Postdoctoral Fellowship
Program Overview
Applications are now closed.
Fulbright Israel plans to award 16 grants to postdoctoral scholars who are about to begin a program of research during the 2025/26 academic year at an accredited university or non-profit research institute in the United States.
This program is open to researchers in all fields of study except programs that include clinical activities involving direct patient care.
Please read the application instructions above before applying.
Grant Benefits
The grant package includes:
- $60,000 award.
- Basic health insurance for the grantee only, for the duration of the grant.
- J1/J2 visa administration.
- Pre-departure orientation meeting in Israel.
- A support agency in the U.S. that assists with visas, events and networking.
Eligibility criteria
- Candidates must be Israeli citizens.
- The winners will have to show approval of PhD, a month before departing to the United States.
- Dual American-Israeli citizens.
- Permanent residents of the United States.
- Approved PhD before August 2021.
Additional Information
- Researchers who have already begun their projects in the United States or who are planning to depart Israel for the United States before July 2025 are not eligible to apply.
The selected candidate must provide proof of completion and approval of his or her PhD at least one month prior to the proposed grant start date. - Grant recipients must depart for the United States no later than May 1, 2026.
Candidates who have applied twice before are not eligible to reapply.
The program is open to candidates who have received their doctorates within 3 years prior to the submission of applications. - Candidates must be in Israel for the interviews. In addition, nominated fellows will have to be resident in Israel 4 months prior to the starting date of their fellowship in order to acquire a J1 Visa at the U.S. Embassy in Israel.
- Candidates who were previously issued J visas (J1 or J2) under the Exchange Visitor Program categories of “professor,” “research scholar,” or “short-term scholar” are subject to the 24-month bar on repeat participation in the same category, per SEVIS regulations. These individuals cannot reenter the U.S. on J1 or J2 visas in the research scholar category through Fulbright until after the 24 months have passed. Please be aware that the 24-month bar may impact not only the Fulbright candidate, but also his/her spouse if they are planning to pursue a fellowship in the U.S. within the next few years that would necessitate J1 or J2 visas in the same category. Interested applicants for whom these circumstances apply are encouraged to contact Fulbright Israel directly for guidance and to ensure that they will be eligible for the necessary J1 visa.
- Applicants must arrange their own institutional affiliation. An application may be submitted even if the candidate has not yet completed arrangements with a host institution.
- The U.S. Department of State has designated the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) as the sole agency authorized to sponsor alien physicians for internship, residency and specialized clinical training in the United States. Fulbright grantees cannot simultaneously be sponsored by ECFMG; therefore, proposals for medical research involving clinical training, patient care or patient contact cannot be approved under the Fulbright Program.
- Prior to activation of the grant, the candidate selected must give proof of having obtained adequate financial support for his/her stay in the United States.
- Holders of tenured or tenure-track positions are not eligible to apply.
- Selected candidates must provide proof of acceptance as a post-doctoral research fellow at a recognized research institution in the United States. Failure to do so will result in cancellation of the offer of a fellowship and transfer of the award offered to another candidate.
- Candidates must be in good health. The selected applicant will be required to submit a Medical History and Examination Report before the grant can be activated.
- Prior conviction or current indictment for a felony may result in disqualification.
- Applicants will be considered without regard to race, religion, gender, age, and/or physical impairment.
- The following persons are ineligible for grants during and for a period ending one year following the termination of such employment, association, or service:
a. Employees of U.S. missions abroad who work for the U.S. Department of State or the U.S. Agency for International Development. This provision includes all employees, paid or unpaid (including part-time or temporary employees, consultants, externs, fellows and contract employees). This provision does not apply to interns.
b. Board members or staff of a Fulbright Commission.
c. Officers of an organization, in the United States or abroad, including members of boards of trustees or similar governing bodies, and individuals otherwise associated with the organization, wherein the organization and the individuals are responsible for nominating or selecting individuals for participation in any exchange program of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
d. Immediate families (spouses and dependent children) of individuals described in paragraphs a-c. This provision does not disqualify self-supporting children who live apart from their parents.
e. For purposes of this section, the one-year period of ineligibility is calculated from the date of termination of employment, service, or association until the due date for submission of applications for programs under this chapter.
Evaluation criteria
- Academic excellence is the primary criterion for the evaluation of candidates.
- Preference will be given to projects expected to bring particular benefits to Israel and the United States.
- English language proficiency is an important evaluation criterion.
- Leadership qualities are an important evaluation criterion.
- 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 another English-speaking country.
- Preference will be given to candidates who have not had previous Fulbright grants.
- Demonstrable ambassadorial skills required to promote mutual understanding between the United States and Israel is an important evaluation criterion.
- Fulbright Scholars serve as cultural ambassadors and should be prepared to speak about their countries, cultures and research to academic and community groups.
- The Fulbright Visiting Scholar Program seeks applicants whose writing achieves highest academic standards of original research, writing, and citation. The program application includes the opportunity to describe your academic work and research. Application materials will be processed using algorithmic software to help identify any instance of plagiarism. Plagiarism in any part of your application will result in your disqualification from participating in the Fulbright Visiting Scholar Program.
Plagiarism will be understood to include any of the following:
Presenting wording, statistics or concepts as your own which should be attributed to someone else or to publications (online or offline). This includes, but is not limited to:
- Copying the exact wording of a written source (with or without citation)
- Presenting material with alterations in wording (with or without citation)
- Paraphrasing the content of a source without citation
It is expected that your project proposal will be your own work and writing, clearly citing secondary sources when describing the academic work and writing of others (including one’s own previously published work). Any sources used in the construction of your responses must be clearly cited in your project statement and bibliography.
Conditions of Award
- Funding is for a maximum of one year. Grantees who wish to extend their research must arrange for funding for the remainder of their stay in the United States.
- The grantee is responsible for making his/her own travel arrangements in compliance with the Fly America Act.
- The grantee must travel on a J-1 Exchange Visitor visa sponsored by the Fulbright program.
- Grantees must receive appointments as "Postdoctoral Fellows," and not as lecturers or any other position or employment.
- While on the Fulbright grant, grantees may teach no more than a course per semester/quarter.
- Upon the conclusion of the one-year Fulbright funding period, the grantee must arrange for transfer of visa sponsorship from the Fulbright program to his/her American host institution.
- Current visa regulations limit the stay of J-1 scholars to five years. Limited extensions of the visa may be granted by the visa sponsor or by the State Department.
- 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.
- Two years must pass from the completion of the grantee’s Fulbright program or any visa transfers before the scholar will be permitted to return to the U.S. as the holder of a J-1 visa in the professor/research scholar category.
- 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. Only individuals who have a marriage certificate may apply for a J-2 visa. 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.
- Fulbright Scholars 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.
- Awards cannot be deferred to the following year. Awards must be taken up no later than May 1, 2026.
- 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.
The Interview Process
The most highly-ranked candidates will be invited for an interview in Israel. 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 scheduled by Fulbright Israel.
The Foundation reserves the exclusive right to determine, within the framework of applicable law and regulations, the qualitative standards for the evaluation of applications. The Foundation is not under any obligation to provide the reasons for its decisions regarding the allocation of Fellowships.
Timetable
FAQ
I hold dual citizenship – both Israeli and American. Am I eligible to apply for a Fulbright award?
No. Only Israeli citizens are eligible to apply. Israeli citizens holding citizenship of another country other than the U.S. in addition to Israel are eligible to apply.
I am already enrolled in a program in the U.S. May I apply for a Fulbright award to complete my program?
No. Fulbright awards are granted to applicants who have not commenced their programs in the U.S.
I am a qualified medical doctor. May I apply for the postdoctoral program?
Yes. However, medical doctors (MDs) must also have a PhD in order to be eligible for Fulbright Postdoctoral fellowships. In addition, research in the United States, must not involve clinical contact with patients. Post-doctoral Fellowships are not available to support clinical internships. This is only relevant for Postdoctoral programs.
Can I avail myself of a Fulbright award for a project that I want to work on in Israel?
No. Fulbright awards are for study/research in the United States only.
Are Fulbright grants available for attending conferences, seminars and paper presentations in the U.S. and other countries?
Fulbright grants are not awarded for these purposes.
How do I apply for an award?
You should read the Instructions and Information and submit your Application Form using the Applications online system. Applications which are not submitted online cannot be considered.