Press Release
Contact: Tenzing Choephel
212 213 5011 x 15
tchoephel@tibetfund.org
The Tibet Fund welcomes the 21st Batch of Tibetan Fulbright Students to New York
The 21st batch of Tibetan Fulbright students arrived in New York on August 7, 2007 as part of The Tibet Fund’s Tibetan Scholarship Program (TSP).
The current group of 17 TSP students consists of 11 male and six female, will go through a 4-day orientation in New York City designed to introduce them to American culture and prepare them for life on campus in American universities. After their orientation the students will travel to their respective schools to begin their academic career.
Of the 17 new students, eight are enrolled in two years master degree programs in areas including Education, Development Studies, Journalism and Public Administration. The remaining nine are enrolled in non-degree programs in Accounting, Education, Public Administration and Special Education. The students will be attending University of Northern Iowa, University of San Francisco, SUNY: University at Buffalo, Brandeis University, UMASS, Salve Regina University, RUTGERS: State University of New Jersey and New York University.
Incoming TSP students have previously worked in such Tibetan organizations and institutions like Tibetan Children’s Village; Tibetan Medical and Astrological Institute; and the Central Tibetan Administration’s Department of Information and International Relations, Security, Education and Religion.
TSP was started in 1988 with funding from the Fulbright Program of the US State Department. Since then The Tibet Fund has been able to bring 322 Tibetan refugee professional and students to the US to receive higher education. The Tibet Fund works closely with the Department of Education and the High Level Scholarship Committee in India to ensure an open, merit-based selection process for TSP students.
TSP students have studied in some of America’s most prestigious educational institutions including Harvard, UC Berkeley, Brandeis, Cornell, Columbia, Emory and Yale. Over 95 percent of TSP students have completed their studies in such diverse range areas. Close to 92% of TSP students return home after graduation to work in responsible positions and take on leadership roles within the Tibetan refugee communities in India and Nepal and in the Offices of Tibet abroad.
The Tibet Fund is currently assisting 10 master-level students who will finish their studies in May 2008. With the arrival of the current group of 17 new students, The Tibet Fund will be assisting a total of 27 TSP students from Fall 2007 onwards.
