CFAs: Fulbright Foreign Student – Long Term English Program (Burkina Faso)

This is a program specially designed for graduating 4th year university students who have good English skills but who are not sufficiently fluent in English to pursue full-time graduate study in the U.S. The program allows such students to go to the U.S. for up to 8 months of intensive English language training and to then seek admission to a Masters (MA) degree study program in the United States under the Fulbright Visiting Student Program (FVS). If admitted to a graduate degree program the student has up to two years to obtain his or her master’s degree. Funding for both the intensive English language training and the master’s degree program is provided by the government of the United States of America through the U.S. Department of State.

Eligibility Criteria

• Any person who is currently affiliated with and who is committed to continue working either at an academic institution of higher education, or at a public or private educational, cultural, or professional institution in their home country upon completion of their program.
• Only persons who meet the following minimum requirements can apply:
  • Citizens or permanent residents of Burkina Faso who are qualified to hold a valid passport issued by Burkina Faso.
  • Persons who have or will have by July 2025 a university degree awarded after at least four years of full-time study that is sufficient to qualify the person to be admitted to a graduate study program at a university in the U.S.
  • Persons who have the endorsement of their home institution; and Persons who have good written and spoken English.
• Anyone meeting the minimum requirements may apply. However, people who have the following characteristics are the most competitive applicants and therefore the ones most likely to be selected:
  • Persons who are complying with Burkina Faso Development Goals.
  • 4th-year university students who graduated or who will graduate before the July 2025 from an institution of higher education in Burkina Faso.
  • Persons who wish to pursue a Masters (MA) degree and who intend to return to Burkina Faso.
  • Persons who have outstanding academic records, references, and academic preparation in their fields.
  • Persons who can score at least 550 and
  • Persons who have not previously studied in the U.S.
• Applications from women and graduating 4th year students are encouraged.

Ineligibility Criteria

• The following are examples of persons who are not eligible for this program:
  • Persons who have already received a bachelor’s or master’s degree in the U.S.
  • Persons who have participated in a Fulbright program within the past three years.
  • Persons wishing to pursue PhD or Master of Business Administration (MBA) degrees.
  • Persons wishing to pursue master’s degrees or other study programs in English, Teaching English as a Foreign Language, Linguistics, or English Literature; and Persons who cannot score at least 520 on The Test of English Language Proficiency (TELP) before starting intensive English language training in the U.S.

For more information, visit U.S. Embassy in Burkina Faso.