Outreach Master's Degree Fellowship

Registration for 2026/27 will open in Spring 2025.

Fulbright Outreach Program Fellowships will be awarded to those planning to begin their Master’s degree studies at American universities in the fall semester of the 2025-2026 academic year.

This program is open to Arab citizens of Israel and to Israelis of Ethiopian descent.

The program is open to students in all fields of study except those that require clinical activities and hands-on contact with patients.

Candidates who have been accepted to the Fulbright Outreach Program can choose between two placement tracks.

Track 1: Self Placement

In this track, the candidates will research their own degree program options and independently submit, track, and follow-up on application status, university cost-share, and final admission offers. No assistance will be provided by IIE’s University Placement division at any stage during the process for candidates who have selected this track. The grant in this track is limited by a cap that is derived from the average cost of studies in a U.S. academic institute. In this track, the submission plan is not limited to a specific number of institutions.

Track 2: IIE Placement

In this track, the candidates do not apply directly for admission to U.S. universities. Instead, submission of their applications for admission is carried out by the Institute for International Education (IIE).  IIE formulates a submission plan on the basis of the candidates’ preferences, the placement officer's evaluation of the candidates’ qualifications relative to university admission standards, financial consideration and geographical diversity and considerations growing out of Fulbright program objectives. In this track, the submission plan is limited to four institutions. The final placement decision is made by the Fulbright Commission in Israel.

• Academic excellence
• Leadership qualities
• Demonstrable, ambassadorial skills required to promote mutual understanding between the United States and Israel. Fulbright fellows serve as cultural ambassadors and should be prepared to speak about their countries, cultures and research to academic and community groups
• Potential for gaining value from the program
• English language proficiency
• Since the aim of the Fulbright Program is to foster cultural understanding between the U.S. and Israel, preference will be given to applicants who have not had a substantial recent academic experience in the United States or any other English-speaking country

• Funding is for a maximum of two years for the grantee only.
• While applicants’ personal academic and professional plans and university preferences are taken into consideration, candidates should be aware that the final decision as to which programs of study will be supported by Fulbright Outreach Degree Fellowships is made by the United States Department of State, taking into account all relevant considerations.
• Prospective candidates who plan to earn a PhD at a later stage, at an Israeli university, are strongly advised to check in advance whether and to what extent credits earned in an American Master’s degree program will be recognized by the Israeli PhD programs in which they wish to enroll.
• Grantees must travel on a J-1 Exchange Visitor visa sponsored by the Fulbright program.
• After completion of their Fulbright Outreach program, Fulbright grantees are eligible to apply for a visa for up to 12 months of academic training (provided the fellow has a concrete job offer).
• It is a condition of the visa that after completion of their Fulbright program, including any transfer of visa sponsorship, grantees must return to Israel and reside in the country for two years before being eligible to immigrate to the U.S., to take up permanent residence there, or to enter the U.S. with a work permit. The purpose of the two-year home residency requirement is to ensure that exchange visitors return home and fulfill the exchange objectives of the Fulbright program.
• Holders of J-1 student visas who have departed from the United States after a stay of six or more months will be required to remain abroad for up to twelve months before being allowed to re-enter the United States with a J-1 professor/research scholar visa.
• The above restrictions do not apply to re-entry to the United States as the holder of a J visa in another category (short-term scholar, specialist, international visitor), or as the holder of a student or tourist visa.
• Dependents of grantees will enter the U.S. as holders of J-2 visas. Many conditions applying to the grantees as holders of J-1 visas, such as the two-year home residency requirement and other restrictions, also apply to the holders of J-2 visas.
• Unless they have received a waiver of the two-year home residence requirement, Fulbright Students holding J-1 visas are ineligible to change their status from J-1 to J-2 while in the U.S. Similarly, accompanying dependents, who possess J-2 visas, are ineligible to change their status from J-2 to J-1 while in the U.S., unless they have received a waiver of the home residence requirement.
• Grantees must begin their studies in the United States no later than the fall semester of the 2025/2026 academic year.
• Awards cannot be deferred to the following academic year.
• Fellows will be asked to act as Fulbright Israel Programs Ambassadors  – to share their experiences with others, to disseminate fellowship information among colleagues and potential candidates and to participate in information sessions for new candidates that may be held in their region. Alumni will also be invited to attend Fulbright Israel's activities and events and, from time to time, asked to assist in the reviewing process for incoming candidates. 

The highest-ranked candidates will be invited for an interview. All interviews are held on the same day. In order to be considered for an award, applicants must be available for interview in person on the date fixed by Fulbright Israel (USIEF).

It should be noted that initial admission to the program does not guarantee that a candidate will be awarded a fellowship. Various additional conditions apply, mainly the requirement of admission to at least one academic program in the U.S. whose overall cost is within the budget, and, for that matter even receive cost sharing from the academic institute. The final decision whether or not to award a scholarship will be made by the United States Department of State. It should also be noted that if it is decided to offer a fellowship to a candidate, for IIE-placed candidates, the Department of State retains sole authority to select the institution at which the candidate’s studies will be supported. Candidate preferences will be taken into account when making such decisions, but other considerations, such as cost, geographic distribution, etc. will also be taken into account.

The Foundation reserves the exclusive right to determine, within the framework of applicable law and regulations, the qualitative standards for the evaluation of applications and the selection of the candidates to be referred for placement. The Foundation is not under any obligation to provide the reasons for its decisions regarding the allocation of Fellowships.