Call for Submissions: Young Women Leaders Program (Mongolia)

Funded by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, Study of the U.S. Institutes Madeleine K. Albright Young Women Leaders (SUSI Albright Young Women Leaders) Program enhances participants’ knowledge of U.S. history, government, institutions, society and culture while developing their leadership skills. The Institutes will incorporate a focus on American historical events as well as contemporary American life including current political, social, and economic debates in a pluralistic society. The Institutes will examine how government policies, business and private sector practices, and socio-cultural norms engage and affect women.

Theme

• The program will examine the participation of women through the following four thematic lenses: Civic Engagement, Economic Development, Environmental Issues, and Public Policy. Participants from Mongolia will take part in the Albright Young Women Leaders Program on Public Policy, which will examine topics including, but not limited to, women in public service, the roles of government, private sector, civil society, and media in the policymaking process, and public policy as it relates education, public health, economic issues, technology and privacy, and diversity and inclusion, among others.
• The Institutes will consist of a four-week academic residency with a balanced series of seminar discussions, readings, group presentations, and lectures. Site visits, leadership development, cultural activities, and community service complement the coursework and academic sessions. If conditions allow, the Institutes will include a one-week integrated study tour in the United States.

Program Components

• SUSI Albright Young Women Leaders Program is an intensive and rigorous academic Institute and participants are expected to fully engage in all aspects of the program. Participants must attend all lectures, participate in all required organized activities, and complete all assignments. Family members and/or friends may not accompany or join participants for any part of the program. Housing will be in shared or single university dorms on campus or full-service hotels within walking distance of most classroom activities. In addition to regular group meals and a university meal plan, participants may have access to a kitchen to cook some meals on their own. Care will be taken to ensure that any special requirements regarding diet, daily worship, housing and medical care are satisfied. Special accommodations will be made available to the greatest extent possible. Violations of program rules, host institution rules, or local, state, or federal laws can be grounds for immediate dismissal from the program.
• Should health, safety, and travel conditions continue to pose significant challenges, the Albright Young Women Leaders Program will pivot to a virtual format. The virtual program would consist of a minimum of 36 hours of required programming with a combination of synchronous and asynchronous learning. To the extent possible, the virtual programming would include lectures, small group discussions, videos, readings, panels, site visits, leadership development, assignments, and individual and group activities. Participants would be expected to fully participate in the entire virtual program from their locations.
• Interested applicants must note that this is an intensive and rigorous academic Institute and that selected candidates are expected to fully participate in all aspects of the program. Participants must attend all lectures, participate in all required organized activities, and complete all assignments. Due to this nature of the program, participants should not expect to fulfill professional or academic obligations, including remote work for jobs or internships, classwork, or examinations for their home university while in the United States. Doing so will count as an unexcused absence from program activities.

Eligible Expenses

• The program scholarship covers:
  • All Transportation Costs: International airfare and domestic travel (Including in-country visa-related travels if the candidate resides outside Ulaanbaatar)
  • Meals and Accommodations: Participants are placed in university housing and are provided with a modest meal and incidental expenses allowance
  • Health Insurance: Participants are provided with an accident and sickness benefit for the duration of their program
  • Visa Costs: Visa payment is waived for all U.S. Government sponsored scholarship participants
  • Travel Allowance: Participants are provided with a small allowance for luggage and other travel-related expenses

Eligibility Criteria

• To qualify, the applicants must:
  • Be a Mongolian freshman, sophomore, or junior undergraduate student at an accredited university in Mongolia, between the ages of 18 and 25
  • Be proficient in English
  • Be interested in the Institute topic
  • Have at least one semester left of their undergraduate studies, and be committed to returning to their home universities following completion of the program
  • Demonstrate strong leadership qualities and potential in their university and community activities
  • Indicate a serious interest in learning about the United States
  • Have a sustained high level of academic achievement, as indicated by grades, awards, and teacher recommendations
  • Demonstrate commitment to community service and extracurricular university activities
  • Have little or no prior study or travel experience in the United States or elsewhere outside of their home country
  • Be mature, responsible, independent, confident, open-minded, tolerant, thoughtful, and inquisitive
  • Be willing and able to fully participate in an intensive academic program, community service, and educational travel
  • Be willing to respectfully engage with fellow participants representing different backgrounds and different points of view
  • Be comfortable with campus life, prepared to share living accommodations, and able to adjust to cultural and social practices different from those of their home country
  • Preference will be given to candidates with limited prior experience in the U.S. or elsewhere outside of their home country. Note that U.S. citizens, Mongolians holding a U.S. green card, and relatives of U.S. embassy employees are not eligible to apply.

Selection Criteria

• All U.S. Government scholarship programs are merit-based. Although we take into account special circumstances of candidates such as disability, disadvantaged background, or any other notable characteristics, final decision is made based on the candidate’s overall strength as represented by the application quality and interview. We also consider one’s ability to be a cultural ambassador and his/her ability and motivation to give back to the community.
• Following are the main steps for selection for the Albright Young Women Leaders Program:
  • Technical Screening: This is the initial review to verify the completeness of the applications. During technical screening, they check to see two main things:
    • If applications and any required supplemental documents are complete
    • If applicants meet all the eligibility requirements
  • Application Review: After technical screening, all complete applications are then reviewed by an application review committee. During this process, each application gets to be reviewed by a minimum of three people.
  • Short List: Based on the recommendations of the application review committee, an interview short list is created. Candidates who are included in the short list are then invited for an in-person interview.
  • Interview: An interview panel consisting of representatives of the U.S. Embassy and other academic professionals interview all short-listed candidates and select finalists to be nominated for the global competition.
  • Nomination: Finalists selected from the interview are then nominated by the embassy to SUSI Program Office in Washington D.C. where they will compete with nominations from embassies from around the world.
  • Final Selection: If selected from the global competition, the candidate is confirmed to participate in the program.

Application Requirements

• In order to apply for the Albright Young Women Leaders Program, the applicant must:
  • Complete an online application
  • Send following documents:
    • Official transcript copy (PDF or image file)
    • Two reference letters from your high school or university teachers (PDF or image file)
• Please note that the reference letters must be in English. If the reference letter is provided in Mongolian, please provide a certified English translation.
• All reference letters must include full contact information of the reference provider including: full name, title, work address, email address and work and mobile phone numbers.
• Things to remember when filling out an application:
  • Read the announcement carefully in full
  • Application must be completed in English and submitted electronically
  • Applicants must answer all questions in the application form. Incomplete applications will be deemed technically ineligible. No questions can be left blank. Put N/A if not applicable
  • Essays must be your own work reflecting your original thoughts. Other people’s works/ideas used anywhere in the application must be properly cited or labeled
  • Please note any word or character limit for essay portions of the application and keep your answers within the limit.

For more information, visit U.S. Embassy in Mongolia.