The Student Leaders Program application is now closed.

Student Leaders Program

The Student Leaders Program (SLP) is a rigorous leadership and civic engagement program for competitively selected undergraduate and graduate students between the ages of 20 and 24 from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. The 2025-2026 program will address Climate Change and Environmental Protection.

Students are placed in U.S. universities where they complete academic coursework, develop leadership and project management skills, and expand their understanding of civil society and participatory governance processes in the United States and MENA region. The cornerstone of the program is the development of Community Engagement Plans (CEPs), where each student is required to identify an issue/opportunity related to climate change or environmental protection that they would like to address in their communities. During the program, students will have the opportunity to meet their American peers, engage in community service activities, and meet civil society organizations.

The Student Leaders Program (SLP) is a yearlong three-part program: pre-summer, summer, and post-summer with the most intensive part taking place during the summer. The summer program is an intensive 4-week program, and is tentatively scheduled to take place from June 25 until July 25, 2025. The summer program will be an in-person program. Upon completion of the summer program, students will implement their climate change Community Engagement Plans (CEPs) and receive follow-on support, training, and professional networking opportunities, including joining the 2,000 strong MEPI Alumni network. A competitive follow-on Accelerator Workshop may be held in the region.

Who is eligible?

• Citizenship: Students from Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Israel, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Qatar, Syria, Tunisia, West Bank and Gaza, and Yemen.  
  • Applicants must hold citizenship from the aforementioned countries as well as reside in their home countries, with the exception of Gazan, Lebanese, Syrian and Yemeni applicants.
  • Applicants who are American citizens or U.S. Legal Permanent Residents are not eligible to apply.
  • Applicants cannot be a third-country national of the nominating country with the exception of Gazan, Lebanese, Syrian and Yemeni applicants. 
• Country of Residence: ALL applicants must live in their home country with the exception of Gazan, Lebanese, Syrian and Yemeni applicants.
  • Syrian applicants living in any of the participating MENA countries are eligible to apply, whereas Syrian applicants living inside Syria are not eligible to apply. 
  • Yemeni applicants both living inside Yemen and in any of the participating MENA countries are eligible to apply. 
  • Gazan applicants both living inside Gaza and in any of the participating MENA countries are eligible to apply.
  • Lebanese applicants both living inside Lebanon and in any of the participating MENA countries are eligible to apply.
• Return to Country of Residence: Applicants must be committed to returning to or remaining in their home country/community following completion of the program.
• University Enrollment: Applicants must be currently attending an undergraduate or graduate university program in their home countries (with the exception of Gazan, Lebanese, Syrian and Yemeni applicants living and studying in participating MENA countries). Applicants may also have recently graduated from an undergraduate program within 6 months or less from the program state date of June 25, 2025 or will commence graduate studies in the Fall 2025 academic semester in their home country. Applicants should not be commencing study in an undergraduate or graduate degree program in the USA during the Fall 2025 academic semester. 
• Academic Achievement: Applicants must demonstrate a high level of academic achievement.
• Commitment to Leadership and Civic Engagement: Applicants must demonstrate a commitment to leadership and civic engagement in their communities. 
• Commitment to Climate Change and Environmental Protection: The 2025-2026 SLP will focus on climate change and environmental issues. Applicants must demonstrate a strong commitment to addressing climate change and environmental issues in their communities. 2025-2026 Student Leaders are required to have a climate change/environmental protection Civic Engagement Project (CEP). 
• Ages: Applicants must be between the ages of 20 and 24 with birth dates falling between July 25, 2000 and June 25, 2005. 
• English Proficiency: Applicants should have high English-language proficiency skills to participate in U.S. university academic classes in English. 
• Availability: Applicants must have ability to fully participate in the Student Leaders Program, particularly the intensive summer program that will tentatively take place from late June 2025 to the end of July 2025.
• Flexibility and Participation: The program will be an in-person program. Please only apply to the program if you are willing to commit to participating in an in-person program. 
  • Applicant must be comfortable living with another program participant of the same gender in a shared dormitory room as well as travel to the USA and participate in the program without any accompanying friends or family members. Applicant must be comfortable and willing to adjust to campus life, sharing dormitory living accommodations with a multinational group of participants from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and with U.S. citizens. Applicant will need to adjust to new cultural and social practices different from those of their home countries/communities.
• Diversity, Equity and Inclusion: SLP is committed to attracting diverse applicants representing a myriad of social identities from nationalities, ethnicities, race, religions, gender identities, sexual orientation, physical and mental abilities, and socioeconomic status, among others. We aim to create a diverse, inclusive, and multicultural environment with a gender-balanced pool of candidates. 
  • Preference will be given to applicants from underserved communities, socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds, no prior travel experience in the United States, Europe, or Canada, and limited to no study or travel experience outside their home country. 

 Who funds the program?

The Student Leaders Program (SLP) is sponsored by the U.S Department of State, Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, Assistance Coordination, U.S.- Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI), and has operated continually since 2003. Georgetown University is the prime implementer and works with the consortium of U.S. partner universities including University of Delaware, Montana State University, and Portland State University.

Application Timeline

Applications will be accepted starting on October 16, 2024. Applications were due on January 2, 2025 at 23:59 GMT for Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Qatar, Syria, Tunisia, West Bank and Gaza, and Yemen. Applications from Israel are due on January 24, 2025 at 23:59 GMT.

Want to learn more?

To learn more about the Student Leaders Program, eligibility requirements, application timeline and process, and general application questions and requirements, please visit the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). To fully understand the eligibility criteria and application process, please watch this tutorial.

Click here to begin your SLP application!