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.
The U.S. Scholar Program to Russia has been temporarily suspended.
Conduct teaching or research in any area. Proposals should demonstrate an interest in active engagement with Russian Federation scholars and the host community to the extent possible.
Scholars selected for this grant will be required to attend a mandatory Pre-Departure Orientation in Summer 2026.
Fulbright U.S. Scholar to Russia, Denis Sharapov, 2018-2019
Applications to teach are welcome for any institution of higher education located in any region of Russia. Proposals for research outside Moscow and St. Petersburg will be preferred. Applicants should expect to remain primarily in a single host city/institution, and they should not expect split affiliations or significant travel to secondary cities for research or lecturing purposes.
Teaching Grants
Research Grants
All applicants must meet the Program eligibility requirements (click to review the requirements).
An invitation letter is optional for both research and teaching.
All teaching will be in English; additional language proficiency for teaching is not required. For research, language proficiency sufficient to complete the proposed project is required. For applicants without local language proficiency, feasibility of conducting the project must be demonstrated in the project statement.
Grant benefits include a monthly maintenance allowance, comprised of a base stipend and living and housing allowances. The base stipend varies based on a scholar's current academic rank (or professional equivalent). Living and housing allowances vary based on the city of placement, and the number of accompanying dependents. Dependent housing and living allowances will not be provided to Flex grantees.
$3,550
$1,000 books and educational materials allowance for teaching and teaching/research grants; should be donated to the host institution (or other entity) upon grantee's departure.
$500-$1,000 research allowance for research-only grants, amount depending on length of the grant.
Additional living and housing allowance is provided for grantees with one accompanying dependent or two or more accompanying dependents. These amounts range from $200/month to $440/month.
In addition, a travel allowance of $2,500 is provided for one dependent and $5,000 for two or more accompanying dependents.
A dependent education allowance for accompanying dependents in grades K-12 is reimbursed at $5,000 maximum for one semester, $10,000 maximum for a full academic year, upon submission of receipts and depending on funding availability. Reimbursement is based on actual costs.
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.
The U.S. Scholar Program to Russia has been suspended through the 2025-2026 academic year. Potential applicants for 2026-2027 need to discuss the status of the U.S. Scholar Fulbright Program to Russia with IIE (202-686-4000) before applying.
The Fulbright Program in Russia has existed for nearly half a century and has established a strong and positive reputation among institutions of higher education, government agencies, and the Russian public in the Program’s pursuit of mutual understanding between United States and Russian citizens and institutions. Today, there are more than 2,300 Russian Program Alumni and over 1,200 U.S. Alumni many of whom remain active supporters of the program and maintain ties with their host institutions and the many friends that they have made while on the program.
The International Fulbright Program Team is staffed by highly experienced academic exchange specialists, welcomes applications to the Fulbright Scholar Program from scholars of diverse social, academic, and vocational backgrounds and does not insist that participants speak Russian, have prior experience in the Russian Federation, or have Ph.D.’s. While there are academic research projects that require near fluency in Russian and a high level of experience in Russian academic research settings, many US scholars who have successfully participated in the program have taught a variety of courses in English in a range of Russian academic departments (English-taught courses are in high demand in Russia as it globalizes its higher educational system).
Good general information about Russia can also be found via the links below:
Core Program
The core program is open to both academics and professionals. The academic year in Russia consists of two semesters, generally beginning the first week of September and the first week of February. Affiliations are available at a wide range of Russian academic institutions, and recent successful affiliations have been at institutions in Belgorod, Irkutsk, Izhevsk, Kaliningrad, Kazan, Krasnoyarsk, Novosibirsk, Perm, Petrozavodsk, Pskov, Rostov-on-Don, Tomsk, Tula, Tyumen, Vladivostok, Vologda, Volgograd, Voronezh, Ulan-Ude, Yekaterinburg and Yoshkar-Ola, among others.
The International Fulbright Program Team will consider placement requests based on prior academic contacts, if available, between scholars and proposed host institutions. However, final placements will be determined by the Program Team. Only a limited number of research awards will be awarded for Moscow and St. Petersburg. Scholars should expect to remain primarily in a single host city/institution, and they should not expect split affiliations or significant travel to secondary cities for research or lecturing purposes. Scholars traveling with children have successfully enrolled their children at a variety of English and Russian language schools, depending upon their needs.
All scholars are required to enter Russia on a U.S. passport with a Russian visa.
Visit our Scholar Directory to view and search all Fulbright alumni. You can also learn more about Fulbright Alumni Ambassadors.