Fulbright-Kalam Climate Fellowships for Doctoral Research 2025-2026

Fulbright-Kalam Climate Fellowships for Doctoral Research 2025-2026

About Fulbright-Kalam Climate Fellowships for Doctoral Research 2025-2026

The Fulbright-Kalam Climate Fellowships are designed to build long-term capacity to address climate change-related issues in India and the U.S.

These fellowships are designed for Indian scholars who are registered for a Ph.D. at an Indian institution. These fellowships are for six to nine months.

Fulbright-Kalam Climate Fellowship fields include, but are not limited to: clean energy technologies and energy transition; climate and health; climate finance; climate justice and equity; climate resilience, mitigation, and adaptation; climate-smart agriculture; climatology; critical and emerging technology (including applied AI for climate/agriculture, harnessing high-performance computing/quantum computing for climate mitigation, and biotech); critical minerals supply chains; disaster resilience; green mobility, green buildings and construction; oceanography; renewable energy; sustainability.

Affiliation

The selected candidate will be affiliated to one U.S. host institution.

USIEF strongly recommends all applicants to identify institutions with which they wish to be affiliated and to correspond, in advance, with potential host institutions. If the applicant has secured a letter of invitation from a U.S. institution, it should be included as a part of the online application. The letter of invitation should indicate the duration of visit, preferably with dates. Selected scholars will have opportunities to audit non-degree courses, conduct research and gain practical work experience in suitable settings in the U.S.

Grant Benefits

The fellowships provide J-1 visa support, a monthly stipend, Accident and Sickness Program for Exchanges per U.S. Government guidelines, round-trip economy class air travel, applicable allowances and modest affiliation fees, if any. No allowances are provided for dependents. The grant is not sufficient to support family members.

Eligibility Requirements

In addition to the General Prerequisites

The applicant should have done reasonable study pertaining to their research objectives, especially in the identification of resources in India and the U.S. Applicants must be registered for a Ph.D. at an Indian institution on or before November 1, 2023. On the online application form, one of the recommendations should be from the Ph.D. supervisor which comments on the applicant’s research, need for the fellowship, and must indicate the Ph.D. registration date and topic.

This grant is intended for Ph.D. students to conduct research essential to their dissertations/thesis. Therefore, the expected Ph.D. thesis submission date should at least be three months after the Fulbright-Kalam grant end date. For example, if May 2026 is the grant end date, the applicant cannot submit their thesis before August 2026. Please indicate the Ph.D. registration date and the expected Ph.D. thesis submission date in the Applicant Annexure.

If the applicant is employed, they must follow the instructions carefully regarding employer’s endorsement. If applicable, the applicant must obtain the endorsement from the appropriate administrative authority on the “Employer’s Endorsement Form. The employer must indicate that leave will be granted for the fellowship period; and

The applicant must upload a copy of original published/presented paper or extracts from the Master’s/M.Phil. thesis in the online application form (not exceeding 20 pages).

Note: These fellowships are for pre-doctoral level research. Applicants with Ph.D. degrees or those at the final stage of Ph.D. thesis submission will not be considered.

How to Apply

Applications must be submitted online at: https://apply.iie.org/ffsp2025

Please carefully review the Application Instructions before starting your online application.

Please refer to the Applicant Checklist before submitting the application.

In addition, you must complete the FK-DR Applicant Annexure and Employer’s Endorsement Form (if applicable) and upload on your online application.

APPLICATION DEADLINE: July 15, 2024, 23:59:59 hrs (IST)

For any queries contact: ffsp(at)usief.org.in

For more details refer the Official Website