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Grants for Study or Research

As part of the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, the Fulbright Commission awards study and research grants for American students to Belgium and Luxembourg. Grants are typically for nine months, from mid-September through mid-June.

All candidates holding at least a bachelor’s degree are considered, but PhD candidates who present serious study projects and are capable of independent study are preferred. Applicants who are graduating seniors proposing independent research projects must obtain an invitation or letter of affiliation as a guest student at a Belgian university or university-level institution and attend master’s-level classes along with their Belgian counterparts. Proposed projects should be innovative, feasible, and based on the candidate’s overall academic education. Applications will be accepted in all fields.

INTENDED PROGRAMS
  • Master's
  • Doctoral research
APPLICATION PERIOD

April till mid-October  

IMPORTANT

Review eligibility requirements below and include all required documents in your online application.

GOOD APPLICANTS

  • Possess excellence (personally, academically, professionally, creatively)
  • Outline a strong rationale and methodology for pursuing their project in Belgium or Luxembourg
  • Demonstrate leadership attributes/potential
  • Indicate how they will benefit the Fulbright Program in Belgium or Luxembourg

ELIGIBILITY

More information on eligibility and detailed information per grant can be found below.

Applicants to Belgium

Applicants to Luxembourg

HOW TO APPLY

U.S. applicants to the Fulbright Program in Belgium and Luxembourg apply through IIE. 

Candidates are responsible for securing their own admission or affiliation at a university, conservatory, think tank, or non-profit organization in Belgium or Luxembourg. While proof is not required at the time of application, preliminary contact with the host institution(s) is and preference will be given to candidates who include admission or affiliation letters in their application. Selected candidates must ultimately submit evidence of an affiliation at least four months before arriving in Belgium or Luxembourg.

APPLY HERE

HEAR FROM OUR GRANTEES

"My Fulbright grant to Luxembourg allowed me to independently plan and execute an in-depth research project on a topic of my choosing, tailored to fit the field that I am passionate about. Working in a foreign country comes with its challenges, but through hard work these challenges became opportunities to develop as a researcher. Unambiguously, the grant has been the grindstone that I needed to get to the next stage in my career, and I could not be more grateful for it.”
Cody Fuelling
Fulbright Grantee to Luxembourg
“Being able to conduct research and interact with people from Belgium and around the world in Leuven has given me the opportunity to learn a great deal about my host country while also partaking in events that have allowed me to share my first-hand knowledge of the US with others. At a time fraught with worries about the future state of global relationships, I feel that the exchange and bonding that happens between internationals during the Fulbright program couldn’t be of more importance since it embodies how we should all continue to move forward: together.”
Savannah Kounelis
Fulbright Grantee to Belgium
“The Fulbright Research Grant has provided a joyous experience that allows me to travel around the country, intimately experience another culture, and learn that language of my new friends and colleagues. When I studied abroad in college for a couple of months, I never shook the feeling of being a tourist. Arriving in Ghent more or less alone, I have come to feel part of the country and community by learning more about aesthetic culture through my research; running errands using Flemish; and experiencing Belgian holidays, customs, and quotidian ways of life with the people I have become close to here. When I return to America I will have more than a guide to successful adaptive reuse, I will also have lived experience of being a bit Belgian.”
Jacqueline Drayer
Fulbright Grantee to Belgium
“At the beginning of my undergraduate education, I intended to go directly to medical school after graduation. During my sophomore year, I started working on a research project that became the subject of my senior honors thesis and sparked my interest in research. The Fulbright Program gave me the opportunity to conduct clinical research on a topic that remains of interest to me, personalized medicine for cancer patients. My Fulbright year in Luxembourg working at the Luxembourg Institute of Health enabled me to combine my interest in medical research with my desire to immerse myself in the culture and language of another country.”
Catherine Bennett
Fulbright Grantee to Luxembourg
"My work as a Fulbright Research Grantee was challenging and stimulating and drove me to be a far more accomplished physicist than I ever imagined. More than that, however, my year in Luxembourg provided me with confidence, especially with respect to confronting the unknown. When I arrived in Luxembourg I had barely traveled, did not speak the language, and barely knew how to use public transportation, much less live in another country. But, I dove in. Now, as a new lawyer, I have found nothing more beneficial to accelerating my career than the willingness to (and affinity for) engaging with the unknown."
Ashley Finger
Fulbright Grantee to Luxembourg