Emergency Student Fund

The IIE Emergency Student Fund is now open for nominations. During open calls, IIE Network members in the United States are invited to nominated international students who are impacted by the relevant climate disasters, war, or other crises. To find out if your institution is an IIE Network member, visit https://membership.iie.org/iienetwork or email membership@iie.org.

For other questions about the Emergency Student Fund, email ESF@iie.org.

Through the Fall 2025 ESF Round, IIENetwork member institutions may nominate up to 5 international students who are financially impacted by one of the following emergencies:  

  • The September 2025 flood in Pakistan 
  • The September 2025 Typhoon Ragasa in East Asia (including students from the Philippines, Taiwan, Hong Kong SAR, and the regions of Southern China directly impacted by the storm) 
  • The recent and ongoing wars and conflicts in the Middle East, Sudan, and Ukraine. 

IIE will award selected students with a one-time grant of $2000.  
 
To find out if your institution is an IIENetwork member, visit https://membership.iie.org/iienetwork or email membership@iie.org. If your institution is not a member, please reach out to ESF@iie.org with any questions.  
 
Eligibility and Selection Criteria  

  • Nominations must be submitted by an administrator at an IIENetwork Member institution in the United States. An institution may not nominate more than 5 students. Students may not submit their own nomination. 
  • Nominees generally must be studying in the United States on an F-1/J-1 or F-2/J-2 visa. If the student is on another visa, you may explain the situation in the application. ESF cannot fund permanent residents or citizens of the United States.  
  • Nominees must be enrolled for studies during the 2024-25 academic year and pursuing an associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree.  
  • Nominators must provide unique and accurate information for each nominee, demonstrating the financial hardship that nominees specifically face as a result of the relevant emergency.  
  • U.S. host campuses nominating students for the Emergency Student Fund are encouraged to provide additional emergency assistance to nominated students through tuition waivers, scholarships, housing or other direct support when possible.  

Students who are active participants of the U.S. Department of State’s Fulbright program are not eligible for ESF awards. If these participants have emergency needs, they should contact their advisor at IIE (or the advisor at the relevant cooperating agency) to discuss any individual situations. 

Nomination Deadline  
 
The nomination deadline for the ESF Fall 2025 round is November 3, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. eastern time.  


Nomination Form  

Complete the online nomination form here:  

Apply Here

If nominating several students, please rank students from 1-5 based on financial need, with “1” being the highest level of need. Please take the time to describe each student’s financial and personal situation individually. The more detailed and personalized information the selection committee has access to, the better are the chances for students to receive an ESF award.  

It is possible for an individual to be awarded ESF scholarships over multiple rounds; however, preference will be given to those who have not been awarded. If you are nominating someone with a high rank who has previously been funded, please make sure the nomination form explains why their need is higher than those from your institution who have not previously received funding.  
Please email esf@iie.org with any questions and review this FAQ before beginning your nomination form.  

Contribute to the Emergency Student Fund

IIE always welcomes additional contributions for the Emergency Student Fund so it can respond quickly to help international students when disasters and emergencies in their home countries threaten to jeopardize their studies. 

We thank you for your interest in supporting students in times of crisis and appreciate your donation. 

Donate now

To learn more about IIENetwork Membership, please visit https://membership.iie.org/iienetwork.