Fulbright Commission the Netherlands - Fulbright PhD scholarship for the United States

Fulbright PhD scholarship for the United States

You receive 2,000 USD per month (about 1,850 EUR) for a research stay of 3 to 6 months at a US university or research institute. The total is capped at 12,000 USD (about 11,100 EUR). You also get partial health insurance while in the US, but this does not cover family members who travel with you. The money is meant for research or specialised courses that are part of your doctorate. It does not pay for direct research costs like equipment, materials or printing. The Fulbright Commission the Netherlands gives out about 8 of these scholarships a year, two of them funded by the publisher Elsevier (every applicant is automatically considered, with no separate application). Afterwards you can join the Netherlands Fulbright Alumni Association. This is a top-up: you must cover part of the cost yourself or from other sources.

Who can apply

• Degree level: You are a PhD candidate (promovendus) employed at a university in the Netherlands, another EU country or the United Kingdom.
• Nationality: You have Dutch nationality. Dutch citizens living in another EU country or the UK apply through the Netherlands.
• Field of study: Most fields are open, but not patient-related research such as medicine, veterinary medicine, psychology, nursing or physiotherapy. PhD candidates in medicine must have passed their medical exam before departure.
• Where you go: You do your research at one US university or research institute. Conference visits or trips to several institutions are not funded.
• Timing of the stay: Your stay starts after 1 September 2027 and ends before 1 May 2028.
• Grades: You can show strong academic results.
• What rules you out: You cannot apply if you also hold US nationality or a US residence permit (or plan to apply for one). The same goes if you already study, work or live in the US, if you spent 5 or more years in a row outside the EU/UK in the 6 years before applying, or if you spent more than 3 months in the US for research or teaching in the last 5 years.

How to apply

You apply online through the IIE application portal by 1 December 2026 at 12:00 (Dutch time). Include three recommendation letters and, if possible, an invitation letter from your US host institution. Applications are reviewed with advice from the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). An interview may be part of the process. You hear the result by letter or email in May.

How realistic are your chances?

With around 8 scholarships a year and a tightly defined group (Dutch PhD candidates who genuinely need to do their research in the US), the applicant pool is limited but the standard is high. Your chances improve if you can show why the US, and that specific host institution, is the right place for your project, and that you have not already had a long US research stay. A well-matched, well-argued proposal with strong recommendations stands a real chance.