Thank you for your interest in applying to the Fulbright Specialist Program. These instructions are intended to guide you through the full online application. If you have any questions about the application that are not addressed below, please email fulbrightspecialist@worldlearning.org.

Starting an Application

  • Proceed to the online application portal for U.S. applicants and click on the “New User” link in the upper right-hand corner of the site. You will then be required to enter your first name, last name, and email address.

  • After providing that information, you will receive an automated Welcome email containing your assigned username and a link that will allow you to create a password and enter the application portal.

  • Once you have created your password and logged in to the application portal, you can begin an application by clicking on the “New Application” button on the right.

Completing the Application

Please click each box below to learn more about each section of the online application.

  • Eligibility

  • Personal

    • Provide the requested biodata and contact information.
    • Describe any previous Fulbright grants that you have received.

  • Education

    • List all degrees received or in progress.
    • To add a degree click “Add Education Record.”
    • If you earned a dual degree, please insert them as separate education records.
    • To insert an accurate name for your institution, click on the magnifying glass next to the institution section and search for your institution in our database.
    • Under “Date Received or Expected,” please use the format mm/dd/yyyy.

  • Employment

    • Select an Academic Field or Employment Sector that best matches your background.
    • Highlight up to five specializations within your academic field or employment sector and click the arrow to move them into the adjacent box. You can select one specialization at a time and move it over or select multiple specializations by pressing and holding the control button on your keyboard.
    • Under Employment History, please provide a separate employment record for each employer you have had in the past five years.
    • Under “Start Date” and “End Date” please use the format mm/dd/yyyy.

  • Essays

    • We recommend that you draft each short essay in a separate document before copying the final version into the appropriate text boxes. However, please note that any special formatting (bold, italics, etc.) will likely not be displayed in the pasted version. The maximum length of each essay is 1500 words. Please find the full essay questions below.

      • Please describe why you are interested in serving as a Fulbright Specialist and how your participation would benefit a host institution abroad as well as your institution or employer in the U.S. Please include specific examples of activities that you may be interested in leading or completing at your host institution abroad as part of your program.
      • Please describe any previous experience working in an international environment and why you believe that you would be effective serving as a Fulbright Specialist at a host institution abroad. If you do not have prior experience in an international setting, please describe what strategies you would employ in order to be successful while serving as a Fulbright Specialist in a cross-cultural context.

  • Curriculum Vitae

    • Insert your CV or Resume (limit of 10 pages) into the space provided. If you copy and paste text from an existing document into the box, please adjust the formatting.
    • The application system will count any formatting in your CV as extra characters. This includes tables and bold, italicized, or underlined text. If you encounter an error that you have exceeded the character limit, use a plain text editor to remove any formatting before pasting your CV into the box.
    • Please note that you will also be asked to upload a PDF or MS Word copy of your CV or Resume (limit of 10 pages).

  • Preferences

    • This section allows you to select regional and country preferences.
    • If you do not have a regional or country preference please select “No.” Please note that there is no guarantee that regional or country preferences can be accommodated.

  • Languages

    • Select “Yes” if you are proficient in a foreign language other than English.
    • If yes, add a language by clicking “Add Language Record.”
    • For each language record, please indicate the name of the language and your level of proficiency according to the U.S. Department of State’s Language Proficiency Definitions.

  • References

    • You are required to provide the contact information of three professional references.
    • Once you submit your completed application, each reference will automatically receive an email from fulbrightspecialist@worldlearning.org with a request to complete and submit the Fulbright Specialist online reference form.
    • To enter reference information, click “Add Reference Record.” You will need to enter their full name, relation to you, email and phone number and click “Save.”
    • Your application will not be considered complete until at least two of your references have completed the form. Therefore, kindly confirm the availability of your references before submitting their information with your application. Once two references are received, your application will be reviewed during the next peer review cycle.
    • Please note that you will not be able to edit your reference's contact information after you have submitted your application. If you need to do so, please contact fspeerreview@worldlearning.org.

  • Survey - Optional

    • This section is optional and is for statistical purposes only. All responses will remain confidential and will not be considered during the selection process. The Fulbright Specialist Program strongly encourages all eligible applicants to apply.

  • Submit

    • Confirm that the Application Status toolbar on the right-hand side of the Submit screen is green and 100% for each section of the application. If all required fields are complete, read the Certification of Authenticity and Terms of Use and check the box.
    • Once you are ready to submit your application, check the Certification of Authenticity and Terms of Use box and click “Submit.” Applications cannot be returned to applicants or otherwise modified after submission. Once submitted, you will receive an email confirmation.

  • Following Submission

    • Following the successful submission of your application and the completion of the online reference form by at least two of the references that you provided, World Learning will review your full dossier to confirm that you meet all eligibility requirements. If you are deemed eligible, your application will then be reviewed by a peer review panel. Please note that the panels meet every eight weeks to review all completed applications. For a schedule of when the peer review panels will convene, please click on "The Peer Review Process" in the "Specialists" tab in the navigation toolbar above.
    • If you are approved by the peer review panel, you will join the Fulbright Specialist Roster for a tenure of three years, during which time you will be eligible to be matched with a host institution’s project abroad. For more information on the program and how Fulbright Specialist Roster Candidates are matched with host institution projects, please see Program Timeline.

Tips for Applicants

  • You do not need to complete the application in one sitting. To continue working on the application at a later time, simply log into your account and click “Edit Application.”

  • Please note that the application will time out after two hours, so you should routinely click the “Save” button at the bottom of each section to ensure that your information is saved. After completing each section of the application, click the “Save & Next” button at the bottom of the section before proceeding to another section.

  • You can complete each section of the application in any order by clicking on the respective tabs at the top of the page.

  • You must complete all required fields to successfully submit your application. A red line next to a field indicates that the information is required.

  • In the Instructions tab, you will find basic information about the application as well as your application status toolbar, which shows your progress in completing each section. Once every section is 100% complete as shown in your status toolbar, you will be able to submit your application to the Fulbright Specialist Program.

Join the Fulbright Specialist Program