and updates

Programme facts (see the Humphrey Fellowship FAQ), the six fields of study, benefits, dependants policy and the mid-September nomination date come from the official Humphrey Fellowship website (Program Overview, Impact Areas and Frequently Asked Questions pages), funded by the US Department of State and run by IIE. Country deadlines and eligibility details come from the 2027-2028 calls published by USIEF India, the Romanian-U.S. Fulbright Commission, Fulbright Thailand, the US-Israel Educational Foundation, the US Embassy in Suva (as reported by FundsforNGOs), the Kosovo board (via American Councils), the Philippine call (reported by PhilSTAR Life), the US Embassy in Dhaka call (reported by Prothom Alo) and Fulbright Brazil’s call document for the host university list. The Scholars4Dev Humphrey page was used as a comparison and its outdated field list and 1 October date were corrected. Checked on 25 October 2026. We will update the deadline table when national calls for 2028-2029 open.

Jude Chinecherem

I am Jude Chinecherem, a final-year MBBS student at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka. I know what it feels like to want an education your family cannot afford. When my parents could not pay for my schooling, I had to learn how to find scholarships and work the system out on my own, with nobody to guide me. I came out the other side, and now I share everything I learned so the next student does not have to figure it out alone. This is the advice I wish someone had given me back then.