Community Solutions
Eligibility & Application
Program Eligibility Details
To be eligible for the Community Solutions Program, applicants must meet the requirements listed below:
- You are between the ages of 25 and 38 at the beginning of the year;
- You are a citizen of an eligible country;
- You are living and working in your home country (individuals with refugee status working on behalf of their home community may be given special consideration);
- You have at least two years of experience working on community development, either as a full-time or part-time employee or volunteer;
- You have a high level of proficiency in spoken and written English at the time of application
- You are not a citizen or permanent resident of the US and have not applied for US permanent residency within the past three years
- You are eligible to receive a U.S. J-1 visa
Program Application Details
Applications are typically accepted from October through November of each year. Visit IREX for more information.
For exact application dates, please contact csp@irex.org.
Selection Process
Competition for the Community Solutions Program is merit-based and candidates will be considered without respect to race, color, religion, national origin, or gender. After the deadline, all eligible applications will be reviewed by a selection panel. The panel will then choose semifinalists to be interviewed. Semifinalists will also be required to take an English language exam or submit recent TOEFL or IELTS scores. After the interviews, finalists and alternates will be selected, pending their performance on their English language exam.
Applicants will be considered based on the following criteria:
- Professional or volunteer work on substantive community development projects;
- Knowledge of and experience in one or more of the Community Solutions Program focus areas (Environmental Issues, Tolerance and Conflict Resolution, Transparency and Accountability, and Women and Gender Issues);
- Leadership experience and potential;
- Professional and program goals; and
- Intercultural and English language skills.
