Educational Exchange

USEFI - Chennai

The United States Educational Foundation in India (USEFI) was established under the Indo-U.S. agreement on educational exchange on February 2, 1950. Both governments recognize the Foundation as an organization created and established to facilitate the administration of the Fulbright program in India. In addition to the administration of the Fulbright program, USEFI provides educational advising services to help students in India wishing to pursue higher education in the United States.

The Fulbright program of cultural and educational exchanges, designed to promote mutual understanding between the United States and the rest of the world, resulted from legislation sponsored by U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright and signed into a law by U.S. President Harry Truman on August 1, 1946. The broad objective of the Fulbright scholar program is “…. to assist in the development of friendly, sympathetic, and peaceful relations between the United States and other countries of the world.” The program has brought together nearly 250,000 scholars from the United States and 130 countries throughout the world.

Since 1950, the Foundation has awarded a total of 8,000 grants to Indians and Americans. In addition to the Fulbright Program, USEFI also administers other programs, directly or indirectly funded by the U.S. Government, such as the Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowships, East-West Center Grants, Faculty Research Abroad Program, Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Program, and Summer Group Projects.

Fulbright Program in India

Each year, a number of American scholars visit India under the auspices of the Fulbright program. The scholars include visiting lecturers, researchers, students and artists. During their visit, they are affiliated to institutions in India and carry out their work at or with the help of the institutions. USEFI facilitates their affiliation and settling down, assists in their day-to-day concerns, and organizes programs around their expertise. The main objective of such programs is to bring the scholars’ expertise to a largely Indian audience and to promote effective exchange between Indian scholars and the visiting American scholars in their areas of interest.

Every year, a number of Indian scholars visit the U.S. under the auspices of the Fulbright program. In India, the program has undergone various changes as the country’s needs and priorities have evolved. During the first two decades, Indian students were sponsored for doctoral studies, in addition to groups of Indian secondary school teachers for special training programs. Today, the Foundation’s emphasis has shifted to research, both at the doctoral and post-doctoral level, and to professional training in newly emerging areas of importance to the country.

Recognizing the Fulbright Program’s potential, Indian industry and philanthropic organizations have begun collaborating with USEFI (the Fulbright Commission in India) to introduce some cost-shared Fulbright grants. The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC), the Associated Chamber of Indian Commerce and Industry (ASSOCHAM), the Tata Trusts, the J. Watumull Fund, United Airlines, and the Friends of Fulbright to India (FFI) have joined hands with USEFI in co-sponsoring some exchange fellowships.

The Fulbright fellowships for Indian scholars are announced in the month of April each year, in leading newspapers in India, for awards tenable the following year.

Student Advising Services

USEFI provides educational advising services through an open house, a reference library, and group and individual advising sessions. Staff at the open house answer various queries on higher education in the United States. The open house at Chennai is open on Wednesdays, from 1.00 to 4.00 p.m., except holidays. USEFI also sells a few publications at the open house sessions.

USEFI distributes test bulletins with information and application forms for the Scholastic Aptitude Tests (SAT I & II) and the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE), and by mail the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), Graduate Record Examinations (GRE – General & Subject) and Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) by mail only.

USEFI provides attestations of high school, college and university mark sheets and academic certificates. Interested students must provide the original mark sheets and certificates as well as the envelopes in which he/she would like the attested documents to be placed. The applicable fee is Rs.20/- per attestation, that is, per copy that needs to be attested. If attested certificates are to be placed in sealed envelopes an additional fee of Rs.20/- will be charged for the signature on each sealed envelope. USEFI will make necessary copies, attest them and hand them back to students in fifteen working days from the date of request, to the best extent possible. Request for attestations can be made on Wednesdays only.

USEFI has a reference library exclusively on higher education in the United States. The library at Chennai is open from Monday to Friday, from 9:30 a.m. to 5.00 p.m., except holidays. The library has a reference collection including:

a) extensive information on majors, fields of study, colleges and universities for undergraduate and graduate students;
b) practice tests including the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), Test of Written English (TWE), Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT I & II), Graduate Record Examinations (GRE-General and Subject) and Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) including computer based test practice;
c) software related to higher education in the United States;
d) information on financial assistance;
e) information on ranking;
f) information on distance learning;
g) information on executive development;
h) video tapes related to higher education in the United States;
i) reading files;
j) catalogs of universities;
k) audio tapes related to higher education in the United States.


Photocopying services are available at the USEFI reference library for a charge of Rs. 2/- per copy, except for practice test materials. The photocopies are given to members on the Monday following the week when they were requested.

The library has two kinds of memberships, an annual membership for Rs. 1500/- and a monthly membership for Rs. 300/-. Daily reference is available for Rs.100/-

USEFI also offers various group advising sessions including:

a) a basic orientation program, held almost every Wednesday from 10.00 a.m. to 12 noon. A video presentation from 10.00 a.m. to 11 a.m. discusses the application process to universities in the United States, followed by a group counseling session from 11.00 a.m. to 12.00 noon. In the group counseling session, an educational advisor answers questions from students, makes one or two small presentations, taking students through all the steps from a preliminary selection of universities to the student visa interview. The overall goal of the program is to provide a good comprehensive starting point for anyone contemplating study in the United States. Students interested in attending this session are asked to call the USEFI office on the Tuesday before and confirm that both the video presentation and the group advising will be offered on the particular Thursday that he/she wishes to attend;

b) sessions on preparing application packages to universities in the United States, one for undergraduate students and one for graduate students. In these sessions, the educational advisor discusses every item of the application package with the students. These sessions are held, based on need, from September to March. This session is open only to the annual members of the Educational Advising Services of USEFI;

c) student visa counseling sessions led by consular officers from the American Consulate General, Chennai. Officers will discuss guidelines in student visa issuance decisions and answer general questions on student visas. These sessions are held, based on need, from March to August and November to December. This session is open only to the annual members of the Educational Advising Services of USEFI;

d) pre-departure orientation sessions for students on their way to the U.S. following receipt of their student visas. Sessions will give students a taste of what life is like in the U. S., both academically and culturally. These sessions are held, based on need, from June to August and in December. Sessions last half-a-day inclusive of lunch and materials. Resource persons at these sessions include continuing or graduated students from universities in the United States, faculty, visiting American Fulbright scholars, consular officers and diplomatic spouses. Interested students must register in advance. Registration fees vary year to year;

e) sessions on higher education in the U.S. by representatives of American universities. USEFI policy does not promote any particular educational institution. These sessions bring the expertise of visiting admissions representatives together with students; This session is open only to the annual members of the Educational Advising Services of USEFI;

f) sessions on specific fields of study by faculty and professionals. The resource persons at these sessions include visiting faculty from American universities and U.S. graduates who have successfully re-entered their professions in India. In these sessions, the resource persons discuss academic and research opportunities in a particular field both in India and in the United States, and make efforts to connect job market trends in India to graduation trends in the United States. This session is open only to the annual members of the Educational Advising Services of USEFI;

USEFI also offers individual advising by the educational advisor to those students who are annual members of the USEFI reference library, by appointment.

For any further information, please contact:

United States Educational Foundation in India
American Consulate building
220 Anna Salai
Chennai 600 006
Telephone: 28112049, 28112000
E-Mail: usefichennai@dataone.in 


For more information on Fulbright, please click here.