Application

How to Apply for the Humphrey Fellowship: Portal, Papers and People

One online form, but your country office runs the contest. Here is what goes into the file, who reads it, and a tracker to tick off as you go.

ScholarshipUnion Editorial 3 min read Updated Oct 6, 2026

The common mistake

There is no direct application to IIE, a university or Washington. The apply.iie.org portal routes your file to the U.S. Embassy or Fulbright Commission for your country, which decides whether to nominate you. Read that office’s call first.

The route your application takes

1
Step 1
Read your country’s call
Find your office on the official country list. The call sets the deadline, any age band, residence rules and extra documents.
2
Step 2
Create an account at apply.iie.org/huberthhumphrey
Use a personal email you will keep for two years; the Brazil instructions advise against a work address you may lose access to.
3
Step 3
Complete the form and the four essays
Draft offline. The portal logs you out after 60 minutes of inactivity.
4
Step 4
Register two referees
One must be your current employer. They submit through a link the system emails to them.
5
Step 5
Upload transcripts and documents, then submit
After you submit you cannot edit. Referees can still upload after you submit, but before the post’s cut-off.
6
Step 6
Shortlist, interview, English test
Only shortlisted applicants are contacted. Nominees usually get a free TOEFL or other test voucher.

What a complete file contains

The official Eligibility page lists three must-haves: complete answers to all questions with English essays that “thoroughly address the prompt”; two letters of recommendation in English, one from your current employer; and official transcripts in English that list courses and grades.

The 2027–28 embassy calls fill in the rest:

Undergraduate transcript with courses and grades, plus an English translation if needed. Upload the diploma only if the transcript does not show the degree was awarded
Diplomas (not transcripts) for any master’s or doctorate
CV — Brazil caps it at three pages
Passport bio page or national ID
English Language Assessment Form where the post requires it (Brazil does)
Employer support — Ethiopia asks for a leave-of-absence letter; India an employer endorsement form

Serbia also asked for paper copies posted to the embassy a week before its online deadline. Rules like this are local, which is why the call matters more than any general guide.

Application tracker

Essays →

Tick items off as you go. Nothing is saved when you leave the page.

Choosing referees

The Brazil instructions give useful guidance: pick people who know your work well. A form letter from a famous official “will carry less weight than a realistic assessment of your abilities from someone who knows you and your work well.” If you changed jobs recently, one letter should come from your previous employer. Give both referees a copy of your essays so the letters back up the same story.

Choosing your field

You are reviewed and placed by field of study, not by region, the Jerusalem call explains, and host campuses can take only a limited number of Fellows in each field. Choose the field that matches your current job. A health ministry official applying under Technology Policy because it sounds newer will struggle to make the essays hold together.

After you submit

Expect silence for a few weeks. India’s USIEF timetable is typical: screening in early August, interviews at the end of August, nominees notified in early September and asked to sit TOEFL, files sent to Washington by mid-September. See Deadlines and Interview.