Jamaica
1 Fulbright-Fogarty Public Health Fellowship Award
Accepted Degree Levels
|
Grant PeriodFlexible StartGrant Length10 Months |
Award Type
Discipline-Specific Awards
Award Profile
The Fulbright-Fogarty Fellowships in Public Health are offered through a partnership between the Fulbright Program and the Fogarty International Center of the U.S. National Institutes of Health. These awards were established to promote the expansion of research in public health and clinical research in resource-limited settings.
Fulbright-Fogarty Fellowships carry the same benefits as the traditional Fulbright Study/Research grants to the host country. The Fogarty International Center, NIH, will provide support to the research training site and may provide orientation for the fellows at the NIH.
For more details on Fulbright-Fogarty Fellowships and application instructions, please review the ‘Type of Awards’ page: https://us.fulbrightonline.org/applicants/types-of-awards/fulbright-fogarty-fellowships-in-public-health
Grant Length
Grant Period
Most grantees choose to begin in the fall (September-October), as that is when the academic calendar begins in Jamaica, but the start date is flexible. The last possible start date is March 31, 2027
Orientation
As a condition of the grant, all grantees to Jamaica are required to participate in the Pre-Departure Orientation (PDO) that takes place early to mid-summer. The PDO is organized by IIE and ECA, and is typically held in mid-June in the U.S. (this session may be virtual or in-person).
In addition, Fulbright-Fogarty Fellows will be required to participate in a Pre-Departure Orientation with NIH in July.
Candidate Profile
Pre-doctoral trainees:
Must be enrolled in an accredited doctoral-level program (MD, PhD, DDS, or comparable degree from an accredited institution) in public health, government, business, design, engineering, education, medicine, nutrition, law, pharmacy, dentistry, veterinary medicine, and nursing. Eligible doctoral degrees include, but are not limited to: DMD, DC, DO, DVM, OD, DPM, ScD, EngD, DrPH, DNSc, DPT, PharmD, ND, DSW, PsyD, JD and Doctorate of Philosophy in Nursing.
Health-professional students who wish to interrupt their studies for a year or more to engage in full-time research training before completing their formal training programs are also eligible.
By the start of the program year (July 2026), fellows must be an MD (and other professional degrees) student who has completed their 3rd year or a Ph.D. candidate who has completed their Master’s level requirements (i.e., post-qualifying exam).
What is life like for Fulbrighters in the host country?
Applicants are expected to research their host country. Application materials should indicate a clear commitment to the host country community and a description of how you will engage with it.
Life for Fulbright grantees in Jamaica can be fun, adventurous, intellectually-stimulating and filled with opportunities for lifelong professional and personal relationships. Jamaica is a popular destination for a few reasons. We encourage applicants to think of Jamaica as any big city or town. Many resources are available for research but one may need to establish networks to have ease of access to these resources. Many of the goods and services you are accustomed to are available but some have complained about accessing certain familiar fruits and vegetables. Explore! Try local varieties and look out for seasonal favorites at bigger outlet stores. the exchange rate makes life and possible accomodations fairly nice in the safest areas, close to the capital city. Practice safety as you would in an unfamiliar, big city.
Eligibility
There is a strong preference for applicants who are not U.S.-Jamaica dual citizens, but applicants with dual-citizenship may apply, provided they offer strong justification for the work they are proposing.
Degree Level of Applicant
- Doctoral
Special Application Instructions
Select "Fulbright-Fogarty" for Award Type in the application.
All Fulbright-Fogarty applicants pursuing a placement in Jamaica should select “Public Health” as the Field of Study in the Fulbright application.
Foreign Language Evaluation (FLE) Form
If required, submission of the Foreign Language Evaluation (FLE) form is mandatory, even if you have advanced skills or are a native speaker of the language. Failure to submit the required FLE form may impact your eligibility.
Fulbright Proposal Types
Yes
No
Affiliation
Applicants are required to obtain a letter of support from the site contact.
When emailing project contacts, please include both contacts and attach a current CV and a concise statement (less than 500 words) about your interest in the program (especially your primary research interest).
Affiliation Fees/Tuition
Award Benefits
- A stipend broadly based on the cost of living in the host country. These funds may be used by the grantee to support housing, meals, and incidental costs during the grant period.
- International travel benefits
- Accident & sickness health benefits
- 24/7 mental health support line for urgent and non-urgent situations
- 12 months of non-competitive eligibility (NCE) hiring status within the federal government
Stipend Amount
This is an estimated amount and is subject to change. The financial terms of the grant will be confirmed in the grant document issued after selection.
One-Time Allowances
This is an estimated amount and is subject to change. The financial terms of the grant will be confirmed in the grant document issued after selection.
- Excess baggage fees
- Research/Materials allowance
- Settling in allowance
- USD 2,500 base allowance to cover round-trip international travel, transit, excess baggage, settling-in expenses
- USD 1,500 Research Allowance
Estimated Cost of Living
Consider using cost of living comparison websites to gain a better understanding of the potential costs in your host country.
https://livingcost.org/cost/jamaica/united-states
https://www.expatistan.com/cost-of-living/country/jamaica?currency=USD
Each site gives a relatively accurate sense of cost of living implications for Jamaica as compared to the USA. Food prices and rent are the biggest cost factors for grantees as well as research-related costs.
Dependents
Housing Arrangements
No housing arrangements are provided by affiliate host institutions, and grantees are responsible for identifying housing independently. There is a thriving short term and medium term rental market. Relatively modern and new apartment options are widely available at various rates quoted in USD. A number of respected and international realtors operate in Jamaica, so finding accomodations should be a simple process. Recent alumni can be a good source of housing recommendations.
University of the West Indies - UJMT
U.S. University Consortia: UJMT
Summary of Site:
The University of the West Indies (UWI) was founded in 1948 as a College of the University of London and achieved full University status in 1962. The UWI is deeply committed to the task of generating new knowledge for the benefit of the people of the Caribbean region. Its work in applied research has sought to explore solutions to the myriad challenges – physical, social, economic, scientific, and medical – confronting the region as its nations accelerate the rate of their development. The Tropical Medicine Research Institute (TMRI) was established on October 1, 1999, by the UWI to increase the output of research in major areas affecting the health of regional peoples, increase the number of trained research scientists working in health and to facilitate the uptake of research into policy, programmes and practice, thereby contributing to improvement in the health status of Caribbean peoples. TMRI has three units active in research on chronic non-communicable diseases (e.g., hypertension, diabetes, haemoglobinopathies) and provides teaching for medical and nursing students.
Primary Contacts
Marvin Reid - marvin.reid@uwimona.edu.jm
Areas of Focus
Fellows would be expected to work with U.S. and Jamaica based mentor groups to develop an independent research project that could be integrated into one of the following projects or in a new area of interest:
- non-communicable diseases (NCDs)
- Sickle cell
- Metabolism
- Nutrition
- Plant biotechnology
Language Requirement
None
Specific Considerations
When designing projects, applicants should be aware that random street crime and loosely organized gang-related crimes are a concern in some areas, and projects that may compromise safety are not advised. Most tourists are not affected by such violence in resort areas, but residing among the general population means considering overall safety of person and property.