The 2025-2026 application is now closed. The 2026-2027 competition will open in Spring 2025.

US Fulbright Logo

Current U.S. Student

United States citizens who are currently enrolled in undergraduate or graduate degree programs are eligible to apply.If you are currently enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program at a U.S. college or university, you will apply through that institution, even if you are not currently a resident there. Find the Fulbright Program Adviser on your campus.

U.S. Citizen but not a Student

If you are a U.S. citizen, will hold a bachelor’s degree by the award start date, and do not have a Ph.D. degree, then you are eligible to apply. Non-enrolled applicants should have relatively limited professional experience in the fields (typically 7 years or less) in which they are applying. Candidates with more experience should consider applying for the Fulbright Scholar Program.

The Getting Started page will provide information on eligibility and next steps.

Artist

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program welcomes applications in the creative and performing arts. Arts candidates for the U.S. Student Program should have relatively limited professional experience in the fields (typically 7 years or less) in which they are applying. Artists with more experience should consider applying for the Fulbright Scholar Program.

Creative & Performing Arts projects fall under the Study/Research grant category and are available in all countries where Study/Research grants are offered.

FPA

U.S. Professor/Administrator

If you are a U.S. citizen and a professor or administrator at a U.S. institution and are interested in applying for a Fulbright Scholar Award, you will need to apply through fulbrightscholars.org.

To support your students in applying for a U.S. Student Program award, please connect with the Fulbright Program Adviser at your institution.

Non U.S. Citizens

If you are a non-U.S. citizen interested in applying for a Fulbright Award to the United States, you will need to apply through the Fulbright Commission or U.S. Embassy in your home country. Find out more information on the Fulbright Visiting Scholar Program or Fulbright Foreign Student Program.

Checklist for Creative & Performing Arts Candidates

Starting the Application

Contact the Fulbright Program Adviser at your school to discuss the campus application process and note any campus deadlines (pertains only to candidates applying through a U.S. institution).

Carefully review the program summary for the country and award to which you are applying.

Draft responses for the following required short answer questions: 1) Abstract/Summary of Proposal, 2) Host Country Engagement, 3) Plans Upon Return to the U.S., 4) Arts Experience Summary, 5) Arts Portfolio Description.

Consult the Required Supplementary Materials For Arts Applicants page and requirements for the specific creative/performing arts field.

Draft a Statement of Grant Purpose that is feasible and culturally appropriate for the country of application.

Identify a potential affiliation in the host country and make contact with an appropriate person there who might be able to serve as an adviser and who could write the Affiliation Letter for the Fulbright application. Provide the author of the affiliation letter with a copy of your Statement of Grant Purpose.

 If you are proposing a graduate degree program, review the admission requirements and application deadlines of the proposed host institution and program. Applicants proposing to pursue a graduate degree program must apply to the degree-granting program separate from their Fulbright application.

Draft a Personal Statement that provides the screening committee members with a fuller picture of who and what has motivated you to pursue this Fulbright opportunity.

Consult with professors and/or colleagues in the arts community with background in the country to which you are applying or those who have expertise in the field of study of the proposed project.

Solicit critiques on the draft Statement of Grant Purpose from professors, advisers, mentors, colleagues, etc., and make revisions as appropriate.

Request feedback from professors/artists on putting together a professional portfolio of supplementary material relevant to your proposed project to be reviewed by the National Screening Committee.

Contact 3 individuals to write recommendations. These individuals should be those who can best speak to your ability to carry out the project being proposed. You should provide a copy of your Statement of Grant Purpose to each recommender. Allow enough time for the recommender to complete their recommendation before your institution’s campus deadline and/or national deadline.

For candidates submitting Foreign Language Evaluations: Contact the professor or other professional foreign language instructor who will complete the Foreign Language Evaluation form for the application.

Obtain transcripts from each post-secondary institution attended.


Before Submitting the Application

Make any necessary revisions based on feedback from the Campus Interview Committee (pertains only to candidates applying through a U.S. institution).

Check for typos—misspellings, capitalization errors, grammatical mistakes, etc.

Make sure that all of the required fields on the Biographical Data pages have been filled in, including the Project Title and Abstract of Proposal sections.

Check to make sure that your Statement of Grant Purpose, the Personal Statement, and the transcripts have been uploaded into the correct sections of the application.

Confirm that recommenders and language evaluators are registered in the application system and have received the email link to complete the recommendation/evaluation. Applicants can submit their application before the recommendations/evaluations are submitted. After application submission and before the national deadline, applicants can log in to the application and resend email links.

Double-check the portfolio materials to make sure that they will play/display properly.

Preview the complete application in the Fulbright online application system by going to the Review page.

Print a copy of the application for your records.