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Student Research Awards for students wishing to pursue postgraduate research (BA required)
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English Teaching Assistant Awards for students wishing to teach English as a second language in Indian middle and secondary schools
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Scholar Awards for academics and professionals to lecture and/or conduct research in India
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Distinguished Chairs Awards, the most prestigious appointments in the Fulbright Program, for lecturing, research and/or curriculum development
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Specialist Awards designed to provide short-term academic opportunities (two to six weeks) for U.S. faculty and professionals
For American citizens, these are exciting times to come to India on a Fulbright grant. Within the last two decades, India has emerged as a major knowledge-based economic power. Today, the country possesses one of the largest human resource treasures in almost all frontiers of education. Its universities and institutes of higher education have attained global recognition as a result of their significant contribution in research and development in many disciplines ranging from the arts and humanities to biotechnology, nanotechnology and genetic engineering. Fulbright awards to India provide unique opportunities for U.S. students, faculty and professionals to see an ancient civilization emerge as one of the world's major economic and industrial forces.
India now has the largest U.S. Fulbright Scholar Program in the world with nearly 200 awards annually. With over 26,000 institutions and over 13 million student enrolments, the Indian higher education system has established itself as one of the largest in the world. Recognizing the need to increase access to higher education and improve the quality of the existing institutions, the Government of India has greatly increased its expenditure on higher education. In addition, there has also been a large expansion in unaided, private higher education institutions in India. Education is one of the key pillars of the India-U.S. strategic dialogue with both governments encouraging academic exchanges and collaborations. One important development has been the expansion of the Fulbright Program in India.
Under the terms of the agreement signed by the governments of the United States and India on July 4, 2008, India became an equal partner in the financial support of the Fulbright Program in India. All awards in India are now titled Fulbright-Nehru fellowships. One result of this cooperative agreement is that significant resources are being provided to support an increase in the size of this program. Applications are welcome from all qualified faculty, researchers and professionals including scholars in the early stages of their careers. Community college faculties are eligible for affiliation with undergraduate colleges.
The Commission, in cooperation with the Institute of International Education, the Council for the International Exchange of Scholars selects candidates through a rigorous application and interview process throughout the year. Typical grants include a maintenance allowance and a contribution towards tuition fees where applicable. Fulbright scholars receive a high level of support including invitation to a comprehensive arrival orientation and participation in the annual Fulbright Review Conference.
