Overview

Fulbright Visiting Scholar awards are primarily research or lecturing grants offered to experienced faculty members and researchers from the Kyrgyz Republic serving at universities, think-tanks, and relevant governmental and non-governmental organizations to pursue research and possibly to lecture.  The program covers international airfare to and from the United States, health insurance, access to professional and cultural enrichment opportunities, and a living stipend.

Program Goals

• Build higher education capacity in Central Asia through faculty development and mentoring for junior faculty members.
• Foster long-term collaboration and institutional linkages between Central Asian and U.S. academics.
• Promote mutual understanding between Central Asian and Americans by facilitating the scholars’ engagement with the broader host campus community.

Grants are not for the principal purpose of attending conferences, completing doctoral dissertations, travel and consultation at multiple institutions, or clinical medical research involving patient contact (not permissible).

Proposal Topics

We are accepting proposals for projects across disciplines, but will give priority to the following topics:  digital development, science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education, climate change and climate engineering, natural disaster response, economic development, civic participation, English-language education, and countering violent extremism.

Program Length

Applicants may apply for one or two semesters.  Applicants requesting support for a full academic year (two semesters) must provide a timeline of teaching and/or research activities. Final grant dates will align with the host institution’s academic calendar, if applicable.  Applicants in the field of law are limited to a maximum of one semester.

Eligibility and Selection Criteria

Applicants should generally have at least ten years of experience in their field and fall into one of the three categories:

• Lecturers are educators at the Ph.D. or equivalent level or experienced professionals who will engage in full-time lecturing (teaching or consultation) at the college or university level in the United States.
• Researchers are persons at the Ph.D. or equivalent level who will conduct full-time advanced research, normally at the postdoctoral level, in the United States.
• Lecturer/Researchersare educators at the Ph.D. or equivalent level or experienced professionals who will perform a combination of lecturing and advanced research at the college or university level in the United States.

Applicants should demonstrate the intrinsic value of the project to the scholar, his/her home institution, country, and U.S. institution.

Applicants must have proficiency in English appropriate for carrying out the proposed project in the U.S.

Applicants must intend to return to their home institution upon completion of the program, reengage in teaching activities, and implement newly gained knowledge and experience gained on this program.

Strong preference will be given to applicants who do not have recent and/or extensive experience in the U.S.

Special Programs for Education Leaders and Junior Scholars

Candidates may apply for one of the following two subcategories of the Fulbright Visiting Scholar application. No additional application is needed; however, the candidate should specify their interest in the statement of purpose.

Option One: Fulbright Distinguished Scholars or Professionals (Three Months to One Semester): Candidates holding leadership positions within universities, government agencies, cultural institutions, or non-profit organizations, are eligible to apply for special project grants as short as three months.  Distinguished Scholars may propose performing one or a combination of the following functions in the United States:

• Present lectures on a regular schedule or consult with officials at institutions of higher learning;
• Help to plan and participate in approved seminars or workshops
• Take part in other academic or cultural programs sponsored by educational institutions or cooperating agencies in the United States.

Option Two: Fulbright Junior Faculty

(One Semester):

Junior Faculty with a minimum of three years of full-time teaching experience at an institution of higher education, are eligible to apply for grants one-semester in length to explore best practices and theoretical approaches to curriculum development in the United States.  Applicants should propose an affiliation that will provide them with concrete strategies on how to develop curriculum for a specific course, including an overview of academic and research resources to be utilized at the U.S. institution.  During their grant, participants will be expected to research and develop a course description, syllabus and outline specific teaching strategies for their proposed course.

How to Apply

Participants are selected through a merit-based open competition.  Before you start completing the online application form, we recommend that you read the Instructions for Completing Fulbright Visiting Scholar Program Application (PDF440 KB) carefully and in its entirety.

Applicants can access the online application at:  https://apply.iie.org/fvsp2024/

Completed applications must include the following documents uploaded to the online portal:

• Detailed statement of proposed activity for research/lecturing in the United States
• Curriculum Vitae/Resume
• Three Letters of Reference

• Bibliography (research proposal) and/or Course Syllabi (lecturing proposal)
• Letter of support/leave from your home institution
• Letter of invitation from U.S. Institution is not required, but highly encouraged to include and will be considered when evaluating your application.
• Institutional TOEFL test result (IBT 85; PBT 550)

Please remember that incomplete applications will not be considered.  Fulbright Program reserves the right to check any information given in the application documents.  In case any discrepancy with real facts will be revealed the applicant participation in the Fulbright competition will be suspended.  Material misrepresentation (e.g., plagiarism) at any time during the application or grant period is grounds for selection withdrawal or grant termination.  No specific reason for selection or non-selection of applicants will be given.

Application Deadline

The application deadline is 17:00 pm Bishkek time, November 14, 2023.

Please note that ONLY SHORT-LISTED CANDIDATES WILL BE CONTACTED AND INVITED FOR AN INTERVIEW in December 2023; final selection and placement will be made in the spring/summer of 2024.

Questions?

Please, direct all questions to ExchangeBishkek@fan.gov with Fulbright Visiting Scholar in the subject line.

Source: the Official Website of the US Embassy in Kyrgyzstan https://kg.usembassy.gov/education-culture/exchange-programs/fulbright-foreign-research-scholarship-program/?fbclid=IwAR2pV7WcSi4sxeAT_VSv8TeaAx_Ol459KQHqS7TBou2bXHj-SUJaG9IYXOU