USAID Lincoln Scholarship Program

To be eligible for the Lincoln Scholarship you must:

  • Be a citizen of Myanmar and currently reside in Myanmar.
  • Be 40 years old or under. (Date of birth on or after March 1983)
  • Have at least the equivalent of a bachelor’s degree from an accredited university with good academic achievement. Required 3.0 GPA for a bachelor’s degree.
  • Have at least 3 years of full-time professional work experience.
    • *Professional work experience is defined as a professional paid job of 40 hour/week or more with at least one year duration for each position*
  • Be available to attend and complete pre-academic training upon selection.

If you are currently employed, it is not a requirement of the Lincoln Scholarship Program that you resign from your position. You are advised to discuss your application with your employer, and it is your responsibility to ensure that they will release you if you are selected for the Lincoln Scholarship. IIE or USAID cannot intervene in this.

You are not eligible for the Lincoln Scholarship if you:

  • Hold a citizenship other than Myanmar.
  • Reside in any country other than Myanmar.
  • Are 41 years or older.
  • Have earned a bachelor’s degree from the U.S., U.K., Australia, Canada, EU countries, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Korea, or Japan.
  • Have earned a master’s degree from any country other than Myanmar.
  • Have not met the minimum 3 years of full-time professional work experience requirement for the scholarship before submitting the application.
    • Professional work experience is defined as a professional paid job of 40 hour/week or more with at least one year duration for each position*
  • Are a current or recent employee of IIE or immediate family members of IIE.
  • Are an employee of USAID or other U.S. Government (USG) agencies or an immediate family member of USAID or USG employees, including Personal Services Contracts (PSC) and interagency agreements with USAID.

Current and former employees of organizations holding contracts, grants, or sub-awards with USAID are eligible to apply, but individuals may not continue employment if selected for the full-time scholarship program. The U.S Government determined that any employees of a Ministry, now controlled by the military regime as of February 1, 2021, are not eligible for the Lincoln Scholarship.