Kuwait
2 Open Study/Research Award
Accepted Degree Levels
|
Grant PeriodFlexible StartGrant Length10 Months |
Award Type
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
Grant Period
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
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
6 Months
Accepted Degree Levels
- Bachelor's
- Master's
- Doctoral
Foreign Language Proficiency
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
Yes
No
Affiliation
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
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 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.