OAS Fellowships Programs

Nations sending students abroad for advanced training may be traced back to the beginning of recorded history. In the Western Hemisphere, international education and exchange go back to the birth of the United States and the revolutionary period in Latin America. By the second and third decades of the twentieth century, inter-American and extra-continental exchanges were taking place. Since then, inter-American intellectual cooperation has increased and developed according to the fast growing needs of the hemisphere.

• The OAS was one of the first to respond to these needs by implementing a multifaceted fellowship program for the citizens of its Member States. In almost 50 years over 80,000 fellowships have been awarded to students, scholars, and specialists of the Member States. Crossing national boundaries, the fellows have exchanged ideas and experiences with colleagues in other parts of the hemisphere and ultimately changed the lives of thousands and influenced the development of more than thirty countries in the Americas.

• The goal of obtaining a stronger bond and better understanding among the peoples of the Americas, first proclaimed by the Latin American Liberator Simon Bolivar more than a century and a half ago, has been pursued, in great part, through educational exchanges. As a fellow from the Dominican Republic stated when asked about the effect that the fellowship had on him: "I believe I (now) have a more profound knowledge of the reality of the Hemisphere and a better interest and love toward all men of the Americas."

The following is an outline of some of the first initiatives for technical cooperation in the area of education and training in the Americas up to the most current programs of the OAS:

• In 1784, one of the prominent leaders for independence for Latin America, Francisco Miranda, traveled to the United States and visited Yale University for a few days.

• In 1870, Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, President of Argentina, gained the support of several North American teachers to promote intellectual cooperation.

• In 1918, the Brazilian Minister of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce was authorized to offer prizes of study trips abroad to the country’s best students of agriculture and industrial training.

• In the 1920’s, President Alvaro Obregón of Mexico offered a number of scholarships to Costa Rican students to study in Mexico.

• In 1938, the United States through the "Interdepartmental Committee on Scientific and Cultural Cooperation" awarded different kinds of fellowships to citizens of the American Republics for study in the United States.

• In the late 1940’s, the Caribbean countries began to participate in technical training programs and the first Caribbean university, The University of the West Indies, was established.

• In 1958, the first fellowship program of the OAS, the Regular Training Program (PRA), to pursue training at the Master’s and Ph.D levels or to carry out in-depth research in different fields of study, came into being.

• In 1962, what is known today as the Special Training Program (PEC) for short-term specialized training in the Permanent Observer countries, was implemented.

In the 1970’s, the increased need to expand technical cooperation among the developing countries resulted in the implementation of the ADPD (Training Among the Developing Countries) Program for short-term specialized training in the Member States. This program is now known as Horizontal Cooperation Program for Fellowships and Training (CHBA).

• In 1982, the Special Caribbean Fellowship Program (SPECAF) to finance undergraduate studies and technical training of students from the English-speaking Caribbean countries and Suriname was established.