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Brazil
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.
This award supports independent or collaborative research at Brazilian universities, research institutes, and NGOs in exceptional cases. The strategic goal of the U.S. Fulbright Scholar Program in Brazil is to support the internationalization process of the Brazilian higher education system. In this way, scholars are expected to work on their research projects and develop activities that foster students' and peers' mobility and other collaborative initiatives. Teaching activities are welcome but should not exceed three hours per week. Professionals, artists, and scholars with little or no academic or professional experience in Brazil are also encouraged to apply.
Projects involving field research among Indigenous populations or nature reserves must have authorization from the Brazilian government. Please get in touch with your host for information on necessary research clearance well ahead of time and allow at least ten months for the entire process.
For further information about this award, please visit the Fulbright Commission website.
The Fulbright Commission welcomes projects in all parts of Brazil, especially beyond the urban areas of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.
Candidates must designate a Brazilian accredited academic institution or research institute to serve as the Brazilian host institution to develop their project. Non-profit organizations, archives, museums, governmental agencies, etc., are acceptable and may be desirable depending on the project's nature. Feel free to direct any questions to the Fulbright Commission about the eligibility of your preferred institution.
Flex candidates have the option to propose two host institutions in different parts of Brazil, one for each two-month visit, provided that the activities in each site are part of the same project.
Four months total for Flex awards, spread across two segments (2 months + 2 months). Three or four months for non-Flex awards.
Be aware that most institutions in Brazil take a recess between December and January. For Flex awards, please see the Flex Option section.
Flex awards allow the stay to be split into two visits of two months each between July 1, 2024, and September 30, 2025. There must be a period of at least two months between the two in-country stays.
Flex candidates can propose two host institutions in different parts of Brazil, one for each two-month visit, provided that the activities in each site are part of the same project.
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).
We encourage candidates to contact the chosen Brazilian institution to discuss interests, project feasibility, and availability to host them for the proposed award period. If you need assistance facilitating this conversation, please reach out to the Fulbright Commission in Brazil.
Candidates should not wait until near the application deadline to contact the Brazilian institution of their choice to obtain a letter of invitation. If that will be your first time communicating with a potential Brazilian host, be aware that a response can take longer than expected.
The letter of invitation can include:
- confirmation of the Brazilian institution's interest in hosting the U.S. scholar, professional, or artist
- confirmation that the U.S. Scholar will have access to the institution's facilities and services
- information about project feasibility in regards to language skills
- information on how the proposed project will impact ongoing activities in the Brazilian host institution and what the projections are in the long term for the research partners and their institutions.
- any further relevant information
The letter of invitation can be in Portuguese or English. If the letter is in Portuguese, please submit a translated version and the original with your application.
Preference for Early-career and Mid-career Academics, Professionals and Artists. Candidates with little or no academic experience in Brazil are encouraged to apply.
The scholar will receive a fixed sum of US$5,000 per month to cover all expenses.
Scholars who opt for two visits of two months each (Flex award) will receive a total of US$2,400 for two international roundtrip tickets. Scholars on three or four-month awards will receive US$1,500 for an international roundtrip ticket.
Information on the following website can help scholars figure out the cost of living, meals, and incidentals in different capital cities in Brazil. There can be significant differences in smaller towns, with prices being less high. https://www.expatistan.com/cost-of-living/country/brazil
During their grant period, Fulbright U.S. Scholars in the Western Hemisphere (WHA) region may apply for a short-term regional travel grant for activities such as workshops, seminars, presentations, lectures, performances, exhibits, curricular advising and similar projects at institutions in eligible WHA countries. (Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados and Eastern Caribbean, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Jamaica, México, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago and Uruguay).
The Regional Travel Program covers travel to and from the destination; lodging may be offered by the host institution. Scholars may only apply for this grant once they are in country on their Fulbright grant. Scholars who apply for the Flex award are ineligible for the Regional Travel Program. Additional information can be found on the Regional Travel Program website.
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 and the Fulbright Commission in the host country reserve the right to alter, without notice, participating countries, number of awards and allowances.
Brazil
To learn more about Fulbright U.S. Scholar awards in Brazil for 2024-25, please view our archived webinar and slides to hear directly from the Fulbright Commission, IIE staff and U.S. Scholar alums regarding award details, the scholar experience and application guidance.
Summary
Up to 39 awards are available in Brazil. This includes up to 30 All Disciplines awards for early and mid-career scholars, professionals, artists, and nine Distinguished Scholar Awards in all regions in Brazil. The Distinguished Scholar Awards are opportunities for mid-career and senior academics with experience in Climate Change and Environmental Risks, Medical Sciences, Ocean Governance, and Public Health Data Science.
Fulbright Interdisciplinary Network (FIN)
To promote proficuous dialogues about contemporary issues in the Brazilian context from a U.S. perspective, the Fulbright Commission and the U.S. Embassy in Brazil have created the Fulbright Interdisciplinary Network (FIN). FIN is an opportunity for Distinguished Scholars to connect with five Brazilian universities during the award period and enrich their experience through online and onsite discussions, working collaboratively with faculty, and advising students from all regions of Brazil.
Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world, and it is similar in size to the continental United States. It is also the largest country in South America and the largest Portuguese-speaking country globally, with around 211 million people and 43% living in its Southeast region. As to ethnic background, like the United States, Brazil has a very diverse population. According to the Brazilian Statistics Bureau, Brazilians self-identify as White (42.7%), two or more races (46.8%), Black (9.4%), and of Indigenous or Asian descent (1.1%). The most important economic sectors are agriculture, mining, manufacturing, and services. In spite of poverty reduction achievements over the last decades, inequality remains at high levels in one of the world's largest democracies and economies.
After achieving universal coverage in primary education, Brazil is now struggling to improve the educational system's quality and outcomes, especially at the lower and upper secondary levels.
Brazil has a wide range of higher education institutions with over 200 universities, 3,472 master’s programs, and doctoral programs with 122,000 graduate students. There are currently over 37,000 research groups around the country, with more than 200,000 researchers. Its leading research centers in Agriculture, Energy, Biotechnology, Environmental Sciences, and Epidemiology attract scholars and students worldwide. Among the top 20 universities listed in the Times Higher Education 2020 ranking, 13 are from Brazil. Also, Brazil is responsible for 52% of Latin American publications in indexed journals, which places the country as fourteenth worldwide by the Scimago Journal and Country Rank.
The extended coverage of Fulbright U.S. Programs in the country has been possible thanks to the significant contributions from Brazilian strategic partners such as the Brazilian Government through the Brazilian Federal Agency for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education (CAPES).
- Blog from 2019-2020 U.S. Scholar to Brazil Theresa Robbins Dudeck in Theater Studies in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais: https://www.theimprofessor.com/single-post/2019/11/29/impro-in-brazil-endings
- News from 2019-2020 U.S. Scholar to Brazil King Chung in Audiology in Joao Pessoa, Paraiba and Bauru, Sao Paulo:
Visit our Scholar Directory to view and search all Fulbright alumni. You can also learn more about Fulbright Alumni Ambassadors.
This award is funded by CAPES, the Brazilian Federal Agency for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education.