Fulbright Foreign Student Program (Mali)

The Fulbright Foreign Student Program provides scholarships for students to obtain a master’s degree from an accredited U.S. university starting the fall of 2026. This program funds two years of graduate study in the United States towards the completion of a master’s degree.

Eligibility Criteria

• All candidates must meet the following selection criteria:
  • Nominees must be citizens or nationals of Mali, or permanent residents holding a valid passport issued by Mali.
  • Nominees must have at least the equivalent of four (4) years of university study and the equivalent of a U.S. bachelor’s degree. Nominees that have three (3) years of tertiary study should have the equivalent of thirteen (13) years of primary and secondary school and their undergraduate degree should allow them to be eligible to pursue higher education in their home country. Please note that final equivalency decisions will be determined by each U.S. university and not all institutions will accept three (3) year undergraduate degrees.
  • Nominees should have a sufficient level of English proficiency (TOEFL scores of 575-PBT/90-iBT) to enable them to engage in full-time graduate level study in the United States. Any nominee who does not meet these standards will not move forward in the application process.
  • Nominees should have a high motivation and a serious commitment to completing the program as scheduled and returning to Mali.
  • Nominees with no extensive or recent U.S. experience will be given preference.
  • No applicant may receive more than one Fulbright Student grant, including Humphrey Scholar alumni. This does not apply to the Foreign Language Teaching Assistant (FLTA) Program alumni.
  • Local employees’ staff (LES) abroad employed by the State Department/United States Agency for International Development (USAID) are ineligible for grants during the period of their employment and for one year following the termination of employment.
  • Nominees must be candidates for a Master’s degree in their current field. Individuals seeking Ph.D., MBA, Law, or non-degree programs are not eligible for the LTE component.

Application Requirements

• Applicants in the fields or sub-fields of English, TEFL, and Linguistics must have a minimum TOEFL score of 65 to apply for LTE.
• Nominees must be available to begin their LTE training in January or March 2026.

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