Fulbright Scholar Program
The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. There are Fulbright programs for:
- US Scholars to teach, conduct research, and exchange ideas abroad
- Non-US Scholars to lecture and conduct advanced research in the US
- US and Non US students to study in countries other than their home country
For US scholars, there are hundreds of different awards to choose from. We recommend you begin your search on the awards page to see if there is a Fulbright award that interests you. You can search by Country, Region, Discipline, Length of time, etc.
Fulbright also offers webinars to allow prospective applicants to learn more about Fulbright US Scholar opportunities. The webinars provide helpful information and answer questions about awards, application process, programs offered, and more.
If you are a BU student looking for fellowship or scholarship opportunities we recommend you visit The Office of Fellowships & Scholarships. They provide information and support for numerous awards.
The Fulbright Scholar Directory lists BU faculty who have been awarded a Fulbright as well as foreign faculty who have come to BU on a Fulbright.
Fulbright Visiting Scholars (non-US)
There are several opportunities available to foreign scholars to visit us through the prestigious Fulbright program:
The Fulbright Visiting Scholar program provides grants to approximately 800 foreign scholars from over 95 countries to lecture and/or conduct postdoctoral research at US institutions for an academic semester up to a full academic year.
The Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence (SIR) program enables US colleges and universities to host foreign academics to lecture on a wide range of subject fields for a semester or academic year.
Fulbright provides travel awards through the Outreach Lecturer Fund, which allows Fulbright Visiting Scholars who are currently in the US to accept guest lecturing invitations at colleges and universities. BU faculty can search the Visiting Scholar Directory for scholars by name, discipline, and country. You may obtain scholar contact information through either the faculty associate and host institution department listed in the directory or through Fulbright at olf@iie.org.
Hosting a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at Boston University
If you are contacted by a Fulbright Scholar to visit Boston University, it is often to request an invitation letter from you or your chair/dean for the scholar’s Fulbright application to IIE.
In many countries, particularly those with binational commissions, scholars are expected to submit evidence that they have identified a host affiliation in the United States as part of the application process, well before an actual grant is awarded. Scholars usually include a letter of invitation from the host institution in their application materials.
More information on the duties and responsibilities expected of a hosting institution are detailed on the Fulbright website.
If a scholar’s Fulbright application is approved, IIE will send an email request for approval to BU’s institutional representative:
Willis Wang, Vice President and Associate Provost for Global Programs
BU Global Programs will then verify the faculty associate, the intended start date for the scholar’s fellowship, and the department/dean’s approval for hosting a Fulbright Scholar.