Number of recipients
In addition to being a prestigious academic exchange program, the Fulbright Program is designed to expand and strengthen relationships between the people of the United States and citizens of other nations and to promote international understanding and cooperation. To support this mission, Fulbright Scholars may be asked to give public talks, mentor students, and otherwise engage with the host community, in addition to their primary activities.
Conduct research in up to three Sub-Saharan African countries. The Africa Regional Research Program (ARRP) has two overall objectives: (1) to increase or develop new contacts and intellectual ties between U.S. and African communities and (2) to contribute to scholarship on Africa. The most competitive proposals will be those that describe a significant and achievable research project and that demonstrate commitment to developing scholarly relationships with African faculty. Grantees are expected to give occasional lectures and seminars in consultation with host universities and U.S. Embassies and provide copies of their research findings to their host colleagues or institutions.
ARRP applications are accepted for countries in the region with active Fulbright U.S. Scholar programs, except South Africa. Those interested in conducting research in North Africa (Egypt and Morocco) should apply for the Middle East and North Africa Regional Research Program.
Continuous Grant Period: If applying for one continuous grant period, applicants can propose to conduct research either in one country for three to nine months, or in two or three countries for five to nine months total. *Applicants proposing more than one country must propose to stay in each country for at least one month.
Flex Grant: The Flex option is available for scholars who require multiple visits to the host country or countries. Applicants should clearly indicate plans for Flex in their project statement, including a project timeline. Host institution letters of invitation should also confirm the timeline proposed. If applying for a Flex grant, the minimum grant length is 4 months and the maximum is 6 months. The minimum length of a grant segment is one month, and a maximum of one grant segment can be one month. All other proposed segments must be greater than one month.
If you are interested in pursuing research in a country that does not offer an active U.S. Scholar award, please reach out to subsaharanafrica@iie.org to inquire if this may be possible.
For each proposed country, applicants must arrange affiliation and include a letter of invitation from an African university (please reference individual county awards to determine what universities in each country are allowable hosts). If the institution you are interested in working with is not an African university, please contact IIE before requesting a letter of invitation.
Applications to less-visited countries within the region will be given priority.
See Grant Activity section for details.
Grants will begin as early as August 2026; no later than March 2027. For Flex grants, the first grant segment must begin between August 2026 and March 2027. The final Flex segment must be completed no later than two years after the first segment begins.
Host institution letters of invitation should also confirm the timeline proposed.
The Flex Award is designed for scholars who require multiple visits to the host country. This option allows grants to be conducted over two or three short segments. Applicants must select Flex in the application form, and clearly describe their plans for Flex in their project statement, including a project timeline. Flex grantees may be asked to give public talks, mentor students, and otherwise engage with the host-country academic community.
All applicants must meet the Program eligibility requirements (click to review the requirements).
A letter of invitation from each proposed host institution, confirming the applicant's proposed timeline, must be submitted at the time of application. Multi-country applications that do not include a letter of invitation from a host in each proposed country will not be considered.
Applicants are encouraged to consult the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) “Can-Do Statements” to determine if they are qualified.
Applicants are encouraged to register qualified language evaluator, such as a language instructor or a translator, to conduct the external assessment in the application. Being a native speaker alone does not qualify an individual to conduct the assessment.
Applicants who are native speakers do not need to complete an external evaluation.
Appropriate language facility is needed for research in non-English speaking areas. Applicants should clearly describe language requirements for the proposed research in the project statement and submit a Language Proficiency Evaluation if research will require non-English language proficiency.
Evidence of a academic/scholarly research record after obtaining Ph.D. or equivalent terminal degree in field of specialization for the proposed project is required. Applicants who do not have a PhD must be affiliated with an academic institution at the time of application.
Monthly benefits will follow the rates for Researchers for Core Fulbright U.S. Scholar grants in each proposed country.
Round-trip, economy-class, international travel arranged by travel agent designated by IIE, for scholar and up to two accompanying dependents for consecutive grant periods. A $2,050-$2,850 allowance will be provided to cover the costs associated with relocation and excess baggage. For Flex grants: round trip travel will be included for each segment of the grant for the grantee only. Dependent travel will not be provided.
$3,000 research allowance. Country-specific book allowance is not provided for ARRP grants.
For grantees proposing a continuous grant period, a dependent education allowance of up to $12,500 per child or $25,000 per family for accompanying dependents in grades K-12 is reimbursed for a full academic year, upon submission of receipts, and depending on funding availability. Amount may be adjusted for shorter grant periods. Reimbursement is based on actual cost of tuition and fees only. Flex grants: dependent tuition allowance will not be provided.
For information on additional dependent benefits, monthly benefits will follow the rates for Researchers for Core Fulbright U.S. Scholar grants in each proposed country.
Dependents must accompany the grantee for at least 80% of the period abroad and a minimum of one semester in order to qualify for additional dependent benefits. Dependent benefits are not provided to Flex grantees.
Please refer to the figures above for an estimate of total monthly Fulbright award benefits. Benefits may include a monthly base stipend, living and housing allowances, and additional one-time allowances. Benefits may vary based on a scholar's current academic rank (or professional equivalent), the city of placement, the type of award (teaching, teaching/research, or research), and the number of and duration of stay of accompanying dependents. Research-only or Professional Project grantees receive a standard stipend that is not adjusted for academic rank. In most cases, dependent benefits will not be provided to Flex grantees, or to grantees pursuing grants less than four months (or a semester) in length.
Final grant amounts will be determined prior to the start of the academic year and are subject to the availability of funds. The United States Department of State reserves the right to alter, without notice, participating countries, number of awards and allowances.
Visit our Scholar Directory to view and search all Fulbright alumni. You can also learn more about Fulbright Alumni Ambassadors.