Fulbright Distinguished Chair Fellowship in the Humanities and Social Sciences

Program overview

The United States - Israel Educational Foundation (USIEF) plans to award one Distinguished Chair grant in the humanities and social sciences for a visit to an Israeli institution of higher education to be carried out during the 2010/2011 academic year.

Awards in the Fulbright Distinguished Chairs Program are viewed as among the most prestigious appointments in the Fulbright Scholar Program. Candidates should hold the rank of full professor and have a prominent record of scholarly accomplishment and substantial teaching experience. Applicants with equivalent status in one of the fine arts or literature may also apply.

The visiting Distinguished Chair Fellow’s program of work may include research, lecturing, or a combination of lecturing and research. In addition to activities carried out at his/her host institution, it is expected that the Distinguished Chair holder will visit other institutions in order to give special guest lectures and to take part in symposia and conferences.

Visits for one full academic year (10 months) are preferred, but single semester visits are also allowed.

Program grants provide an allowance of $6,000/month.

The selection of the Distinguished Chair Fellowship is based primarily on academic excellence.

Knowledge of Hebrew is helpful but not required, except as necessary for the conduct of proposed research projects.

The Distinguished Chair Fellow must be hosted by an accredited Israeli institution of higher education. For the complete list of such institutions, click here.

Each candidate should try to arrange his/her institutional affiliations in Israel independently, including development of the program of work for the proposed visit through contacts with possible host institutions. If assistance is required, USIEF will attempt to help candidates to identify suitable host institutions.

A letter of invitation must be submitted as part of an application to be awarded the Distinguished Chair Fellowship. Candidates should take into account that United States-Israel Educational Foundation policy requires that host institutions make a financial contribution towards the funding of a visiting Fellow's grant. The matter of this mandatory contribution should be raised in preliminary discussions with potential hosts, prior to the issuance of a letter of invitation.

The Foundation reserves the exclusive right to determine, within the framework of applicable law and regulations, the qualitative standards for evaluation of applications forwarded to it by the responsible agency in the United States. The Foundation is not under any obligation to provide the reasons for its decisions regarding the allocation of Fellowships.

Grant benefits

Monthly allowance of $6,000, payable in dollars
Limited health insurance for the grantee only
Orientation meeting in Israel and other grantee events during the course of the academic year

Eligibility criteria

Eligibility requirements apply at the time of application.

Applicants must be U.S. citizens; permanent resident status is not sufficient.
Academic staff applicants must have earned a Ph.D. or an equivalent professional degree and must hold the rank of full professor. For artists or writers, recognized professional standing and substantial professional accomplishments are required.
Individuals who have received two Fulbright “basic fellowships” are not eligible to apply. Any Fulbright grant providing support for two or more months of activity outside of the United States is considered a basic fellowship; a Fulbright grant providing up to two months of support is considered equivalent to half a basic fellowship. In addition: (1) two years must pass from the date of completion of a previous Fulbright short-term grant to the commencement of a Fulbright-Israel Senior Scholar Fellowship; and (2) five years must pass from the date of completion of a basic fellowship until the commencement of a Senior Scholar Fellowship. Further information regarding the above may be found on the CIES website.
Candidates must be in good health. All applicants selected for a Fulbright grant are required to submit a Medical History and Examination Report before their grants can be activated.
Prior conviction or current indictment for a felony may result in disqualification.

Evaluation criteria

Academic excellence (or equivalent professional or artistic excellence) is the primary criterion for the evaluation of candidates.
Possession of skills required to promote mutual understanding between the United States and Israel is an important evaluation criterion.
Preference will be given to candidates who have not had substantial, recent professional experience in Israel.
Preference will be given to candidates who have not had previous Fulbright grants.
Hebrew language proficiency is not an evaluation criterion, unless such proficiency is required in order to carry out the proposed plan of work.

Application procedures

The application deadline for the 2010/2011 Fellowship is August 1, 2009.

The Distinguished Chair Program is administered for the Department of State by the Council for the International Exchange of Scholars (CIES). Details on the program and on submission of applications may be found on the CIES website here, here, and here. The material on the CIES website relates to last year’s fellowship competition. Updated material will be posted early in 2009.

Requests for further information may be directed to Ms. Judy Stavsky, Deputy Director, United States-Israel Educational Foundation.