Fulbright Senior Scholar Fellowships

Program Overview

The United States - Israel Educational Foundation (USIEF) plans to award one grant to a member of academic staff, to a senior professional, or to an accomplished artist or writer for a visit to an Israeli institution of higher education to be carried out during the 2011/2012 academic year. The visiting fellow's program of work may include research, lecturing, or a combination of lecturing and research.

The program grant will support a visit of 4 months. The Senior Scholar Fellow will receive a monthly stipend, determined in keeping with the number of accompanying dependents.

This program is open to all fields of study.

USIEF awards are granted on the basis of academic excellence, the leadership promise of the applicant, and the potential of the proposed visit both to advance scientific knowledge and to enhance mutual understanding between the peoples of the U.S. and Israel. The Foundation wishes to emphasize that, while stressing professional qualifications, it is interested in achieving representation of the various geographic regions and ethnic groups of the United States in the panel of American Fulbright Fellows.

The Foundation gives preference to applicants who have not had significant prior professional experience in Israel.

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

The Senior Scholar 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.

It is recommended, but not required, that a letter or letters of invitation be included among the materials submitted to the Council for International Exchange of Scholars (CIES) by the August 2 application deadline. Candidates should take into account that, according to USIEF policy, host institutions are obliged to make a financial contribution towards the funding of the grants awarded to visiting Fellows. The matter of this mandatory contribution should be raised in preliminary discussions with potential hosts, prior to the issuance of a letter of invitation.

A formal hosting commitment, including a commitment to provide financial support, must be received by USIEF in November 2010 from an eligible institution in order for a candidate to be evaluated in the final stage of the grant allocation process.

The Foundation reserves the exclusive right to determine, within the framework of applicable law and regulations, the qualitative standards for the 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.

Additional general information on the Fulbright Senior Scholar Program may be found on the website of the Council for International Exchange of Scholars.

Grant Benefits

Monthly allowance, payable in dollars: $3,000/month for unaccompanied grantees $4,000/month for grantees accompanied by one dependent; $5,000/month for grantees accompanied by two dependents; $5,500/month for grantees accompanied by three or more dependents
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 assistant professor or higher academic rank their home institutions. For professionals and artists, 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

In its evaluation of candidates, USIEF applies the following criteria:

Academic excellence (or equivalent professional or artistic excellence) is the primary criterion for the evaluation of candidates.
Leadership qualities are 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.
Possession of skills required to promote mutual understanding between the United States and Israel is an important evaluation criterion.

Application Procedures

The application deadline for 2011/2012 Fellowships is August 2, 2010.

The Senior Scholar Program is administered for the Department of State by the Council for International Exchange of Scholars (CIES). Details on the program and on submission of applications may be found on the CIES website here and here.

Those interested may also contact the CIES staff member responsible for the Middle East region for further information:

Ms. Danielle Antonio
Telephone: 202-686-4013

Email: dantonio@iie.org