Fulbright-FAPESP Postdoctoral Awards
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.
The Fulbright FAPESP Postdoctoral award are pre-arranged affiliations to host early career scholars who conduct research relevant to any of the six public universities in the state of São Paulo.
These universities are interested in hosting postdoctoral scholars and having them engage with students, faculty, and the broader community. Postdoctoral scholars will conduct their own research and may also work collaboratively with Brazilian colleagues, guest lecture, mentor students, network, and promote their research while representing the United States, the Fulbright Program, and their home and host universities.
The applicant must select one of the six public universities in the state of São Paulo from the below list and indicate their choice as the main host university in the application form. If selected, the scholar will carry out their work at the chosen host university.
Awards must be either six months or twelve months in length. Scholars may begin their programs no earlier than July 1, 2026, and must complete their full program no later than September 30, 2027. Please be aware that most institutions in Brazil are in recess between December and January.
All applicants must meet the Program eligibility requirements (click to review the requirements).
We encourage candidates to contact the chosen institution, among the six institutions in the state of São Paulo eligible for this award, 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, please 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
- 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 at the Brazilian host institution
and what projections are over 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.
Researchers and faculty are usually fluent in English, but there can be wide differences in students' English proficiency. Some knowledge of Portuguese or Spanish is helpful in day-to-day life, especially in smaller cities and towns.
The scholar will receive a fixed sum of US$ 3,500 per month to cover all expenses.
The scholar will receive a fixed sum of US$ 1,500 to help pay 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 lower prices in general: https://www.expatistan.com/cost-of-living/country/brazil
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 2026-27, 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 50 awards are available in Brazil. This includes up to 10 Postdoctoral awards, 30 All Disciplines awards for early and mid-career scholars, professionals, artists, and 10 Distinguished Scholar Awards in all regions in Brazil. The Distinguished Scholar Awards are opportunities for mid-career, senior academics, artists, and professionals with experience in Arts and Design, Medical Sciences, Social Innovation and Sustainability, and other disciplines.
Fulbright Interdisciplinary Network (FIN)
To foster meaningful discussions about contemporary issues in Brazil from a U.S. perspective, the Fulbright Commission and the U.S. Embassy in Brazil have established the Fulbright Interdisciplinary Network (FIN). This initiative provides Distinguished Scholars with the opportunity to connect with five Brazilian universities during their award period. Scholars can enhance their experience through online and in-person discussions, collaborating with faculty and advising students across 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. Agriculture, mining, manufacturing, and services are the most important economic sectors. 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, as well as 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. Brazil is considered by Times Higher Education as an emerging market in higher education in 2025. Additionally, 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).
U.S. Scholar 2023 Catherine Tinker in Porto Alegre, Brazil
Things turned out differently than planned for teaching my semester course at UFRGS-PPGD Law School and my research on freshwater governance.
Midway through my Fulbright US Scholar visit at UFRGS-PPGD, catastrophic flooding hit Porto Alegre, and the state of Rio Grande do Sul. The waters rose to historic levels right outside my door, roads were impassable, supplies ran low, and the international airport closed for months. Despite this challenge, my connection to Brazil deepened in personal and professional ways as part of the community.
My students remained in contact, and several offered me shelter and collected supplies for the rescue effort. The Fulbright Commission Brazil aided my evacuation, approved by my host university and the US Consulate. When classes resumed, we decided to publish our reflections and proposals. 200 years of diplomatic relations between Brazil and the US and the rising waters in my host city brought us closer in 2024.
U.S. Scholar Edmund Acevedo in Natal, Brazil
My Fulbright experience in Brazil is one of the most exciting, satisfying, and engaging learning/growing experiences in my career. I learned about different approaches to addressing research questions and conducting research in my field, as well as how culture and social context influence the perceived value of a research question. I also observed new strategies for working with and training students. Most importantly, I experienced the critical importance and value of collaboration and appreciated that there are often numerous valid perspectives on how to examine a research question that can often provide unexpected insight. I have thoroughly enjoyed meeting the people from Brazil and experiencing the food, culture, and natural environment in Natal and during my adventures throughout Brazil. My research collaborations with scientists in Brazil continue, and I have developed a study abroad program for students from my home institution to visit the faculty and students at my host institution in Brazil during the summer of 2025.
U.S. Scholar Theresa Robbins Dudeck
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
Visit our Scholar Directory to view and search all Fulbright alumni. You can also learn more about Fulbright Alumni Ambassadors.
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, Mexico, 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.