Fulbright Finalist Resources

Fulbrighters submit pre-departure documents required by IIE through the IIE Participant Portal. Uploaded documents will be reviewed by IIE. If a document is incomplete or is not required for a particular grantee, it will be rejected and the grantee will be notified.

Note for Commission grantees: Uploading a document to the portal does not give the Commission access to it. Please make sure to send any documents that the Commission requires directly to them.

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program requires a permanent mailing address, preferably in the U.S., that will be valid before and during the grant period. Mailing addresses must be updated via the IIE Participant Portal. Emergency Contact Information can also be updated here.

Please ensure that IIE has a valid, current email address on file for you. We recommend using a permanent, personal e-mail address rather than a university e-mail address, as these tend to expire. You can change or update your e-mail address in the IIE Participant Portal.

Confirm the arrival date in the IIE Participant Portal after landing in the host country. 

Successful completion of your Fulbright program depends on your physical and mental well-being. Therefore, medical clearance is a prerequisite for all Fulbright U.S. Student Program participants. It is important that the Medical History and Examination Form (PDF) be completed as fully and accurately as possible, and that a new form be submitted if your health status changes. The information provided by you and your physician(s) is considered private. However, it will be responsibly shared within organizations administrating your grant program.

The Medical History and Examination Form (medical form) must be completed and signed by a qualified licensed physician or nurse practitioner. Costs associated with the completion of the medical form including any examinations, tests, or inoculations are your responsibility. The medical form and supporting documents must be submitted through the IIE Participant Portal so that it can be reviewed by the Fulbright Program’s physician for medical clearance.

Please note that participation in the Fulbright Program is contingent on receiving satisfactory medical clearance.

Prior to Departing:

• Your physician should carefully review the medical form instructions on testing to ensure that appropriate medical tests are performed. Do not assume that your physician knows about the medical context in your host country. Research your host country and apprise your physician of medical resources and health requirements in your host country, and health-related conditions in your grant country, such as altitude, climate, or air pollution, so that they will be able to evaluate their impact on your health. Consult the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for specific vaccination information and other health information pertinent to the host country.
• Discuss the medical risks of traveling outside the U.S. with your doctor and how best to plan for your health care during your time abroad, particularly if you have a pre-existing condition requiring regular monitoring or treatment. To avoid medical problems while abroad, your physician should precisely note on your medical form any pre-existing conditions, special medications, physical care or health-related equipment that you require. Medical facilities in your host country may be very different than those in the United States. If the facilities in your host country are inadequate for your medical condition, medical clearance is not recommended.
• Get inoculations to protect yourself and your dependents from infectious diseases endemic in your host country;
• Plan for how you will obtain medications, both prescription and over-the-counter, in your host country. In some countries and rural areas, medications that are standard and OTC in the U.S. may be available via prescription only, in limited supply, or may not be available at all. Shipping medications is not always possible, and customs may significantly delay the arrival of your medications when it is legal to ship or mail them. Do not assume that medications will be readily available in your host placement. If you do not yet know where you will be living, please work with your physician to give extra consideration to the medical resources available under the assumption that you will be living in a remote area.
• If you have private health insurance in the US, contact your provider to see what services will and will not be covered while abroad; and
• Purchase travel or supplementary insurance that will cover medical evacuation, particularly if you have a pre-existing condition or accompanying dependents.
• Medical Proxy: While your academic exchange program does not require that you have established a medical proxy – a medical proxy is an individual who is informed of and can make decisions about your medical wishes on your behalf if you are unable – it is strongly recommended that you consider this option for any emergency medical situations that may result while you are abroad.

Submission Instructions:

1. Open and download the Medical History and Examination Form (PDF) and read the instructions on Page 1.
2. Complete Parts I, II, III and IV. Questions about the medical form should be directed to your IIE Program Manager listed in the Contact section at the top of this page who is responsible for your host country.
3. Make sure that you have completed all required fields in Parts I, II,  III and IV.
4. Print out the medical form and take the form to your physician so that they can evaluate your health and complete Parts V, VI, VII, and VIII.
5. Please ensure that the physician/nurse practitioner has signed the form in Part VIII on page 10 and that they have included all requested contact information. The medical form must be completed in English by a licensed physician, doctor (MD, DO, or foreign equivalent), or nurse practitioner who is not a member of your family then uploaded into the IIE Participant Portal before your participation in the program can be confirmed. Violation of this policy may result in termination or revocation of your grant. If the forms are completed by a health practitioner who is not an MD, DO, or nurse practitioner, it must be cosigned by an MD or DO. The physician must include their title (MD, DO, NP, etc.) for the form to be approved.
6. Check to confirm that all required sections of the medical form have been completed. 
7. Sign and date page 10 of the medical form in section IX, Participant’s Statement.
8. Scan the medical form and any additional documents as a single file. The file must be saved as a PDF file. Other file formats will not be accepted.
9. The medical form must contain all pages related to the medical report - This includes pages 1-10 of the medical form. Related test results may be included in the file (i.e., medical tests and lab results). All pages of the medical form must be legible, including the writing by the physician and the contrast of the document pages (i.e., clean, light background).
10. Upload the completed medical form via the IIE Participant Portal for processing.

What types of digital signatures can we currently accept?

1. Adobe PDF digital signature with a time stamp or equivalent
2. .jpg picture of written signature inserted

What types of digital signatures do we NOT accept?

1. A typed in name as a substitute for a signature
2. Mouse‐drawn signature or digital signature without a time stamp.

After Submission:

1. The medical clearance process typically takes 2-3 weeks. Depending on the content of the medical form, some reviews may take longer than 3 weeks. The medical form should be submitted 3 months prior to the anticipated grant start to allow for sufficient time for review. When your medical clearance has been approved IIE will send you a confirmation email.
2. If there are any problems with the medical form or if additional information is required by the Fulbright Program doctor, IIE may contact you.
3. The Fulbright Program physician may contact the physician/nurse practitioner who completed the medical form or any medical professional listed on the form or accompanying documentation for additional information or medical consultation. 
4. If you wish to view your medical form after it has been submitted, you can access it via the IIE Participant Portal.
5. Remember: If your medical status or medical needs change after you have been medically cleared, prior to departure or at any time during your Fulbright program, you are required to notify IIE and your Fulbright Commission. Certain changes may require an updated medical form.

Dependents: Dependents do not require Fulbright Program medical clearance. However, if you will be accompanied by dependents, we recommend that they have a complete medical examination prior to departure. You should also obtain appropriate health and accident insurance for any accompanying dependents, including emergency evacuation and repatriation benefits.

Submission Deadline: The medical form is due no later than three months before your grant start date. It should be submitted as soon as possible. Submitting your medical form late may result in a delayed start of your Fulbright grant.

You will be required to e-sign the Fulbright Program Terms & Conditions in the Participant Portal. Although an e-signature is required, you may preview the document.

Submission Deadline: The Fulbright Program Terms & Conditions Form is due no later than two weeks after receiving an email request to sign the document. The Terms will be sent on a rolling basis throughout the spring. 

Submission Instructions: Scan and upload an image of the biographical pages of your U.S. Passport (containing your photo, name, signature, date of birth, place of birth, place of issue, etc.) into the IIE Participant Portal. Note: Birth certificates and other documents will not be accepted as proof of U.S. citizenship.

Submission Deadline: Proof of Citizenship is due no later than three months before the start of your grant. If you do not have a U.S. Passport, please apply for one and complete this requirement as soon as possible. A U.S. passport which has expired within the last five years will be accepted as proof of citizenship.

If you are a grantee to a country that has a Fulbright Commission, the Commission will send you the Grant Authorization Document that stipulates the financial terms, dates, and affiliation details of your award. This is the document you will sign and date to formally accept or decline the Fulbright Award offer.
Note: Commissions do not always provide these documents immediately after the selection and notification period. Your Commission will send you these documents in due course.

Sample Commission Grant Document (PDF)

Submission Instructions: Sign and date the document and indicate if you are accepting or declining the Fulbright Award offer. You must upload the document into the IIE Participant Portal using the “Grant Document” category AND return a copy to the Fulbright Commission as instructed by your contact at the Commission.

If you are a grantee to a Post country (without a Fulbright Commission), IIE will send you the Grant Authorization Document that stipulates the financial terms, dates, and affiliation details of your award. This is the document you will sign and date to formally accept or decline the Fulbright Award offer.

Sample Post Grant Document (PDF)

Submission Instructions:Sign and date the document and indicate if you are accepting or declining the Fulbright Award offer. You must upload the complete document as a PDF into the IIE Participant Portal using the “IIE Grant Document” shell.

Submission Deadline: The Fulbright Grant Authorization Document must be uploaded to the IIE portal within two weeks of the date that the document is sent to you by your Commission or by IIE (Post grantees).

The Bachelor’s Degree is an eligibility requirement of the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. All participants must submit a document confirming receipt of the bachelor’s degree in the form of an official or unofficial transcript or Registrar’s letter. This is in addition to the transcript submitted in the Fulbright application. Participants receiving their bachelor’s degrees after submitting their Fulbright application must submit their transcript or Registrar’s letter once the degree has been conferred. Note: Diplomas will not be accepted as bachelor’s degree verification.

Submission Instructions: Please scan and upload a copy of your final transcript or Registrar’s letter bearing degree conferral and graduation dates to the IIE Participant Portal.

Submission Deadline: For participants who have already received a bachelor’s degree, the bachelor’s degree verification must be uploaded to the IIE portal no later than three months before the start of your grant.

For participants receiving their bachelor’s degrees after Fulbright selection, the bachelor’s degree verification must be uploaded to the IIE portal as soon as the university Registrar’s Office can produce the final transcript noting conferral of the bachelor’s degree or a letter confirming fulfillment of graduation requirements. Please do not submit any documents as a bachelor’s degree placeholder, such as your current transcript which is missing bachelor’s degree conferral information