Emerging Global Leader Scholar Program 2026

📖 About the Program

The AU Emerging Global Leader Scholarship (AU EGLS) promotes educational access and opportunity while enhancing international diversity. It combines academic excellence, leadership development, and global engagement to empower scholars to achieve, inspire, and serve with vision.

The program is dedicated to fostering positive civic and social change to address issues faced by under-resourced and underserved communities in scholars' home countries.

🎁 Benefits

• The AU EGL scholarship covers all billable AU expenses (full tuition, room, and board) for two international students who require a non-immigrant visa (preferably an F-1 or J-1 student visa) to study in the United States.
• Non-billable expenses such as mandatory health insurance, books, airline tickets, taxes, and miscellaneous expenses (approximately US$4,000 per year) are not covered and must be paid out of pocket.
• In addition to the two full scholarships, AU offers up to eight partial scholarships valued at up to US$40,000 per year.

🚫 Eligibility Criteria

You are NOT eligible to apply if:

• You are a U.S. citizen, U.S. permanent resident, U.S. pending permanent resident, or a dual citizen of the U.S. and another country.
• You are enrolled in or have already begun any post-secondary studies at another university in your home country or the United States.
• You graduated from secondary school earlier than 2023.

📅 Application Date and Process

Key Dates:

• Application Deadline: January 15, 2026

Steps to Apply:

1. Complete and submit the Common Application with all required documents as per the AU international instructions checklist before January 15, 2026.
2. Create your applicant portal when invited to do so.
3. Submit:
   • A bank letter and the completed and signed AU Declaration of Finances Form (AU DFF), each confirming a minimum of US$4,000. These documents can be uploaded via your applicant portal. Refer to examples of bank letters.
   • Your official TOEFL, IELTS, Duolingo English, PTE, or Cambridge Assessment English Test score results before January 15, 2026. Official score reports must be sent directly by the testing agency to:
     • American University, Undergraduate Admissions, Washington, DC
   • If applicable, a letter from your EducationUSA center's adviser confirming your candidacy (for applicants supported by EducationUSA or past FLEX/YES high school scholarship recipients). This letter can be sent as a PDF to jtomczak@american.edu.
4. If not selected as a finalist, you may still be considered for admission to American University, Washington, DC, and may be eligible for partial merit scholarships.

🔗 Scholarship Application Portal

For more details, visit the American University (AU) Emerging Global Leader Scholar Program Application Portal.

📌 Additional Notes

• If you are applying through a program supported by EducationUSA or are a past FLEX/YES high school scholarship recipient, ensure to provide the necessary supporting documents as outlined above.
• Non-finalists may still be considered for admission and partial merit scholarships.

📆 Application Deadline

January 15, 2026

• The AU EGL scholarship covers all billable AU expenses (full tuition, room, and board) for two international students who will need a non-immigrant visa (preferably an F-1 or J-1 student visa) to study in the United States. The scholarship does not cover non-billable expenses such as mandatory health insurance, books, airline tickets, taxes, and miscellaneous expenses which students will need to pay out of pocket (approximately US$4,000 per year).
• In addition to the two full AU Emerging Global Leader Scholarships covering all billable expenses, AU will also offer up to eight additional AU EGL partial scholarships valued at up to US$40,000/per year.