The Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Program for International Teachers (Fulbright DAI) is a program sponsored by the US Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The Fulbright Program was established in 1946 by the US Congress. Fulbright grants are awarded to students, scholars, teachers, and other professionals from the United States and to foreign nationals to study, teach, or conduct research. Since its inception in 1946, more than 400,000 “Fulbrighters” have participated in the Fulbright Program.

Participating locations for international applicants are Botswana, Brazil, Finland, Greece, India, Indonesia, Israel, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Philippines, Senegal, Singapore, Taiwan, and the United Kingdom.

Educators are nominated to participate in the Fulbright DAI Program based on their professional experience, academic training, educator project idea, and leadership potential. The final selection of participants is made by the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board (FFSB). The FFSB is an independent, presidentially appointed board that has oversight responsibility for all Fulbright academic exchange programs.

The Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching (Fulbright DAI) will provide approximately 22 educators with a unique opportunity to develop greater expertise in their subject areas, enhance their teaching skills, increase their knowledge about the United States, and complete an individual or group project. The program will start in August 2027 and conclude in December 2027.

Fulbright DAI is a semester-long non-degree, non-credit professional development program at a US university. Participants will audit courses in the host university’s school or department of education and thus will be part of the university community. The Program will include opportunities to observe and co-teach with US teachers in a US school near the host university, in order to actively engage participants in the US classroom environment. Cultural enrichment, mentoring, and support will be provided throughout the Program.

After returning home, educators who successfully complete the Program will be eligible to compete for small grants for essential teaching materials, to offer follow-on training for other educators, for collaborative projects with participating US schools, and other activities that build on the exchange experience. Grant competitions are contingent on federal funding and may not be offered every year.

Grant Benefits

The Fellowship provides:

• J-1 visa support;
• A pre-departure orientation;
• Round-trip airfare to and within the US;
• A Welcome and End of Program Workshop
• Academic program fees;
• Housing and meals;
• Accident and sickness medical coverage;
• Transportation to local schools (if necessary);
• A daily allowance for incidentals during the university academic program;
• A professional development allowance;
• A baggage allowance to offset the cost of travel
• A technology allowance for some locations; and
• The opportunity to apply for alumni small grants for alumni in good standing (contingent on federal funding)

Eligibility

Applicants must:

• Be current full-time primary or secondary school–level teachers (SD/SMP/SMA or equivalent) and spend at least 50 percent of their time working directly with students in a primary or secondary school (SD/SMP/SMA or equivalent) that serves a primarily local (non-expatriate) population.
• Have a minimum of three years of full-time teaching experience or experience working directly with students in another educational capacity (e.g., guidance counselor, library media specialist). Preference will be given to applicants with five or more years of experience.
• Hold Indonesian citizenship and currently reside in Indonesia.
• Hold a bachelor’s degree (S1) or equivalent.
• Demonstrate proficiency in written and spoken English with a minimum score of TOEFL ITP 500, TOEFL iBT 61, IELTS 6.0, or Duolingo English Test 115.
• Demonstrate English language skills sufficient to audit university courses and to teach, lead seminars, and give presentations in U.S. schools.
• Demonstrate a commitment to continue teaching or working in primary or secondary education for at least five years after completing the program.

Other eligible applicants include primary or secondary school library media specialists, guidance counselors, curriculum specialists, special education coordinators, and educators in administrative positions, provided that they work directly with primary and/or secondary students for at least 50 percent of their professional responsibilities.

The most competitive applicants will have shown evidence of leadership in their schools or districts.

Ineligibility Criteria

A candidate may be removed from consideration if they do not meet all technical eligibility requirements. Individuals who meet the following criteria are not eligible for the Fulbright DAI Program:

• US citizens.
• Non-US citizens living in the United States.
• Individuals currently participating in academic, training, or research programs in the US.
• Individuals currently studying, residing, or working outside of Indonesia.
• Individuals who have participated in an exchange visitor program sponsored or funded by the US who have not fulfilled their two-year home residency requirement by the time of their Fulbright DAI application.
• Individuals who have participated in an exchange visitor program sponsored or funded by the US government for a period of more than six weeks and who have not fulfilled their two-year home residency requirement by the time of their Fulbright DAI application.
• Individuals who have applied for US permanent residency.
• A candidate who has resided in the United States for five or more consecutive years in the six-year period preceding the date of application is ineligible for a grant. A candidate who has lived in the United States for nine months or more during a calendar year is deemed to have resided abroad for that year.
• Employees, close family members of an employee, or dependents of an employee of AMINEF, the US Embassy, the US Department of State. They are also ineligible for one year following the termination of employment.
• Ministry of Education officials, full-time principals or educational administrators, university faculty, private English Language tutors and teachers from schools primarily serving expatriates are not eligible.
• Part-time and substitute teachers, or teachers without a permanent teaching position, are not eligible.
• Educational administrators (such as representatives or officials of the Ministry of Education) and school administrators who do not teach or work directly with students at least fifty percent of their time are not eligible for this program, since the focus of the program is on issues in teaching rather than educational administration.

The Fulbright DAI program is not designed for PhD research.  The program is practice-based and primarily focused on education leadership and sharing best practices in education.

How to Apply

You can apply in one of two ways:
• submit printed application documents to AMINEF in Jakarta, or
• apply online.

Details for each option are provided below.

Option 1: Submit a hard copy of your application documents to the AMINEF office

1. First, download the application form. It includes three documents. Complete all documents in full.

2. Then submit the completed application form and the following items in hard copy to AMINEF:

• A clearly written, concise, one-page Statement of Purpose
• Institutional Support and Reference Form completed by your supervisor
• A hand-signed Privacy Policy and Application Certification Statement
• Leave Approval Form completed by your school director
• A copy of your KTP or passport
• Legalized copies of your academic transcript and diploma
• A copy of your TOEFL or IELTS score
• Curriculum Vitae (CV)

Send or deliver to:

American Indonesian Exchange Foundation (AMINEF)
Intiland Tower, Lantai 11
Jalan Jenderal Sudirman Kav. 32
Jakarta 10220
Tel: (021) 579 39 085 ~ 9086

Note: You can also submit your documents using a dropbox provided on the ground floor of the Intiland Tower, even outside regular office hours or on non-working days.

Application Deadline: April 15, 2026.

Option 2: Apply online

Applicants must complete the online application at https://fulbright.irex.org/.
The application link is also available on the program websites: irex.org/fulbright-dai and fulbrightteacherexchanges.org.

Before completing and submitting the online application form, applicants are required to download and read the application guidelines carefully.

Please note: the following documents must be uploaded online in PDF format:

• Institutional Support and Reference Form (Part XIV)
• Leave Approval Form (Part XV)
• KTP or passport (Part XVI)
• Academic transcript and diploma (Part XVI)
• TOEFL or IELTS score (Part XVI)
• Curriculum Vitae (CV) (Part XVI)

The deadline is April 15, 2026.

Note: The IREX online application system will close on April 15, 2026, at 23:59 (EST – U.S. Eastern Standard Time). After this deadline, the application link will no longer be accessible.

Only short-listed applicants will be notified and interviewed.

Contact Information

For questions specifically related to the fellowship program, please direct inquiries via email to: infofulbright_ind@aminef.or.id