The purpose of the grant is to enable Senior Scholars to carry out research projects at U.S. universities or research institutions and at the same time act as ambassadors for the Fulbright program, Finland, and their home institution, sharing their culture and contributing to the relations between Finland and the U.S. The grants are available for periods of 3–12 months.
The ASLA-Fulbright Research Grants for Senior Scholars are co-funded by the Fulbright Finland Foundation and the applicant’s home university. The applicant must hold a position at a university participating in the cost-share program in order to be eligible.
In addition to research-only grants, it is also possible to award grants for a combination of research and teaching. There are no limits to the teaching hours in relation to research. However, all Senior Scholar grants are cost-shared by Finnish home universities and consequently home university approval is needed.
The grant will not be awarded to a project the scholar has already started in the U.S., only new projects are funded. The earliest possible starting date of the grant period is August 1, 2020.
The ASLA-Fulbright maximum grant amount for a Senior Scholar is 5 000 USD per month up to 6 months (maximum total grant amount 30 000 USD). If the grantee wishes to stay longer than 6 months (up to 12 months allowed by the Fulbright visa), there may be need for additional funding (e.g. salary from the home institution or other grants).
In addition to financial support, the Fulbright program includes significant additional benefits and program services, such as a free visa, personal advice services, and an orientation focused on topics such as: the American culture, higher education system and details for the upcoming Fulbright period.
The applicant must have earned a doctoral degree at least four years prior to the application deadline. If your doctorate was received within the past four years of the deadline, please see the instructions for the Junior Scholar grant.
Applicants residing in the U.S. are not eligible. Applicants must be Finnish citizens and enter the U.S. on a non-immigrant Fulbright sponsored J-1 visa. The J-1 visa sponsorship of the Fulbright program is available for a maximum period of 12 months. Candidates planning longer research projects in the U.S. should contact Fulbright Finland before submitting their applications.
The J-1 scholar visa and J-2 dependent visa includes regulations which may limit the possibility to reenter the U.S. Scholars and their dependents who have held previous J visas may not be eligible to re-enter as J-1 researchers or J-2 dependents for 12 or 24 months following departure from the U.S. If you have held a J visa during the past 24 months or have questions about the J visa regulations, please contact Fulbright Finland. Additionally, grantees and/or their dependents can apply for a work visa or a permanent residence permit to the U.S. only after spending two years in the home country after the Fulbright grant period.
Applications in all fields are accepted. However, proposals for medical research involving clinical training, patient care or patient contact are not eligible. This restriction is applied quite widely and applicants are advised to contact Fulbright Finland if they have any questions about the eligibility of their project.
The selection is based on the information provided in the application. The applicant has to attach his or her research plan and an invitation from the U.S. host university or research center in the application. The detailed application instructions and more information on the interviews and the application process can be found in the links below. Please read them carefully.
These instructions, targeted at Finnish applicants, provide you with further information on the questions of the application form and guide you through the application step by step. Please follow the instructions while you are filling in the form. If there is any contradictory information in the form and the instructions, always follow the instructions for Finnish applicants specifically.
The application is submitted through the IIE electronic application form. The applicants should carefully read the instructions and other material related to the application process before starting to work on the application.
Documents which are required to be included in the application:
Use the checklist to make sure you have attached all the required documents in the application. The applicant is responsible for saving all the required attachments in the application system by the deadline, and for sending them to the Fulbright Finland Foundation by email (applications(at)Fulbright.fi). Also note that the Fulbright Finland Foundation only takes into account the applications which have arrived by deadline and which include all the required attachments.
The applications are evaluated according to the evaluation criteria set by the Fulbright Finland Foundation Board.
| Deadline for applications | December 8, 2019 (Finnish time) |
| Interviews in Helsinki | February 12-14, 2020 |
| Selections announced | March 2020 |
| Compulsory Orientation Day for all selected grantees | May 2020 |
The application process for the Senior Scholar grants is as follows:
The Fulbright Finland Foundation is a private, independent, not-for-profit organization based in Helsinki, Finland. The Foundation’s aim is
ASLA-Fulbright Research Grants for Senior Scholars program is part of the global Fulbright program operating in over 160 countries worldwide.
