United States-India Educational Foundation

The United States-India Educational Foundation (USIEF) is a binational organisation set up in 1950 by agreement between the Government of India and the United States to run the Fulbright Program in India. It describes its purpose as fostering mutual understanding between the people of India and the United States through educational exchanges involving scholars, professionals and students. Since 2008 the two governments have funded the programme as equal partners, and the core fellowships carry the Fulbright-Nehru name. USIEF is funded by the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Department of Education and India's Ministry of External Affairs, and is governed by a board of five Indian members nominated by the Government of India and five U.S. members nominated by the U.S. Ambassador. Beyond administering fellowships, its offices host academic and professional workshops, forums, mentoring sessions and policy dialogues, and actively engage Fulbright alumni in that work.

Headquarters: New Delhi, Delhi, India

Major Areas of Work

• Fellowships for Indian citizens: Grants for scholars, researchers, teachers and professionals to pursue research, teaching and professional development at U.S. universities.

• Fellowships for U.S. citizens: Grants for students, scholars and professionals to carry out research, teaching and short-term projects at Indian higher education institutions.

• EducationUSA India: A U.S. Mission-supported advising platform giving students, families and educators information on U.S. higher education, admissions, visas and pre-departure preparation.

• Institutional linkages: Acting as a resource for connecting higher education institutions in the United States and India.

• Alumni engagement: Involving Fulbright and Humphrey alumni in workshops, mentoring and policy dialogues across its four offices.

Major Initiatives and Programmes

• Fulbright-Nehru Doctoral Research Fellowships: Let Ph.D. candidates enrolled at Indian universities carry out part of their doctoral research at a U.S. institution.

• Fulbright-Nehru Postdoctoral Research Fellowships: Help early-career Indian researchers strengthen their research skills and build international collaborations in the United States.

• Fulbright-Nehru Academic and Professional Excellence Fellowships: Support Indian faculty, scientists, artists and professionals to research, teach or both at U.S. institutions, with a mirror award for U.S. scholars at Indian institutions.

• Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program: A professional development programme for young and mid-career Indian professionals, running in India for over 45 years.

• Fulbright Specialist Program: Short project-based placements of two to six weeks for U.S. academics and professionals at Indian host institutions, alongside the Fulbright-Nehru Student Research Fellowships, Distinguished Awards in Teaching and International Education Administrators Award for U.S. citizens.

The Fulbright-Nehru fellowships are the flagship. They cover the full academic ladder, from doctoral and postdoctoral research through faculty and professional exchanges, and in the U.S. direction fund student researchers, scholars and senior administrators coming to India. USIEF states that India now hosts the largest Fulbright Scholar Program in the world.

Impact

USIEF states it has awarded over 22,000 fellowships and grants to Indians and Americans since 1950, and its own site cites 330 Fulbright awards for the 2025-26 cycle. The site also cites 331,602 Indian students studying in the United States. The foundation marked 75 years of the Fulbright Program in India in 2025 and works with the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, the U.S. Embassy, the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Education, as well as Indian and U.S. academic institutions.

Leadership

• Adam J. Grotsky, Executive Director

• Megha Sunger, Deputy Director

• Maya Sundararajan, Regional Officer, Chennai

• Ryan A. Pereira, Regional Officer, Mumbai

Working at USIEF means running one of the largest binational scholarship programmes in the world from offices in New Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai. The work is programme administration, selection, orientation and alumni engagement, with regular contact with Indian and U.S. universities, both governments and a large alumni network. It suits people interested in higher education, international exchange and academic administration who want exposure to government and university partners on both sides.