Mexico
16 Binational Business Program
Accepted Degree Levels
|
Grant PeriodFall StartGrant Length10 Months |
Award Type
Discipline-Specific Awards
Award Profile
With the goal of creating mutual understanding between the private sectors of Mexico and the United States, the U.S.-Mexico Commission for Educational and Cultural Exchange (COMEXUS), the Fulbright Commission in Mexico, supports internships in Mexican and multinational companies through the Binational Internship Program for U.S. Students.
Grantees will be placed in cooperating businesses, and will also take courses related to international business at the Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM). The most significant component of the program is the internship; grantees will spend about 80% of their time working in the company.
In recent years, COMEXUS has placed grantees in a variety of organizations, including traditional and multinational companies, financial institutions, airlines and start-ups. In Mexico City, these workplaces have included Angel Ventures, Grupo Coppel, Casa Dragones, ITAM Epic Lab, Endeavor, Creel, and Volaris among others.
COMEXUS is unable to guarantee placements in specific regions, companies, sectors and/or industries.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Grantees are not required to submit a research/study project in order to apply for this grant. If included, this should be considered an additional activity and must not interfere with the internship.
Fulbright grants in Mexico are known as "Fulbright-García Robles" grants.
Grant Length
Grant Period
Grant Length: 10 months.
Grant dates: September - June.
Orientation
All grantees will be required to attend a mandatory Welcome Orientation in Mexico City during the last week of August 2026, organized and sponsored by COMEXUS.
COMEXUS will arrange international transportation for grantees except in very specific cases in which grantees travel with family. Grantees should not purchase airfare without first consulting their COMEXUS Program Officer.
Candidate Profile
Preferred candidates should have fewer than three years of work experience post-graduation, as well as a bachelor's or master's degree in one of the following fields: Business Administration, Finance, Economics, International Relations, Law/International Law, Accounting, or another business-related field.
Candidates with a bachelor’s degree in another field may be considered if they have demonstrated experience and interest in international business.
Candidates must be adaptable and proactive, able to take initiative in both professional and educational situations in order to thrive in a highly independent program. Rather than a traditional study abroad, the Binational Business Program is designed for flexible, self-sufficient grantees able to seize the moment, establish and manage expectations, and forge valuable experiences throughout the program.
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.
The close, dynamic relationship between the United States and Mexico offers a plethora of opportunities for students interested in conducting research at the university level on issues of relevance for both countries. Mexico is proud of its ancestral cultural heritage as well as its long history of academic excellence. The opportunities for informed travel and discovery for U.S. citizens are endless.
The site of major Amerindian civilizations - including the Olmec, Toltec, Teotihuacan, Zapotec, Maya, and Aztec, among others, and home to one of the most biodiverse environments, it is no wonder that Mexico boasts the largest UNESCO world heritage in the American continent: 35 cultural and natural sites, as well as an important number of intangible patrimonies. Additionally, Mexico has designated 177 Pueblos Mágicos (Magical Towns), communities that over time have maintained their original architecture, traditions, history and culture, which enhance the richness of travel destinations.
Mexico was colonized by Spain in the early 16th century and achieved independence three centuries later. Elections held in 2000 marked the first time since the 1910 Mexican Revolution that an opposition candidate - Vicente Fox of the conservative Partido Acción Nacional (PAN) - defeated the party in government, the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI). He was succeeded in 2006 by another PAN candidate Felipe Calderón, but Enrique Peña Nieto regained the presidency for the PRI in 2012. Left-leaning politician and former mayor of Mexico City (2000-05) Andrés Manuel López Obrador, from the Movimiento de Regeneración Nacional (MORENA), became president in December 2018. Presidents in Mexico cannot be reelected after their six-year term. In 2024 left‐wing Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo (from MORENA also) won the presidential election for a six-year term, becoming the country’s first female president.
Education in Mexico has a long tradition. The Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), which started as Real y Pontificia Universidad de México (Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico), was founded in 1551 and is the second oldest institution of higher education in the American Continent. UNAM has been cited as one of the largest and most important universities, not only in Mexico but in all of Latin America. Its philosophy is closely tied to social responsibility, at the service of the country and humankind by educating academics and professionals to be of use to society, able to organize and carry out research on social and political issues that have vast cultural benefits. All three of Mexico’s Nobel Prize winners, Octavio Paz, Mario J. Molina, and Alfonso García Robles were UNAM graduates.
There are six subsystems of higher education institutions in Mexico: public universities, technological institutes, technological universities, teacher training colleges, and other public and private institutions. When all of them are counted, Mexico has 8,966 institutions of higher education. Mexico’s 45 public universities, generate 50 percent of all academic research and produce 52 percent of undergraduates as well as 48 percent of graduate students. There are also 4,038 private institutions to be found throughout the country.
There are a few very interesting and original public higher educational institutions unique to Mexico that have been studied and reproduced in other countries. This is the case of the Universidades Interculturales, specifically designed for bilingual and bicultural environments in regions with a strong indigenous presence. There is a world-renowned prestigious agricultural university, Universidad Autonoma de Chapingo, that boards students from all over the country. The Escuelas Normales Rurales (teacher training in rural areas) are also exemplary educational institutions.
The education system is mostly centered in Mexico City, however, there are other important educational hubs that attract students from all over, for example, Puebla, Puebla; Xalapa, Veracruz; León, Guanajuato; Guadalajara, Jalisco; and Mérida in the Yucatán peninsula.
Eligibility
7 Months
• Must not be living or working in Mexico during the application process
• Dual citizens are welcome to apply
Degree Level of Applicant
- Bachelor's
- Master's
Special Application Instructions
Refer to this program in your Statement of Grant Purpose and select “Binational Business Program” under Award Name on the Fulbright application.
In the Statement of Grant Purpose, the following three points should be addressed:
1) Areas where the applicant could benefit from and make the best contribution to a Mexico-based company conducting international business;
2) Aspects of the applicant’s academic background (coursework, workshops, special courses, particular interests, etc.) and professional experience (specific jobs and internships) that would allow the applicant to benefit from the experience and contribute during the internship and in the classroom; and
3) Expected benefits from the internship and courses, and their relationship to the applicant’s future career plans.
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.
Additional Information: Spanish language proficiency is necessary, not only for the internship but also in order to communicate at a university level. Applicants should include in the Language Self-Evaluation plans for language study between the time of application and the commencement of the grant. A Foreign Language Evaluation by a college-level Spanish language instructor is also required.
Foreign Language Proficiency Level by Grant Start
If a Foreign Language Evaluation (FLE) form is Required, applicants must have the following proficiency level by the start of the grant period. If a Foreign Language Evaluation (FLE) form is Recommended, applicants are encouraged but not required to have the following level by the start of the grant period.
Fulbright Proposal Types
Yes
No
Affiliation
Applicants should not include a letter of affiliation from any Mexican institution in their application, as COMEXUS will place all grantees with their host company or organization. Following the final grantee selection, COMEXUS will arrange the internship placement of grantees through a matching process involving participating companies, grantees, and the Commission.
In this process:
- All grantees are invited to be interviewed by all companies.
- Both the companies and grantees then rank their preferences.
- The Commission assigns the grantee to an institution, taking into account the preferences of both the applicant and the company as well as the well-being of the complete cohort.
- COMEXUS is unable to guarantee placements in specific companies and/or industries.
- Grantees will enroll in courses at Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM).
Affiliation Fees/Tuition
All grantees must enroll in at least one course and up to two courses per trimester at the ITAM for a total of up to six classes. University fees are waived as part of the grant. Please note that grantees will require to pass their classes with 8/10 to fully comply with grant responsibilities.
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.
Please take note that the grant will be paid in Mexican pesos (MXN) after grantees open their bank accounts. For the last cohort, the amount was $300,000 in MXN (around $30,000 MXN per month). Each year, the Commission establishes the exchange rate to determine the grant amount in MXN.
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.
- Settling in allowance
- One roundtrip airfare between US-Mexico provided to the grantee only, not to exceed $1,000 USD.
- One-time $200 rellocation allowance and $100 book allowance.
Additional Grant Benefits
- Mid-year seminar
There is a midterm mandatory seminar in early January. COMEXUS covers travel expenses from grantees' placements to the seminar and back.
Estimated Cost of Living
Consider using cost of living comparison websites to gain a better understanding of the potential costs in your host country.
You may wish to visit this website to help estimate the cost of living, meals, and incidentals in different cities in Mexico.
To give some perspective to interested candidates, please note that an average Mexican citizen with a bachelor's degree earns from $10,000 to $20,000 MXN per month, and the monthly grant amount would be more than that.
Dependents
Housing Arrangements
Neither COMEXUS nor the U.S. Embassy/consulate will assist in locating or helping secure housing for U.S. Fulbright grantees.
The Commission may make suggestions and offer contacts and references from former grantees, but it is the grantee’s responsibility to find housing. Although some grants come with a modest relocation award, the Commission recommends having sufficient funds to cover move-in expenses. Having a few short-term options in mind following the Welcome Orientation is a good idea since it is not advisable to secure long-term housing before arrival. After several days or weeks, you will have a better idea of what you are looking for in your living situation and more importantly, the length of commute between your home and primary grant activity site.