The 2025-2026 application is now closed. The 2026-2027 competition will open in Spring 2025.

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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.

Information for Semi-Finalists

 

What does it mean to be a Semi-Finalist for a Fulbright U.S. Student award?

Semi-Finalists have been reviewed in the U.S. by the National Screening Committee and recommended to the host country for further review.

Final selection and award offers will be made by the supervising agency in the host country and the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. Semi-Finalists will be notified of their final status on a rolling basis between March and June.

 

Next Steps

 
1) Required Documentation

Recent Felonies and Misdemeanors:

If you have been arrested, charged, or convicted of a misdemeanor or felony following the Fulbright U.S. Student deadline, or if you are charged or convicted while your application is under review, it is necessary that you provide IIE with the details and supporting documentation relative to the conviction or pending charge. Specifically, the following information is required:

  1. A statement from you detailing the date and circumstances of the charge, indictment, and/or conviction of a felony or misdemeanor (excluding minor traffic violations, juvenile convictions, or cases where the record has been sealed or expunged) including the resolution (i.e., verdict or plea and sentence or penalty/fine.)  If you are still on probation, indicate the court requirements to end probation and/or end date. 
  2. Documentation from the court, law enforcement authorities, and/or attorney corroborating your statement regarding the circumstances and resolution of the case.

You must email these documents to sdeschenes@iie.org within 30 days of receiving semi-finalist notification for any pending charges or within 30 days of any future arrest/charge/conviction. Failure to provide this documentation in a timely manner may result in final status notification being withheld. 

Recent Misconduct Charges

If you have you been subject to any disciplinary measure following the Fulbright U.S. Student deadline, or while your application is under review, it is necessary that you provide IIE with the details and supporting documentation. This includes resigning from a professional or academic appointment, entering into a settlement for, or in connection to, any misconduct, including but not limited to unethical practices, harassment, sexual harassment, or abuse. Specifically, the following information is required:

  1. A statement from you including a description of the misconduct with the date, the factual circumstances of the incident and any outcome.
  2. Documentation which validates the information provided in the statement. This documentation can be copies of academic disciplinary records, court documents indicating the verdict and sentence, or a letter from the attorney who represents you providing the same information.

You must email these documents to sdeschenes@iie.org within 30 days of receiving semi-finalist notification for any recent misconduct, or within 30 days of any future charge/conviction. Failure to provide this documentation in a timely manner may result in final status notification being withheld. 

Transcripts

The submission of official transcripts is not required at the semi-finalist stage, and no updated transcripts will be accepted at this time.

Transcripts will be collected after final selection decisions are announced. All finalists will be provided instructions on how to submit transcripts following the award offer.

 
2) Additional Application Materials

Study/Research Candidates (including Arts): Letters of Affiliation obtained after the application deadline or Letters of Acceptance from the proposed host affiliation will be accepted. A maximum of three Letters of Affiliation/Acceptance may be included in the application. Affiliation Letters should be on institution/organization letterhead with a signature. Email exchanges are not acceptable.  

Log in to the status page for instructions on how to upload/update affiliation letters.  

Uploaded affiliation letters must not change your proposed host institution, location, or proposed grant activities. Only include letters from organizations, institutions, or individuals that will be providing substantive support in the host country for your project if you are awarded a Fulbright grant․ If you have any questions regarding your Affiliation Letters, please contact FBStudent@iie.org. 

IIE will not accept any other application materials or changes to your application.

Country Specific Requirements: A small number of awards may require additional, time sensitive, application materials as determined by the host-country. Please read the Semi-Finalists notification letter and the award description on the website to determine if there are required next steps for a specific award.

 
3) Schedule a Medical Appointment

If you are selected as a Finalist you will be required to submit a medical clearance form to participate in the Fulbright grant. Therefore, all semi-finalists are encouraged to schedule an appointment with their doctor sometime in late spring to ensure the form can be completed by a medical professional and returned to IIE no later than three months before the grant is scheduled to start.

 
4) Host Country Interviews

Host countries may choose to interview some candidates. If an interview is necessary, the Fulbright Commission or U.S. Embassy will contact the identified candidates directly with information and instructions.

Candidates are responsible for checking all email addresses provided in the application on a regular basis to avoid missing any correspondence from the Fulbright Commission or U.S. Embassy. Correspondence may come directly from Fulbright Commission or U.S. Embassy email addresses and may be marked as spam by email filters.

IIE does not organize or track which countries may be conducting interviews and cannot advise on when, or if, these interviews occur.

 
5) Final Status Notifications

The notification timeline varies by country and award. Final selection notifications for a particular country cannot be announced until the country has confirmed its selections and those candidates have been approved by the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board and the U.S. Department of State.

Final status notifications may be released as early as late February to as late as June, depending on the country and award. All Semi-Finalists candidates will receive a final designation as Finalist, Alternate, or Non-Select.

  • Finalist: A candidate who has been offered a Fulbright U.S. Student award, contingent upon host country approvals, received transcripts, medical clearance, and submission of all required grant documents. Semi-Finalists are encouraged to schedule a medical appointment with their physician in late spring to expedite the completion of the medical clearance process.
  • Alternate: A candidate who can be promoted to Finalist status if additional funding becomes available.
  • Non-Select: A candidate who is no longer under consideration for a Fulbright award.

Candidates will be notified via email to their permanent email address when their selection status has been announced. Candidates may then log in to the application portal to view their final status decision.

If your permanent email address has changed, you may change this information by logging into your application and changing it on the Application Status page. If you have any issues changing this information, please email us at fbstudentsupport@iie.org for assistance.

Please note that IIE cannot predict in advance when the final selection results will become available for a particular country or award.

 

Fulbright-National Geographic Award

 

Semi-finalist candidates who applied to eligible Open Study/Research awards and who expressed interest in the Fulbright-National Geographic Award when completing the initial application will be emailed in late January with instructions to complete the National Geographic application by Monday, February 26, 2024.If you apply to this enhancement award, your application materials will be considered by the National Geographic Society, in addition to the supervising agency abroad. Please note that if you are not selected to receive the Fulbright Study/Research grant, your application will no longer be considered for the Fulbright-National Geographic Award.

 

Pre-Departure Orientations

 

Pre-Departure Orientations (PDO) are held for U.S. Fulbright grantees going to a number of host countries. PDOs are sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State and will be held virtually for the 2024-2025 cohort.

Candidates to countries requiring a PDO will be notified by email. All candidates accepting awards to countries that offer PDOs are required to attend. If your host country is not included in the list of PDO dates, there will not be a pre-departure orientation.

PDOs will take place in June or July and will run over the course of several days. Both Academic and English Teaching Assistantship grantees will attend the same PDO.

English Teaching Assistants to Post countries must attend a global ETA Workshop separate from the regional PDOs.

Attendance at Pre-Departure Orientations is mandatory. Exemptions will only be considered for extenuating circumstances by the Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs (ECA) of the U.S. Department of State. Information on filing an exemption will be made available to grantees invited to the Pre-Departure Orientations in early April.

 

Withdrawing your Fulbright Application

 

If you are no longer interested in being considered for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, please send an email to FBstudent@iie.org from the primary email address associated with your application. Include your full name, host country, and indicate the reason that you would like to withdraw from consideration for award selection.

 

Commonly Asked Questions: 

 
Can I submit an updated transcript, acceptance letter or any other document?

Only Study/Research Semi-finalists can submit updated Letters of Affiliation or Letters of Acceptance at the semi-finalist stage. They can do this directly on the status page of the application. No additional documents or application changes are accepted. 

 I am a semi-finalist, and the email references potential additional steps. How do I know if there are no next steps for me?

A small number of awards list next steps for semi-finalists on the award description webpage, however, for most awards, there are no additional steps at this time. Please be sure to review the award description carefully. Additionally, some Fulbright Commissions or Posts may reach out for additional information or to schedule a virtual interview at any time during the host country review process. Please monitor all email addresses associated with your application.

 I am a semi-finalist, when will I find out if I received the grant?

Semi-finalists are notified of final selection decisions as early as late February as late as June. Notifications will be released on a rolling basis as decisions become available. A country may decide to release decisions in one large batch or by award as decisions are available. We cannot disclose if a country has started releasing decisions. When your decision is ready, you will receive an email prompting you to log into the application system to view your status. We encourage you to be checking your email, including spam and junk filters, frequently for updates. You can also log into the application portal to check for a status update if you are concerned about missing an email notification.