The Fulbright Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Award (DDRA), supports research abroad in modern foreign languages and area studies for periods of 6 to 12 months. It is an entirely separate grant from the Fulbright Grants administered by the Institute of International Education (IIE) in New York. The application process for the DDRA is much more detailed, and the strict Department of Education eligibility requirements limit the number of students who may apply for the award.

Eligibility

Applicants for the DDRA must:

Be a citizen of the U.S. OR a permanent resident of the U.S.
Be advanced to Ph.D. candidacy prior to departure
Be in modern foreign languages and non-western area studies
Plan a teaching career in the U.S. upon graduation
Possess adequate skills in the foreign language(s) necessary to carry out the dissertation research project
While applicants may apply to a western European country, they must research non-western studies at an institute which specializes in such studies

AREA STUDIES - "For the purpose of these programs, area studies is defined as a program of comprehensive study of the aspects of a society or societies, including the study of their geography, history, culture, economy, politics, international relations, and languages."

In other words, do the scholar's training and professional activities indicate a multi-disciplinary approach focused on a specific world area or country? Therefore, we urge each scholar to make certain that the completed application clearly demonstrates the individual applicant's language and area studies background. In preparing your application, we suggest that you keep in mind that it is the purpose of these programs to train and maintain specialists whose academic interests and career goals include teaching and research in modern foreign languages and area studies for all major world areas with the exception of Western Europe.

The Application

The Overseas Resource Center and the Office of Graduate Financial Aid have primary responsibility for the administration of the DDRA. Funding is provided to those who win awards through Stanford’s Office of Government Financial Aid, NOT directly to the students. All application materials are submitted electronically including the graduate transcripts.

The DDRA application consists of:

Fulbright-Hays DDRA Application Form (e-application form) [Fill-in application]
Maintenance Allowance [Project Budget]
Curriculum Vitae (no page limit)
Application Narrative [Project Proposal] (not to exceed 10 double spaced pages)
Application Bibliography (not to exceed 2 pages but can be single spaced as can footnotes)
3 Graduate Student Reference Forms [3 Letters of Recommendation]
Language Reference Form [Foreign Language Report]
Letters of Affiliation [Supporting material from host country]
Official Graduate Transcripts
Human Subject IRB Approval

**If you exceed the specified page limit for the CV, Project Proposal or Bibliography, your application will be automatically disqualified** (harsh but true)

Application Tips

Graduate Student Reference Forms [Letters of Recommendation] and Language Reference Forms: The recommenders writing the references must submit their letters through the online system before the individual application can be submitted by the student applicant. If a student submits his/her individual application before his/her references have been submitted, the references will not be included in the individual's online application, which may disqualify the applicant. It is your responsibility to confirm that they have been submitted.

Health Statement: At the time of application, please make sure you have had a recent physical exam (within the year). Even though the application asks for a physician's signature, none is needed at the time of application. Actual signature may be requested at a later date should you receive the grant.

Curriculum Vitae: Be sure to list relevant course work, as it is not always clearly described on a transcript. Also, be sure to emphasize any previous international experience, particularly in the prospective host country. Remember that people evaluating your application will be looking for evidence of your foreign language and area studies training and your ability to adapt well to the host country. The more prior training and experience you have, the better. The curriculum vitae is the place to emphasize this.

Project Description: The project description should be 5 to 10 pages long, double spaced. If it exceeds 10 pages your application will be denied. The proposal is usually your dissertation abstract but you need to make sure that wherever possible in your application you can demonstrate that you have a broad interest in the country and/or region. In other words, if you are a historian, then you would need to demonstrate that your interest in the country goes beyond just history. Fulbright-Hays is extremely concerned about the Area Studies aspect of the award.

Maintenance Allowance / Budget and Registration Requirements: At the time of application, you will be required to submit a budget estimate of the expenses you will incur while conducting your research overseas. You will make this estimate according to the maintenance allowance guidelines established by the Department of Education, which will be found in the application package. These budgets must be very carefully designed as it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to alter the amount of the award once it has been granted. It is also extremely important for applicants to read and understand the details of the scholarship should they be awarded one. There are obligations to provide final reports, to travel within the period of the grant, etc. It is the responsibility of the applicant to understand the obligations of the award. NOTE: For students holding federal loans, any period of non-registration is counted towards the grace period and may cause loans to fall due earlier.

International Travel: To estimate the cost of your international travel, call your travel agent or a U.S. airline which serves the route you need. Be sure to request the round trip commercial high season rate, not the "cheapest possible rate."

Baggage: You need also to make an estimate of expenses for excess baggage, in consultation with a travel agent or airline company. Make your best estimate of your needs and justify them, keeping in mind that in past years, 50 lbs. of excess baggage has been considered standard by the Department of Education.

Maintenance and Dependent's Allowance: Refer to the charts in the on-line application package for maintenance for yourself and your dependent(s).

Project Allowance: Be sure to make a generous but reasonable estimate of your expenses in the categories indicated. You may not request additional funds once the application has been submitted.

Health and Accident Insurance: To estimate this, please consult with a representative of your student insurance plan (e.g., work with the Stanford student health plan representative if you have Stanford's student insurance). Estimate health and accident insurance for the time you propose to be abroad PLUS one month.

Font: A font standard in the Fulbright-Hays notice requires that you use one of the following fonts: Times New Roman, Courier, Courier New or Arial. Applications submitted in any other font (including Times Roman, Arial Narrow) will not be accepted.

The Campus Deadline

All 3 Graduate Student Reference Forms must be submitted first before the individual e-application is submitted.
Submit your e-Application on-line. This will release your application to Stanford. We will then be able to view all applications and complete our part of the collective application
Your official Graduate School Transcripts and other relevant transcripts are to be uploaded to the appropriate place on your online application by the Campus Deadline. Only one upload is allowed, so all transcripts must be combined into one document.

Award Notification

The Overseas Resource Center will forward your application along with the other completed Stanford applications to the Department of Education in Washington, D.C.. You will be notified of the results of the competition by the Overseas Resource Center in late summer or at the latest before Sept. 30. Should you be awarded a grant, you will need to work closely with the ORC to coordinate your plans. At that time, you will receive detailed information on arranging payment. Normally, payments are made through AXESS at the beginning of each quarter.

Top of page