The Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad (DDRA) fellowship program provides opportunities for doctoral candidates to engage in full-time dissertation research abroad in modern foreign languages and area studies. The program is designed to deepen research knowledge and increase the study of modern foreign languages, cultural engagement, and area studies not generally included in U.S. curricula.

Program features

Students may request funding to support overseas research for a period of no less than six months and no more than 12 months. Funds support travel expenses to and from the residence of the fellow and the country or countries of research; maintenance and dependent allowances based on the location of research for the fellow and his or her dependent(s); an allowance for research-related expenses overseas; and health and accident insurance premiums. Projects may focus on one or more of the following geographic areas: Africa, East Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific Islands, South Asia, the Near East, Central and Eastern Europe and Eurasia, and the Western Hemisphere (excluding the United States and its territories).

Eligible applicants

Institutions of higher education (IHEs) in the United States are eligible to apply for grants under this program. As part of the application process, eligible students submit their individual research narratives and application forms to their home IHE. The IHE compiles all eligible individual student applications for inclusion in the institutional application that is submitted to the U.S. Department of Education (Department). A student is eligible to receive a DDRA fellowship from their IHE if they:

• Are a citizen, national, or permanent resident of the United States.
• Are a graduate student in good standing at an IHE.
• Are admitted to candidacy in a doctoral degree program in modern foreign languages and area studies at that institution when the fellowship period begins.
• Are planning a teaching career in the United States upon completion of their doctoral program.
• Possess sufficient foreign language skills to carry out the dissertation research project.

How to apply

The U.S. Department of Education’s International and Foreign Language Education office (IFLE) expects to make 90 new awards totaling approximately $3.2 million under the fiscal year (FY) 2024 DDRA program competition. The FY 2024 application is available online through the Department’s G6 system between Jan. 29 and March 29.

Please refer to the official Federal Register notice for detailed information about the FY 2024 competition.

Application technical assistance webinar and web chat

IFLE will post a prerecorded technical assistance (TA) webinar on its YouTube channel on Feb. 15 at 2 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) to help students and institutions learn more about the 2024 DDRA program and how to apply. Please subscribe to IFLE’s YouTube channel and check periodically for updates.

Students and institutions may also choose to attend a LIVE technical assistance webinar on Microsoft Teams on Feb. 20, from 3 to 4:15 p.m. ET: Link to join the Feb. 20 technical assistance webinar.

In addition to the TA webinar presentations, IFLE will host two LIVE question-and-answer (Q&A) web chats on Microsoft Teams to answer specific questions.

• Feb. 22, 3–4:15 p.m. ET – Q&A session for prospective DDRA fellow applicants: Link to join Feb. 22 session for applicants
• March 7, 4–5:15 p.m. ET – Q&A session for DDRA institutional project directors: Link to join March 7 session for project directors

Attendees to each Q&A session should ensure they have viewed the prerecorded webinar ahead of the live web chat sessions.

If you have questions about the program or application process, please send them by email to DDRA@ed.gov.

Samantha Farquhar is a Ph.D. student of integrated coastal sciences from East Carolina University. She completed her Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad fellowship with Université Laval and the Makivik Corporation in Quebec, Canada. Her project aims to understand how the development of commercial industrial fisheries impacts local food security.

Additionally, Farquhar worked at the Nunavik Research Center, conducting archival research and delving into numerous old reports that provide valuable insights into the history of commercial fishing in Ungava Bay.

Check out IFLE’s 2023 International Education Week panel featuring DDRA alum and International Broadcaster for Voice of America Heather Maxwell

Watch the DDRA fellow alumni panel and application tips.

Hear from Dr. Ashlee Dauphinais Civitello (2018, Brazil), Dr. Keshia Harris (2016, Brazil and Colombia), and Dr. David Krolikoski (2015, South Korea) in this prerecorded DDRA alumni panel. During the webinar, panelists share their DDRA experience, discuss tips for future DDRA applicants, and reflect on the long-term value of their DDRA fellowships on their research and careers.

Fellows in the field

Five 2020–22 DDRA fellows engage in a diverse range of research opportunities abroad for their dissertations. From left to right in the above images:

• Jeremy Coburn, 2020 DDRA fellow from Indiana University, Bloomington, conducts an interview as he researches the Hadza language in Tanzania.
• Sophia Winkler-Schor, 2021 DDRA fellow from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, with her colleagues in Hunukú, Yucatan, Mexico.
• Rohan Chatterjee, 2021 DDRA fellow from the University of Chicago visiting a research site in Cusco.
• Sudan Kariuki, 2021 DDRA fellow from Cornell University harvests roots for fungal analysis in the Nairobi National Museum’s greenhouse.
• Samantha Helle, 2021 DDRA fellow from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, places camera traps in community-managed forests to monitor Bengal tigers outside of protected areas in Nepal.

Join our FLAS and Fulbright-Hays alumni groups

Have you received a Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) fellowship or participated in a Fulbright-Hays program? Join our LinkedIn groups.

FLAS Program Alumni

Fulbright-Hays Program Alumni

Intern with IFLE!

We seek motivated students who are eager to learn and work as part of our team as an unpaid full- or part-time intern during the summer, fall, and/or spring. Visit our website for more information.