Fulbright Program Opportunities for Teachers

Jeff Blair, 2009-10 U.S. Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching participant at the Fezeka Senior Secondary School in Guguletu, South Africa

Classroom teaching has been a mainstay of the Fulbright Program since its inception in 1946. Fulbright currently offers numerous grants which focus on teaching. The following Fulbright grants are intended for primary and secondary school classroom teachers and early-career English and foreign language teachers. College and university teachers should visit the Information for Faculty Members and Professors page for information about grants for post-secondary educators.

Opportunities for K-12 Teachers from the United States and Abroad

The Fulbright Classroom Teacher Exchange Program is a direct one-to-one exchange of approximately 120 teachers from primary and secondary schools. The program operates between the United States and seven countries worldwide.

The Distinguished Fulbright Awards in Teaching Program sends U.S. teachers abroad and brings international teachers to the United States for a semester to pursue individual projects, conduct research, and lead master classes or seminars. The program is open to teachers from the United States and selected countries in multiple world regions.

Fulbright-Hays Seminars Abroad--Bilateral Projects, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education, provide short-term study and travel seminars abroad for U.S. educators in the social sciences and humanities for the purpose of improving their understanding and knowledge of the peoples and cultures of other countries.

Opportunities for U.S. Teachers of English

The Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship (ETA) Program, an element of the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, places recent college graduates and young professionals as English teaching assistants in primary and secondary schools or universities overseas, thus improving foreign students' English language abilities and knowledge of the United States while increasing the U.S. student's own language skills and knowledge of the host country. ETAs may also pursue individual study/research plans in addition to their teaching responsibilities.

The Department of State's Office of English Language Programs also offers several non-Fulbright exchange programs for American educators in the fields of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) and Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL)/Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL).

Opportunities for Non-U.S. Teachers of English

The Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant Program provides opportunities for young English teachers from overseas to refine their teaching skills and broaden their knowledge of American culture and society while strengthening the instruction of foreign languages at colleges and universities in the United States.

Opportunities for Teachers Outside Fulbright

The U.S. Department of State sponsors several other exchanges for U.S. and non-U.S. teachers outside the Fulbright Program.  View a list of all State Department-sponsored exchanges for teachers.