General Info
The Commission for Educational Exchange offers approximately 35 scholarships annually for study, teaching and research in the United States at the graduate (Master’s or Ph.D) or post-doctoral level. The awards vary from round-trip travel to grants covering all expenses for an academic year. Candidates for the Commission’s grants must be citizens of Belgium or Luxembourg and have a post-secondary degree (minimum the equivalent of a license or a Master’s) with outstanding results. Special scholarships are available for secondary school teachers, foreign language teaching asesistants, and for study in business, law, science, technology, engineering and journalism.
Brochure: Grants and other scholarships (.pdf)
Applicants who are not citizens of Belgium or Luxembourg should contact the Fulbright Commission in their country of nationality.
Click here for addresses of Fulbright Commissions around the world.
If no Fulbright Commission exists in your country of nationality, you should contact the Public Affairs / Cultural Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy in your country.
Effective June 15, 2012, in accordance with Executive Order, November 9, 2011, Promote Efficient Spending the ASPE Benefit Guide will no longer be printed. Fulbright uses the following health insurance Fulbright scholars and students: http://usdos.sevencorners.com/. Guides are available for download from the ASPE Administrator’s website at www.usdos.sevencorners.com
Candidates must :
• demonstrate academic excellence
• be individually interviewed in English
• be apt to benefit from the academic opportunity offered to them
• be good representatives of their own country while they are in the United States
Since one of the fundamental purposes of the Fulbright exchange program is to increase understanding between the peoples of the countries involved, the Board of Deirectors gives preference to candidates who have had no significant opportunity to live in the United States. Grantees are expected to return to their own country upon completion of the project for which the award was made.
Candidates to study must present an outstanding academic record which is defined as an average of distinction, or a great distinction on their most recent examinations or an equivalent qualification if the student attended a non-Belgian institution. . Should their institution no longer provide grades by year, the candidates must have obtained their bachelor or their master degree with at least distinction.
Other requirements:
• Departures normally take place between August 1 and March 31. Special authorization must be sought in order to leave at another time of the year.
• Recipients of Commission awards must travel on U.S. Government-sponsored “Exchange Visitor” visas. They may not travel on any other. Please note that anyone admitted as an Exchange Visitor to the United States must return to his/her country for two years before returning to the United States as a permanent resident, temporary worker or trainee, or intra-company transferee.
• Candidates to study must have completed a cycle of education beyond the secondary level at a recognized institution, with outstanding academic results.
• Candidates in education (i.e. teachers or administrators) must have had 3 years professional experience at the time of application.
• Candidates for research must hold a European doctorate or its equivalent at the time of their departure.
• Candidates in medicine must have received the degree of Doctor in Medicine before leaving for the United States, and must intend to do research. Awards are not available for clinical training.
• Student awards are normally for a minimum period of one academic year. However, applications for pre-doctoral research for a minimum period of 6 months will also be considered. Research and lecturing awards are for a minimum period of 3 months in no more than 2 different institutions. Secondary school teachers may participate in special summer programs.
• Applications for study and research should be made while candidates are in correspondence with specific institutions concerning affiliation and financial support. No awards can be confirmed until candidates have submitted written evidence that they will dispose of adequate funds to carry out their plans in the United States.
• Candidates should submit a Preliminary Application to the Commission for Educational Exchange at their earliest convenience so that their eligibility to compete for an award may be determined. (Academic records, suitability of project, and knowledge of English are factors in determining eligibility.)
• Detailed Final Applications and all supporting documents are due before 12pm (noon) on the last working day nearest to one of the two competition deadline dates: October 31, or March 1.
• There is no age limit to the Fulbright Grants except for the Foreign Language Teaching Assistants (FLTA) program (maximum age 29).
• Candidates cannot have significant US experience (generally speaking, more than 9-12 months of living in the United States under any visa). Concealing this information can lead to disqualification.
IMPORTANT!! “Candidates in the United States at the time of application are not eligible to apply”
CAUTION: Candidates must be available in Belgium for personal interviews IN ENGLISH on dates specified by the Commission. Under no circumstances will the Commission make awards to candidates who are already in the United States.
ATTENTION!! Scholars who have previously held a J visa in the professor or research scholar category are not eligible for sponsorship again in those two categories for a period of 24 months following the program sponsorship end date.
NOTE: The Institute for International Education and the Fulbright Program cannot support grantees – via funding, visa sponsorship, or other means – in obtaining any professional licensing (including medical licenses, bar exams, etc.). If Fulbright grantee law students wish to sit for the bar exam after their DS-2019s and/or visas expire, they will need to make their own arrangements for being in the US legally to take the exam. Students should check whether their IIE alternate responsible officer will help them contact USCIS to extend the date listed on their I-94 form; if not, they may consider applying to the Visa Waiver Program here: http://belgium.usembassy.gov/visa_waiver_program.html
International Exchange Alumni is a dynamic and interactive networking website for all past and current participants of U.S. government-sponsored exchange programs.
