Grant Information
PROGRAM PARAMETERS
- All exchanges must range from 14 to 42 days in length, including weekends, holidays, and travel days.
- Projects are restricted to one country, and all project activities must take place in the country requesting the project.
- Each project is limited to only one Fulbright Specialist grantee.
- Projects designed by prospective host institutions should focus on one of the eligible disciplines (*See ‘How to Apply’ section for the Commission’s host application eligibility criteria).
- Please note the Fulbright Commission in Ireland does NOT allow Mutli-Visit (serial project) requests. All projects must be completed in one visit.
PROGRAM FUNDING & COST SHARING
The U.S. Department of State typically covers roundtrip, economy class international airfare, enrollment in a limited health benefits plan, and a daily honorarium for participating Fulbright Specialists.
Host institutions should be prepared to provide the Specialist with lodging, meals, and in-country transportation, either through monetary or in-kind contributions, throughout their full stay in country.
- The stipend for in-country transportation should allow the Specialist to travel to and from their lodging and project activity site and to conduct local activities such as grocery shopping, pharmacy, cultural activities, etc.
- If a project takes place in multiple locations within the country, the host must provide all necessary transportation between the multiple project sites.
- Host institutions must cover all costs upfront and cannot require Specialists to be reimbursed for in-country expenses at the end of the project.
IDENTIFYING A FULBRIGHT SPECIALIST
Fulbright Specialists are a diverse group of highly experienced, well-established faculty members and professionals who represent a wide variety of academic disciplines and professions.
To be eligible to serve as a Fulbright Specialist, candidates must have significant experience in their respective professional field and be a U.S. citizen at the time of application.
The Fulbright Specialist Roster is comprised of over 3,000 leading U.S. academics and professionals, who have undergone the robust peer-reviewed application process to be accepted onto the Roster.
Host Institutions can have a Fulbright Specialist identified for their Project Proposal in one of the two ways outlined below:
- Open (Unnamed) Specialist Project Proposal:
Host Institutions are NOT REQUIRED to identify U.S. academics or professionals to serve as their project’s Fulbright Specialist prior to submitting their project proposal.
- If a host institution’s project is approved, the program’s implementing partner, World Learning, will identify candidates on the Fulbright Specialist Roster whose professional experience and academic credentials match the knowledge and skills articulated by the host institution in its project proposal.
- World Learning will send a list of up to five Fulbright Specialist Roster candidates whose experience matches the project's needs.
- For more information on the Specialist matching process and the Fulbright Specialist Roster, please visit http://fulbrightspecialist.worldlearning.org.
2. Named Specialist Project Proposal:
Host Institutions can name a Specialist candidate with whom they wish to collaborate on their project, whether that individual is on the Fulbright Specialist Roster at the time of application or not.
If a host institution wishes to name a candidate they wish to serve as the Fulbright Specialist, please note that the following conditions must be met:
- The individual must be approved by Fulbright Commission in Ireland.
- The individual must be approved to join the Fulbright Specialist Roster; and
- The Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board must approve the individual.
- Named projects will not receive preference in the review or approval process from the Fulbright Commission or from the U.S. Department of State.
If a host institution chooses to name a Specialist candidate in their project proposal, who is not currently on the Fulbright Specialist Roster, this does not mean the candidate is approved to join the Roster.
- The candidate must complete the full application process and be approved to join the Roster before they are eligible to participate.
- IMPORTANT: If your institution chooses to name a candidate not on the Specialist Roster, it can take at least three months, depending on the roster review schedule for the approval process. You may need to consider this when proposing your project dates– more time is appreciated (approximately 4-5 months).
If your institution has named a candidate who is currently on the Roster and eligible to participate in an exchange, this match must still be approved by the Fulbright Commission and the U.S. Department of State before the candidate can participate.
- Host institutions interested in viewing the Fulbright Specialist Roster to identify possible candidates should contact Program Officer, Sara West at sara.west@fulbright.ie.
- Host institutions that ultimately elect to name a particular Specialist candidate on their project proposal must include a strong justification for the need to work with this Candidate and for all proposed activities.
- While host institutions are permitted to explore collaborations with potential Specialists, they are under no obligation to consider unsolicited requests from Specialist candidates.
Once a match between a Specialist candidate and a project has been made and approved by the Fulbright Commission and the United States Department of State, the named Specialist is subject to approval by the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board (FFSB).
