Fulbright US Scholarship Eligibility

Eligibility Regulations:

• Regulations for all Fulbright Programs are created and revised by the Presidentially-appointed J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board (JWFFSB).
• The full text of the current JWFFSB’s Policies For Fulbright U.S. Scholars are found in Chapter 600: U.S. Lecturers and Research Scholars.
• All eligibility requirements apply at time of application.
• Applicants are considered without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin and/or physical impairment.

Eligibility Essentials:

• U.S. citizenship – permanent residence is not sufficient.
• A Ph.D. or equivalent professional/terminal degree (including the master’s degree, depending on the field) as appropriate. Candidates outside academe (e.g., professionals, artists) need recognized professional standing and substantial professional accomplishments.
• College or university teaching awards require experience at the level and in the field specified by the award description.
• Foreign language proficiency as specified by the award description or required for the successful completion of the proposed project. (In many areas, lecturing is in English.)
• Sound physical and mental health. Grantees are required to submit a Medical History and Examination Report before their grants can be finalized.
• The lifetime maximum number of Fulbright Scholar grants is two.  That may be calculated either as two Core grants or one Core grant and two short-term (two months or less) grants.
• Grants shall not authorize activity for which a license to practice medicine or nursing is required.

Eligibility Notes:

• Candidates who have resided abroad for five or more consecutive years in a six-year period preceding the date of application are ineligible. In this case, a period of nine months or more during a calendar year is considered to constitute a full year abroad.
• Candidates should be aware of the Review Criteria regarding Previous Experiences Abroad and Previous Fulbright Grants.
• Applicants are required to disclose any prior convictions of a felony or a misdemeanor (excluding minor traffic violations). The complete JWFFSB regulations can be found under Ineligibility Factors.

Employees, spouses and dependent children of the United States Department of State or public and private organizations under contract to the Department of State are ineligible to apply for a Fulbright grant until one year after employment termination.