Harvard University and Arab Republic of Egypt announce fellowship program to advance public health, education, and government

Harvard University and the Arab Republic of Egypt announced today (Nov. 13) the creation of a new fellowship program to provide financial support to students from Egypt accepted to the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Harvard School of Public Health, or Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. This program has been established by an endowment of $10 million from the Arab Republic of Egypt to finance prestigious “Egypt Fellowships” designed to enable highly qualified members of the Egyptian public sector to study at Harvard.

“This historic contribution, the largest ever focused on Egypt received by Harvard, furthers the University’s ability to attract and enroll extraordinary students regardless of their financial capacity,” said Harvard President Drew Faust. “We are particularly pleased that this endowment supports graduate students pursuing careers in the critically important fields of education, public health, and government.”

Youssef Boutros Ghali, the Egyptian minister of finance, traveled to Cambridge. Mass., to join Faust in signing the agreement establishing this endowed fellowship program. Ghali said, “It is not often that a minister of finance or other government official has an opportunity to do something that will have a positive impact for millennia to come. These endowed funds will forever ensure that students from Egypt may study at Harvard, providing generations of future Egyptian leaders with the opportunity to expand their knowledge about and exposure to fields of study that are vital to any society’s success: education, health, and government.”

“This contribution will allow the Kennedy School to enhance its efforts to train future global leaders,” said Kennedy School Dean David T. Ellwood. “The Egypt Fellowship program will stand along with our other prominent regional fellowship programs – such as the McCloy Scholars Program for students from Germany and the Kokkalis Fellows Program for students from Southeastern and East-Central Europe.”

Harvard School of Public Health Dean Barry R. Bloom said, “We are enormously appreciative of the commitment by the government of Egypt to create a new level of leadership in public health and health care in their nation.”

“The strength of education lies in its ability to change lives and promote a just society. As the leadership in Egypt increases its efforts to promote public service careers in its country, the Harvard Graduate School of Education is honored to be a partner,” said Kathleen McCartney, dean of the Graduate School of Education. “We look forward to welcoming new students from Egypt in the near future.”

An extensive outreach, communication, and recruiting effort will be undertaken by Harvard and the Egyptian government to build an applicant pool of highly qualified Egyptian students.