April 30, 2006	Sunday	Rabi-us-Sani 1, 1427

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ISLAMABAD, April 29: Around 200 Pakistani students would proceed to the United States this year to avail the Fulbright scholarships in different disciplines of PhD, masters, and under-graduate programmes in leading universities.

This was stated by Peter Bodde, Charge d’ Affaires of the US embassy in Islamabad and Dr Grace Clarke, the executive director, US Education Foundation in Pakistan (USEFP), at a reception hosted by the former.

Beginning in 2005, special funding from USAID allowed the establishment of a new masters degree programme. With a budget of $15 million per year, it allows approximately 100 young Pakistanis a year to pursue fully-funded masters degree in the US.

This year with a joint funding from USAID and the Higher Education Commission (HEC), $15 million per year has been added to the budget to establish a programme that would send up to 50 Pakistanis a year to the US for PhD degrees.

This $30 million a year total currently makes the US- Pakistan Fulbright programme the largest of its kind worldwide from funding point.

Dr Grace said Pakistan now had the largest Fulbright degree programme in the world. “As recently as 2003-04, we sent a total of 19 grantees to the US.”

It would not have been possible without the support of our steadfast alumni who have generously contributed their time to serve on selection panels.

“We also have a new programme this summer targeting undergraduates. This is a special programme just for Pakistan in which 40 undergraduates will go to the US for six weeks for a programme in the US government, politics, culture and society,” she said.

The Fulbright Programme is a world leader in international educational exchange. The goal of the programme is to increase mutual understanding between the people of the US and the people of other countries through educational exchange.