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Host a Specialist at Your Institution
The Fulbright Specialist Program welcomes participation from a wide array of institutions, including higher education institutions, research institutions, non-governmental organizations, government ministries, cultural institutions, and public health-related institutions. Host institutions/organizations can design collaborative projects in over 20 eligible disciplines, including education, business, law, environmental science, journalism, and public health.
The Program encourages host institutions to tailor projects to their own needs, however, all projects should have an education or training focus. Due to the short-term nature of the exchange, projects should have concrete objectives that can be achieved over the course of the Specialist’s visit. Past Specialists have supported host institutions by conducting activities such as:
- Conducting needs assessments, surveys, institutional or programmatic research
- Taking part in specialized academic programs and conferences in conjunction with other scheduled activities
- Consulting with administrators and instructors of post-secondary institutions on faculty development
- Presenting lectures at graduate and undergraduate levels
- Participating in or leading seminars or workshops at academic institutions
- Developing and/or assessing academic curricula or educational materials
- Conducting teacher-training programs at the tertiary level
Note: Personal research projects, including clinical medical research or projects involving patient contact, are not eligible for funding under the Fulbright Specialist Program.
Finnish institutions and organizations can apply for a Fulbright Specialist for a period of 2–6 weeks. Together they can collaborate on projects such as curriculum and faculty development, institutional planning, and a variety of other activities.
Program Parameters
- All exchanges must range from 14 to 42 days in length, including weekends, holidays, and travel days.
- All project activities must take place in Finland.
- Each project is limited to only one Fulbright Specialist grantee.
- Projects with named Specialists, who are already in the Specialist roster, can be scheduled to start at the earliest in August 2025. Projects without named Specialists should be scheduled to start at the earliest in November 2025 to ensure sufficient time to recruit a qualified and available candidate for the project.
- Projects need to be completed no later than September 30, 2026.
Program Benefits and Costs for the Host Institutions and Specialists
Benefits for host institutions include:
- Gaining global perspectives from experienced academics and professionals
- Executing projects that require a rapid response or flexible timeline through short-term, year-round exchanges
- Building sustained relationships with individuals and host institutions in the U.S.
The Fulbright Specialist program allowed us to have more long-term and meaningful cooperation that is hard to get in any other way.
2021-22 Host for Fulbright Specialist
Host institutions are responsible for covering the costs and arranging:
- Accommodation for the Fulbright Specialist
- In-country Transportation (the arrangements/allowance should include transit to and from the Specialist’s lodging and project site, as well as other local daily travel (e.g. restaurants, markets, grocery stores, pharmacy, etc.).
- Meals for the Fulbright Specialist (three meals per day, e.g. cafeteria, restaurants, etc.).
- If the Specialist will be paid directly for the meals, the amount to be paid needs to be indicated in the application. At the minimum, the value of the meals should be equivalent to the standard Finnish per diem amount for each day during the Fulbright Specialist program (including weekends).
- Airport pick-up and drop-off for the Fulbright Specialist
Benefits for the Fulbright Specialist:
The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), along with host institutions abroad, provide U.S.-based Specialists with full funding to participate in Fulbright Specialist projects. Benefits include:
- Round-trip, economy class airfare between the U.S. and host country
- Transit allowance
- Daily honorarium of 200 USD
- Enrollment in a limited health benefits program
- Lodging (covered by host)
- Meals/meal allowance (covered by host)
- In-country transportation either through monetary or in-kind contributions, throughout the full stay in Finland (covered by host)
- Airport pick-up and drop-off for the Fulbright Specialist (arranged by host)
- Fulbright Finland Alumni Network
Identifying Fulbright Specialists
Host institutions are not required to identify U.S. academics or professionals to serve as their project’s Fulbright Specialist prior to submitting their project proposal. On the contrary, if a host institution’s project is approved, the program’s implementing partner, World Learning, can identify candidates on the Fulbright Specialist Roster whose professional experience, academic credentials, and foreign language skills match the knowledge and skills articulated by the host institution in its project proposal as being critical to the project’s successful implementation.
If a host institution has identified a candidate that it would like to serve as their Fulbright Specialist, please note that the following conditions must be met:
- The individual must be approved by the Fulbright Finland Foundation
- The individual must be approved to join the Fulbright Specialist Roster; and
- The Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board must approve that individual to be matched with the host institution’s specific project.
For more information on the Specialist matching process and the Fulbright Specialist Roster, please visit http://fulbrightspecialist.worldlearning.org.
Submit a Proposal for the Fulbright Specialist Program
Application deadline: February 4, 2025
Finnish higher education institutions and organizations submit a Fulbright Specialist project proposal online at:
Application instructions: Before submitting a Fulbright Specialist project proposal, please register as “New User” using the online application system. English instructions for the online application system can be found here.
U.S. scholars and professionals who are interested in applying to serve as a Specialist or who are seeking more information about the Fulbright Specialist Program should visit: fulbrightspecialist.worldlearning.org.
During the 2024-25 application cycle, priority may be given to the following themes:
- Cyber Security and IT
- Disaster Response
- Entrepreneurship
- Environmental Sustainability
- Media Literacy/Countering Disinformation
- Public Administration
- Public/Global Health
- STEM (Science Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)
- Supporting the Strengthening of Democratic Processes and Rule of Law.
Submission of projects that seek to engage U.S. community college faculty and administrators across all disciplines are especially encouraged.
Occasionally, the U.S. Department of State may be able to provide support for in-country costs for projects addressing the above-mentioned priority fields.
I recommend to supervisors to invite Fulbright Specialists to visit Finland and allow your doctoral students to engage and learn from your guests.
- 2019-20 Host for a Fulbright Specialist
Resources for Hosts
Higher Education Institutions and Host Organizations should also review Fulbright Finland Foundation Guidance on Host Responsibilities.
Inspiration from Past Projects
The Fulbright Specialist Program is a program of the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. Government and administered by World Learning.
