American Studies (Lecturing Award)
Austria
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.
Teach two courses (classes meet once a week for 90 minutes) for advanced undergraduate or graduate students in area of interest, with details on content and format of courses to be arranged by host institution and professor. Other duties, such as tutorials and student advising, are negotiated on a consensual basis with the host institution, contingent upon its needs and the grantee's interests and expertise.
This award rotates annually among Austrian universities.
The host site of the award for the current program year is the University College of Teacher Education Vorarlberg.
For more information about Vorarlberg, visit Austria's official travel portal.
Grants must begin in late September 2025 or late February 2026 in line with the Austrian academic year and the mandatory orientation. Grant activities at the host institution will begin on October 1, 2025 or March 1, 2026 and end on January 31, 2026 or June 30, 2026 respectively.
American Studies—understood as the interdisciplinary study of American culture, history, and society—embraces different disciplines, methodologies, and fields of enquiry.
This award is open to candidates from all disciplines trained in American Studies or associated with American Studies programs at institutions in the United States as well as candidates from all disciplines who may not consider themselves American Studies specialists but who systematically bring their interests and expertise to bear topically on the study of the United States. Primary institutional affiliation may be with the departments of English and/or American Studies (Amerikanistik) at the host institution, and/or with other departments, contingent upon the grantee's field of specialization. The cross-listing of courses is possible.
All applicants must meet the Program eligibility requirements (click to review the requirements).
Instruction will be in English. Some knowledge of German is advantageous but not required.
If German proficiency is required to complete the proposed research project, competency thereof must be documented in the project proposal.
This award is open to academics with required terminal degrees, career profile, and teaching experience in relevant fields.
You may be asked to participate in an interview as part of the in-country selection process.
Austrian Association for American Studies
Please contact AAAS president Dr. Ingrid Gessner or Dr. Franziska Brunner at Fulbright Austria with questions.
To view alumni who have received this award, please visit Fulbright Austria's website.
This award is generously funded by Fulbright Austria.
€5,000 per month (approx. $5,500; exchange rates may fluctuate) for four months
All grantees receive a travel and relocation allowance of €1,000 (approx. $1,100; exchange rates may fluctuate).
For an estimated overview of the cost of living in Austria, please click here.
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.
Austria
Fulbright Austria offers up to 24 awards, including two research awards and 22 teaching awards with research options. The great majority of awards are anchored at specific Austrian institutions and correspondingly dedicated to host institutions' specific fields of interest, ranging from natural and life sciences, engineering, and business and economics to the social sciences, arts, and humanities. Fulbright Austria hosts two US scholar cohorts per year, with the majority of scholars arriving in spring.
In recent years, Austria has established itself as one of the top-ten destinations for Fulbright US Scholars, a success which is largely due to the excellent partnerships the Austrian Fulbright commission has built with institutions across the country. As enthusiastic supporters of the Fulbright program, Austrian institutions are excited to welcome US scholars to their campuses and to expand their professional networks.
Please note that Austrian institutions will be on summer break from July 1 until September 30. If you contact faculty and staff, please consider that turnaround times will potentially be longer as of early July.
Fulbright Austria (the Austrian-American Educational Commission) evaluates proposals in terms of their potential to fulfill the program's mandate of promoting mutual understanding between the peoples of Austria and the United States. Proposals for flexible combinations of teaching and research will be evaluated for their scholarly excellence, comparative approaches, bilateral relevance and potential for establishing or enhancing institutional relationships. As a rule, the quality of an applicant's proposal is more important to the Austrian-American Educational Commission than the academic rank of the applicant.
Fulbright Austria expects applicants to take all possible measures to avoid plagiarism. For resources on plagiarism, please visit these external resources:
• The Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research’s Best Practice Guide for Research Integrity and Ethics
• The Austrian Agency for Research Integrity’s website
Grantees to Austria are responsible for costs related to obtaining a visa in the US.
In country, the first grant payment will be disbursed at the start of the grantee's assignment, pending submission of the Austrian bank information form. Bank processing times for the first grant payment may take up to two weeks from the date of submission. Grantees should be prepared to cover their own expenses for this period. No dependent support is available.
For an estimated overview of the cost of living in Austria, please visit: https://www.expatistan.com/cost-of-living/country/austria.
For further information on life in Austria, please visit the U.S. Embassy Vienna's website and the Austrian Embassy Washington's website.
Dr. Franziska Brunner, Scholar Program Officer
Fulbright Austria (Austrian-American Educational Commission):
Email: fbrunner@fulbright.at
Address: Fulbright Austria, MQ, Museumsplatz 1, 1070 Vienna, Austria
Website: www.fulbright.at
Diversity Statement download: .pdf
To view the alumni who have awards to Austria, please visit the grant pages on Fulbright Austria's website at https://www.fulbright.at/programs/in-austria/scholars.
Visit our Scholar Directory to view and search all Fulbright alumni. You can also learn more about Fulbright Alumni Ambassadors.