Programs:

Founded in 1992 to encourage economic and democratic growth in Eurasia, the program s administered by IREX. It is a program of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the US Department of State. 

Eligible fields of study for the Muskie Program are: business administration, economics, education, environmental management, international affairs, journalism and mass communication, law, library and information science, public administration, public health, and public policy. (Citizens of Russia and Ukraine are only eligible to study in the following fields: business administration, economics, law, public administration, or public policy)

Countries-participants: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan

Exams: Some semi-finalists will be selected to take exams: The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) as well as; The Graduate Record Examination (GRE); Or the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT)

Program selection criteria:
     - Academic excellence: flexibility and suitability as a graduate exchange student; proficiency in written and spoken English;
     - Relevant work experience;
     - Commitment to returning to Eurasia after the program;
     - The Muskie program gives preference to applicants (from outside capital cities; students who have not studied abroad in the US before).

Eligibility requirements for Muskie program are:
     - candidates are considered without respect to race, color, religion, national origin, or gender;
     - persons with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply;
     - competition for the Muskie Program is merit-based and open to anyone who: is of an undergraduate degree (five- or four-year program) by the time of application. Degree must be in law in order to apply to the Muskie Program in the field of law;
     - participant is committed to returning to his home country after completion of the program;
     - student-participant should be eligible for receiving US visa;
     - the proficiency in spoken and written English at the time of application is essential.

Individuals in the following circumstances are NOT eligible for the program:
     - U.S. citizens and permanent residents of the United States.
     - Individuals currently participating in academic, training or research programs in the United States.
     - Individuals currently residing or working outside the 12 participating countries.
     - Individuals who have participated in an exchange visitor program sponsored or funded by the U.S. government for a period of more than six weeks and who have not fulfilled their two- year home residency requirement by the time of application.
     - Individuals who have applied for U.S. permanent residency in the past three years.