What are the Eligibility Requirements for a Fulbright Program?

Foreign Fulbrighters to the United States

In the 50 countries with a Fulbright Commission, one must meet citizenship requirements as defined by the binational agreement. In countries where the program is administered by the U.S. Embassy, one must be a citizen, national, or permanent resident of a country participating in the Fulbright Program. Also, one cannot be a person holding citizenship in a partner country and U.S. citizenship/ permanent residency.

See contact information on the individual country pages for specific eligibility requirements and limits on numbers of awards.

Photo Caption: Fulbright alumnus Hassan Hassoud is a teacher at the Casablanca School for the Blind in Morocco. He is also blind and his students are between the ages of 16-22.

The Fulbright Foreign Student Program

• Must have completed undergraduate education and hold a degree equivalent to a bachelor's degree.

 The Fulbright Foreign Scholar Program

• Lecturers are educators at the Ph.D. level or equivalent.
• Sufficient proficiency in the English language to carry out the project required.

Foreign Fulbright Teachers

• Must have current, full-time teaching or administrative assignment in an accredited school and three years professional experience.
• Sufficient proficiency in the English language to carry out the project or assignment required.
  

U.S. Fulbrighters Abroad

Carol Poore received a Fulbright student scholarship to study at the university in Tuebingen, West Germany in 1970-71. She wrote about her experiences in the last chapter of her book Disability in Twentieth-Century German Culture published in 2007 by Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. She later received a summer Fulbright fellowship for university teachers in 1981. Dr. Poore, who  has a physical disability, is now a professor of German Studies at Brown University.

One must be a U.S. citizen, and cannot be:

• a Department of State employee
• an immediate family member of a Department of State employee
• an employee of an agency under contract to the Department of State to perform services related to exchange programs

See contact information on the individual country pages for specific eligibility requirements and limits on numbers of awards.

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program

• Must have at least a bachelor's degree required by start of grant. Applicants who hold a doctorate are ineligible.
• Sufficient proficiency in the host language to carry out the project required.
• Contact the Institute of International Education for more information.
  

U.S. Fulbright Scholars

• A Ph.D. or equivalent professional/terminal degree
• College or university teaching experience at the level and in the field of the proposed lecturing activity
• Foreign language proficiency as specified in the award description or as required for the completion of the proposed project.
• At least 5 years of college or university level teaching experience
• Contact the Council for International Exchange of Scholars for more information.
  

U.S. Fulbright Teachers

• Elementary through four year college teachers and administrators are eligible
• English fluency required
• Bachelor's degree required
• Must have current, full-time teaching or administrative assignment in the U.S.

This information is excerpted from the U.S. Department of State website. Potential applicants should consult individual country pages for additional information at: http://fulbright.state.gov.