Despite expansion in the numbers of students attending universities, disadvantaged communities continue to be seriously under-represented in higher education throughout the world. By directing fellowships to members of groups that suffer exclusion and discrimination within developing countries, IFP promotes greater access and equity in higher education, a significant contribution to social justice.

IFP recognizes that “disadvantage” takes many different forms. Each IFP site has developed guidelines for recruiting and selecting fellows in accordance with the nature of social exclusion and marginalization in specific contexts and conditions, for diverse reasons including discrimination based on gender, ethnicity, geography, and physical disability. The resulting system is a fine-tuned interplay of local and global features, policy parameters, and implementation strategies designed to achieve more equal access to higher education.