US Government and IREX Thomas Jefferson Scholarship Program 2024-2025

We are now accepting applications for the 2024–2025 Thomas Jefferson Scholarship Program (TJSP). The Thomas Jefferson Scholarship Program provides opportunities for full-time, undergraduate, university/institute students from Tunisia to spend one academic year of nondegree study at a U.S. university or college. 

Through academic opportunities, professional engagement, and leadership development, the program fosters economic growth, stability, and democratic development in Tunisia by equipping a network of youth with essential skills to lead positive change in their professional fields and communities.

• Table of Content
• About IREX
• IREX Thomas Jefferson Scholarship Program
• Aim and Benefits of IREX Thomas Jefferson Scholarship Program
• Requirements for IREX Thomas Jefferson Scholarship Program Qualification
• Application Deadline
• How to Apply

About IREX

We strive for a more just, prosperous, and inclusive world—where individuals reach their full potential, governments serve their people, and communities thrive. Around the globe, persistent poverty, repression, and injustice prevent too many people from achieving their full potential. To address these problems, we focus on people, not on buildings, roads, or wells. We support individuals and institutions to create change in their own communities—and to create person-to-person bridges between nations. We are doers. Our decades of on-the-ground experience help us create greater... continue reading

IREX Thomas Jefferson Scholarship Program

Aim and Benefits of IREX Thomas Jefferson Scholarship Program

This is a fully funded scholarship.

The Thomas Jefferson Scholarship Program is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Department of State and implemented by IREX. Participants are selected through an open, merit-based competition.

 All participants will:

• Attend classes full-time for one academic year
• Perform at least 20 hours of community service in their host community during their first semester
• Complete a part-time practical internship during their second semester

Requirements for IREX Thomas Jefferson Scholarship Program Qualification

The Thomas Jefferson Scholarship Program does not discriminate against applicants on the basis of color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, or any other protected characteristic as established by U.S. law. TJSP alumni have come from all 24 governorates of Tunisia.

Competition for the Thomas Jefferson Scholarship Program is merit-based and open to anyone who: 

• is a Tunisian citizen; 
• currently resides in Tunisia; 
• is enrolled as a full-time, undergraduate, university/institute student in good academic standing at the time of application at a registered academic institution in Tunisia; 
• is NOT in the final year of their undergraduate program at the time of application 
  • Architecture students are eligible in their first, second, third, fourth, or fifth year of study.
  • Engineering students are eligible in their first or second year (preparatory classes), and third and fourth year of undergraduate study.
• is able to receive a U.S. J-1 visa; 
• is at least 18 years old by July 1, 2024;
• is committed to returning to Tunisia after completion of the program; 
• is able to achieve a TOEFL score of at least 500; and 
• completes the academic year prior to study in the United States in good standing with a passing average (a.k.a. moyenne générale).

Please note that you do not need to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) to apply for this program. Only semifinalists are required to take the TOEFL, and testing will be provided for them at no cost.

Application Deadline

How to Apply

The application must be completed online. Applicants must fill out all required sections of the application and provide contact information for two references. Reference 1 and reference 2 must be completed by two different individuals who can speak to your suitability as a potential scholarship recipient.  References may be provided by professors, advisors, managers, mentors, etc.

Complete copies of all application materials, including references,  must be received together in one package as per the application instructions by Monday, November 27, 2023 at 5 p.m. Tunis time. Only complete applications, which include a complete application form with two reference forms, will be forwarded to the selection committee.

Download the full application instructions (PDF, 221 KB).  

For more details visit: IREX website.