Fulbright Grants for students
A grant from Fulbright Denmark is not just a bag of money, but a commitment to the academic exchange between the U.S. and Denmark. A Fulbright Denmark grant is also recognized as a mark of distinction. Those receiving this grant have been evaluated both in the U.S. and Denmark not only on their academic, professional, and personal achievements but also on their potential to build upon these to become leaders in their fields. A Fulbright grant fosters lifelong connections across the worldwide elite Fulbright community.
Each year Fulbright Denmark awards grants to top Master and PhD-students wanting to study in the U.S. Grants are awarded to graduate-level non-degree or degree seeking students, ‘free-movers’ who plan their own studies/research in the U.S.
How
You can only apply for grants for the following academic year.
All applicants must apply online using the global application portal through the U.S. Institute of International Education (IIE). The application link can be found by clicking the ‘How to Apply’ button in the box on the right side of this page, when the application portal is open.
Application decisions will be made in Spring – grants will be awarded before departure.
Academic year
2025/2026
(Fall 2025 and/or Spring 2026)
Amount
1 semester: DKK 50,000
2 semesters: DKK 100,000
Deadline
The deadline for the academic year 2024/2025 has passed. Next round of application will open in fall 2024.
Who can apply
Danish students (see eligibility below)
Available Grants
Core Fulbright grants
Core grants are available for all eligible applicants. The grants are offered for:
- Master’s or PhD non-degree studies/research (one semester)
- Master’s or PhD non-degree studies/research or full-degree (two semesters)
Fulbright grant + reduced/waived tuition at select U.S. universities. Read more about the grants here.
Fulbright grants within the Arts
Through the Danish Ministry of Culture, Fulbright Denmark can offer grants to students enrolled in their institutions. Read more here.
Eligibility
Requirements
Purpose
- You must be planning to study at Master or Ph.D. level, so you cannot apply for undergraduate studies, internship, Summer School, or conference activities.
- You cannot apply if you are planning to study an LL.M. or an MBA.
Duration
- For 50.000 dkk grants are for min. four and max six months.
- For 100.000 dkk grants are for min. eight and max. ten months. Full degrees will receive 100.000 dkk for the first year of the degree.
- You cannot apply if you have already commenced your studies in the U.S.
- Your stay in the U.S. as a non-degree Ph.D. student cannot be longer than 12 months.
- We can only support stays in the U.S. starting in August and onwards.
Admission
- You must have applied to the U.S. university, but it is not a requirement that you have been accepted at the time of your Fulbright application. However you must submit proof of application.
- You must be accepted through general graduate admission, if you are applying as a masters-level student. This means you cannot apply through continuing education, extension service, lifelong learning institute, MOOCS etc. or if you work through an agent or any other entity beyond the US university’s general graduate admission.
- You cannot apply if you are going on an exchange agreement and/or will not pay tuition. The only exceptions to this are PhD students and students applying for our grants within the arts (link).
Citizenship
- Applicants must have Danish citizenship (permanent residence is not sufficient).
- Applicants cannot have dual Danish-American citizenship or an American ‘Green card’.
Affiliation with Denmark
- Applicants must be affiliated with a Danish university and have a permanent address in Denmark, unless they will be applying for a full degree in the US.
- Please contact us if you have recently had had a longer stay in the U.S. and think it might affect your chances of applying.
Visa - Fulbright grantees
All grantees will receive a J-1 Exchange Visitor Visa. The grants consist of funds from the Danish and American governments and all Fulbright grant recipients will therefore have to comply with a “Two-Year Home-Country Physical Presence Requirement” when their time in the U.S. is over.
It is thus NOT possible to obtain certain types of visas for work and immigration before the two-year period is over. However, one can easily travel back to the U.S. on conference and tourist trips. Similarly, one can apply for a visa for employment with the international intergovernmental organizations (UN, World Bank etc.) located in the United States. It may be possible to receive another J-1 Student Visa.
Degree-seeking students should pay attention to the timeframes set by a J-1 visa and the Fulbright program rules. This means that it is not always possible to obtain further study or research time in the U.S. following the degree as the “Two-Year Home Rule’ will apply. In particular, the transition from PhD studies to Postdoc programs can be problematic. It is grantees own responsibility to research this in due time if the visa needs extension.
Read more about visas for the US and “Two-Year Home-Country Physical Presence Requirement”.
Finances & Planning
Going on exchange requires thorough preparation, and we recommend that you read our advice here. Particularly we want to encourage you to prepare financially.
You will most likely need extra funding to finance your studies in the United States, so it is imperative that you either have substantial savings or apply for other stipends on top of the Fulbright grant as early as possible. Another advice is to make a strategic choice of the geographic location of your host institution. This can help keeping the cost of living at a reasonable level.