The Fulbright Teaching Excellence and Achievement Program (FTEA) is sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State. It is part of the overall Fulbright Program, named in honor of Senator J. William Fulbright, which promotes mutual understanding among people of the United States and other countries. The Fulbright TEA Program will provide approximately 180 secondary school teachers from 62 countries with a unique opportunity to develop greater expertise in their subject areas, enhance their teaching skills, and increase their knowledge about the United States. The Fulbright TEA program is a six-week non-degree, non-credit academic program at a U.S. University. The international participants will travel to the United States for one of two six-week professional development programs in either January 2025 or September 2025.
Depending on the circumstances in the host communities, the program’s schedule may alter. The programme offers academic seminars on student-centered learning, content-based instruction, novel teaching approaches and strategies, lesson planning, and teacher training in instructional technology. Teachers who require more practice will have the opportunity to receive intensive English language instruction. In order to actively engage participants in the American classroom, it will also include a practicum of at least forty hours with a U.S. partner teacher in a U.S. secondary school close to the host university. Participants will receive support, guidance, and cultural enrichment during the programme. In addition to educating participants how to train trainers, the programme will equip them with useful tools. There will be up to seven Indian teachers involved in this programme.
APPLICATION DEADLINE: March 08, 2024
After returning home, teachers who successfully complete the program will be eligible to compete for small grants awards for essential teaching materials, follow-on training for other teachers, collaborative projects between participating American schools and their home schools, and other activities that build on the exchange experience.
 The safety and security of participating Fulbright TEA teachers and their home and host communities is our priority. If the COVID-19 pandemic continues into 2024 and 2025 or there are other emergencies, the program may need to be adjusted (program rescheduling, quarantining upon arrival, briefer school visits and field experiences, hybrid, or virtual components, etc.).
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
Applicants must:
- Current secondary-level (middle and high school), full-time teachers of English, English as a Foreign Language (EFL), math, science, foreign language or social studies including special education teachers in those subjects, at institutions serving primarily a local population
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent
- Minimum of three years of full-time teaching experience by the start of program, with a preference for those who have completed at least five years of full-time teaching
- Demonstrated oral and written English language proficiency
- Citizen and resident of an eligible country
- Other requirements as indicated in the application
The Fulbright Teaching Excellence and Achievement Program promotes diversity in the classroom and in learning. The FTEA Program supports inclusion and strongly encourages teachers with disabilities to apply.
Former participants of TEA, the International Leaders in Education (ILEP) program, Partners in Education (PiE), Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Program or the Fulbright Teacher Exchange Program are not eligible to apply. If you have participated in other U.S. government-funded professional development exchange programs, please talk to USIEF about your eligibility.
Applicants with PhDs are eligible to apply for Fulbright Teacher Exchange programs, but if you have a PhD in topics that are the focus of Fulbright TEA, this program is likely not suitable for you. FTEA is a program for practicing teachers. Ministry of Education officials, full-time principals or educational administrators, full-time teacher trainers, university faculty, and private English Language tutors are not eligible. Staff or families of staff at a U.S. Embassy or Fulbright Commission are not eligible to apply.
Current IREX employees and consultants and their immediate family members (spouses, parents, children, and siblings) are not eligible to compete in any IREX-implemented grant programs, either as individuals or as the responsible party representing an institutional applicant. IREX does not discriminate against grant applicants because of race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, disability, or any other protected characteristic as established by U.S. law.
APPLICATIONS NOT MEETING THE ABOVE ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS WILL NOT BE FORWARDED TO THE SELECTION COMMITTEE.
IREX reserves the right to verify all the information included in the application. If there is a discrepancy, or information is found to be false, the application will immediately be declared invalid and the applicant ineligible.
PROVISIONS OF THE FELLOWSHIP
- J-1 visa support;
- A pre-departure orientation
- Round-trip airfare to and within the U.S.;
- Academic program fees;
- Housing and meals;
- Accident and sickness medical insurance coverage;
- Transportation to the practicum school (as needed);
- A daily allowance for incidentals during the university academic program;
- A baggage allowance;
- A workshop in Washington, D.C., and
- The opportunity to apply for alumni small grants for alumni in good standing.
SELECTION PROCESS AND CRITERIA
Fulbright TEA Fellows will be selected through a merit-based open competition based on the eligibility and criteria below. Top candidates will be interviewed by an interview panel and must take the TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) or provide valid results from within the past year (test date no earlier than May 2023).
Selection Criteria (not in order of importance):
- Demonstrated commitment to teaching in the field of secondary education;
- Demonstrated leadership potential;
- Professional and educational experience and achievements;
- Potential for developing long-term linkages between U.S. and Indian educational institutions and schools;
- Preparedness (including maturity, flexibility, and ability to function independently) for an intensive U.S.-based training program with very limited free time for personal travel or sightseeing;
- Willingness and capacity to work and live collaboratively with international peers to foster a positive learning community for professional development;
- Articulated ideas for applying program experience to improving secondary education in India;
- Ability to express ideas clearly and effectively;
- Oral and written English language skills adequate to manage coursework, develop lesson plans, and team-teach in U.S. schools (a minimum score of 61 on internet based TOEFL is required for FTEA participation);
- Applicants who have had few or no opportunities to travel to the U.S. will be given priority;
- Preference will be given to applicants who are members of or who work with students from underserved communities or traditionally underrepresented groups including but not limited to women, racial, ethnic, and religious minorities, people with disabilities, and the LGBTQIA community and people from diverse geographical areas of the country; and
- Preference will also be given to applicants who have not previously received a Fulbright grant.
HOW TO APPLY
You are required to submit an online application along with supporting documents. Candidates can access the online application at https://fulbright.irex.org/. For instructions on completing the online application.
APPLICATION DEADLINE: March 08, 2024
PROGRAM TIMELINE
| March 08, 2024 | Application Deadline |
| Early April 2024 | Screening of the applications |
| End April 2024 | Interviews and TOEFL testing |
| September 2024 | Notifications of Finalists |
| December 2024 | Pre-Departure Orientation Cohort I |
| Late January-March 2025 | U.S. Program Dates Cohort I |
| July 2025 | Pre-Departure Orientation Cohort II |
| September-November 2025 | U.S. Program Dates Cohort II |
