Fulbright ASEAN Research Program

Application Deadline: Monday, September 15, 2025

Program Description

This is a new Fulbright program that started in 2016, and is part of the US Scholar Program administered by the Council of International Exchange of Scholars (CIES), Washington, DC. The grant allows American scholars to conduct collaborative research in their area of specialization on an issue of priority to ASEAN or to the US-ASEAN relationship in one or up to three of the ten ASEAN countries: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam. In addition, applicants may be asked to give public talks, mentor students, and engage with the host-country academic community in other activities including faculty and curriculum development.

Grant Duration

Three to six months. The project must be undertaken in a single period of residence abroad.

Affiliation

Researchers are required to be affiliated with an institution, usually a university, research institute, or government agency, in each country selected. The host should have the capacity and official permission to host US students and scholars. A letter of invitation is optional. See here for further guidance.

Eligible Disciplines

Applications are sought in all fields, but applications in the following disciplines are preferred: area studies, economics, environmental sciences, law, political science, public administration, and public health. More specifically, project applications that deal with the following areas or issues are particularly sought: climate change, comparative politics, dispute settlement and negotiation, diplomacy, economic integration and trade policy, environmental science, gender studies, human migration and trafficking, international law, international relations, marine conservation, public policy, regional security, wildlife trafficking and youth studies.

General Requirements

The grant is open to academics and appropriately qualified professionals outside of academia. Applicants must be US citizens and resident in the US at the time of application. Scholars with a PhD are preferred, but applicants with master’s degrees will also be considered. Applications from established scholars as well as from candidates who are early in their careers are encouraged. Graduate students who have achieved PhD candidacy by the time of application are expected to have attained their degree by the start of the grant project (indicate expected date of conferral in application and project statement).

These ASEAN Research awards are for individuals who seek to establish a focus on US-ASEAN relations in their work or to undertake research on a comparative project that has implications for ASEAN or the US-ASEAN relationship.

While English is the official language of ASEAN, proficiency in the local language may be recommended for some research topics, depending on the country. If applicants do not have local language skills, they should explicitly address the issue in their discussion of the feasibility of the project in their project statement.

Project statements must provide a detailed itinerary of travel to each country.

Applicants are encouraged to contact eastasiapacific@iie.org to discuss their proposed research before applying.

Grant Benefits

Grant benefits include a monthly maintenance allowance, comprised of a base stipend and living and housing allowances. The base stipend varies based on a scholar’s current academic rank (or professional equivalent). Living and housing allowances vary based on the city of placement, and the number of accompanying dependents. Dependent housing and living allowances will not be provided to Flex grantees.

An addition travel and relocation of allowance of $4,050-$5,050, based on the country, will be paid at the beginning of the grant period. Travel funds for up to two accompanying dependents, based on the country, are provided as well as a one-time research allowance of $800.

Final grant amounts will be determined prior to the start of the 2025-2026 academic year and are subject to the availability of congressionally appropriated funds. The United States Department of State reserves the right to alter, without notice, participating countries, number of awards and allowances.

Contact Information

This program is administered by CIES, a division of IIE, in Washington, and not by AMINEF. AMINEF will facilitate researchers who include Indonesia in their research project plans. For that purpose, AMINEF will help the applicant acquire the necessary Indonesian government research permit and visa. It is not possible to apply directly to AMINEF.

Please consult the IIE Catalog of Awards page for Fulbright US Scholar Program for ASEAN Research Program. Check the website regularly for updates.

For additional information, contact Sophia Yang, Program Officer, IIE, at eastasiapacific@iie.org or 202-686-4024.