2024-2025 competition is closed. 2025-2026 competition will open in April 2024. 

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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.

Kuwait

2 Open Study/Research Award

Accepted Degree Levels
  • Bachelor's
  • Master's
  • Doctoral
Grant Period
Flexible Start
Grant Length
10 Months
Award Type
Open Study/Research
Specialized Grant Types
  • Arts
  • Science/Public Health
  • Environmental
  • Journalism
Award Profile

The goal of the Fulbright Program in Kuwait is to promote mutual understanding between Kuwait and the United States and to encourage research linkages between U.S. and Kuwaiti scholars and students. The Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait (aka Post) highly encourages research fields that relate to political science, STEM, the environment, media and mass communication, international relations, and gender studies.

 

 

Grant Length
10 Months
Grant Period
Flexible Start

Grant Length: 10 months

Fulbright grants can begin between August 2024 and March 2025, based on grant duration and subject to the approval of the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait City.

Orientation
Pre-Departure and In-Country Orientation

All grantees are required to attend a Pre-Departure Orientation in the United States in the summer of 2024 as a condition of their grants.

The U.S. embassy will provide a security briefing upon arrival. The grantee will also be invited to meet with the Cultural Affairs Officer (CAO) to discuss possible engagement opportunities that can help the grantee have a rich experience and develop academic connections. 

Candidate Profile

Candidates at all degree levels and proposals in all disciplines will be considered. Ideal candidates should have a distinctive research project dealing with a subject that can be reasonably accomplished in ten months. Candidates with Arabic language fluency and with cross-cultural experience will find their research more effectively accomplished and their Fulbright experience enhanced. Candidates who present research projects showing specific knowledge of Kuwait, the Gulf, the Arab world, and Islam, for example, will have a better grasp of research possibilities.

Eligibility
Dual citizens of this country are eligible
Residency in host country NOT permitted in year prior to grant
Indicate how many months is considered residency:
6 Months
Accepted Degree Levels
  • Bachelor's
  • Master's
  • Doctoral
Foreign Language Proficiency
Recommended - Intermediate

A proficient level of Arabic is required to conduct research on materials that are in Arabic. The local dialect is Gulf Arabic. However, a level of proficiency in Modern Standard Arabic is sufficient to carry out the proposed research.

Otherwise, Arabic is not required. It is strongly recommended that candidates who want to study Arabic in Kuwait have a minimum of two years of prior Arabic study at a recognized institution at the time of application. 

Fulbright Proposal Types
Independent Study/Research:
Yes
Graduate Degree Enrollment:
No
Affiliation
Independent Study/Research:
Letter required for independent study or research at deadline

It is required that applicants identify appropriate host institutions for their projects and that they include affiliation letters with their Fulbright applications. In addition to the government-run Kuwait University (KU), private universities such as the American University of Kuwait (AUK) and the Gulf University for Science and Technology (GUST) may also be considered as host institutions. Moreover, there are a number of government agencies, quasi-governmental institutions, and civil society organizations that may be open to hosting Fulbright students. However, the U.S. Embassy in Kuwait makes the final arrangements in placing grantees at the appropriate institutions.

Affiliation Fees/Tuition
Affiliation Fees/Tuition not covered in grant benefits
Housing Arrangements

Host institutions will not provide housing, but U.S. Embassy Cultural Affairs Section may assist grantees in finding nearby and appropriate housing by sharing useful real estate contact info and links to real-estate apps.

Dependents
Dependent financial support is available

Dependent financial support includes a modest increase in the monthly stipend. Spouses are welcome to accompany Fulbright grantees, if approved. School age children cannot accompany the grantee, as they require legal residencies (provided by a legal sponsor) to be enrolled into K-12 schools.  

General Comments

Candidates should be prepared to live among local students and accept the conservative trends of Kuwaiti society. Compared to U.S. standards, opportunities for social life outside the university are limited.

 

Security

For travel around Kuwait, please refer to the most recent State Department Travel Advisory for Kuwait.

Visa Information

Kuwait does not issue residency or long-term visas to Fulbright grantees; all grantees are issued tourist visas, which are valid for three months. Every three months, grantees must leave the country and return to get a new tourist visa.  The visa is not renewed. The scholar will get a new visa upon arrival. 

 

Fulbright Program Management Contact
FBstudent.MENA@iie.org
Fulbright Commission/U.S. Embassy Website
http://kw.usembassy.gov
Fulbright Commission/U.S. Embassy Contact
Shaima Ebrahim: EbrahimS@state.gov