International Institut Spain, Fulbright Spain - "Ruth Lee Kennedy" Mobility Aid Grants

What you get

You will receive a travel grant of about 4,600 EUR (5,000 USD) for a research stay of 3 to 12 months at a university or research centre in the United States. The scholarship also includes health and accident insurance and gives you access to further Fulbright services. This is a partial grant towards travel costs, not full funding, and only two scholarships are awarded each year. The programme is run jointly by the Instituto Internacional en España and the Fulbright Commission (the Spanish-American Commission for Cultural and Educational Exchange). It is named after the American Hispanist Ruth Lee Kennedy.

Who can apply

• Degree: You hold a PhD from a Spanish university, awarded on or after June 2019 and before the application deadline. If you have taken maternity leave, you will be granted an additional 12 months’ extension for each child.
• Nationality: You are a Spanish national. You are not eligible to apply if you hold US citizenship (or are automatically entitled to it) or if you currently live in the United States.
• Field of study: Open to all disciplines.
• English: You will be deemed to have a good command of English if you can provide a TOEFL iBT score of at least 94, an IELTS Academic score of at least 6.5 or a Duolingo score of at least 115. Only test results taken on or after 1 September 2023 will be considered.
• US host: You have received an invitation or a letter of acceptance from the US institution where you will be carrying out your research.
• First-time preference: If you have not previously studied or carried out research at a US university, you will be given priority.

How to apply

Applications must be submitted online via the Fulbright Spain website. You must submit a research proposal in Spanish, along with the required supporting documents. The application deadline is 1 December. Shortlisted candidates will be invited in mid-December to an interview, which will take place in Madrid or via Zoom in English or Spanish. The final decision will be made in early January.

How realistic are your chances?

This funding scheme is very narrowly defined. Only two scholarships are awarded to Spanish PhD students who have a firm offer from the USA, an excellent command of English and a recently awarded PhD, meaning that the pool of eligible applicants is small. If you clearly meet these criteria and submit a well-reasoned research proposal, your prospects are quite good. A concrete plan for applying your research findings in Spain, as well as the fact that you have not yet undertaken a research stay in the USA, will work in your favour.