The Fulbright-CESI College of Engineering Doctoral Research Award is a France award within the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, which the U.S. Department of State administers. It funds one U.S. doctoral student to carry out thesis research at CESI, a French engineering school.
Research can fall in any discipline taught at CESI or in the themes of its LINEACT laboratory. The grant starts in the fall and lasts six to ten months.
Benefits & funding
- €1,800 monthly stipend for the 6–10 month grant
- €1,200 one-off travel allowance
- Accident and sickness health benefits, plus a 24/7 mental health support line
- No support for dependants; grantees find and pay for their own housing (about €350–850 a month, per the award page)
- Required: an in-country orientation in late September and a two-day mid-year conference in February
Eligibility
- U.S. citizens or nationals at the deadline; permanent residents are not eligible
- Enrolled in a doctoral program in the United States, and the PhD must not be awarded before the grant ends
- Not eligible if you lived abroad for five or more of the six years before the deadline
- Living in France in the year before the grant is not permitted (the award page sets a 10-month limit)
- Dual French citizens are eligible
- French: no set level for an English-speaking lab; at least intermediate for a French-speaking setting
- Staff of the State Department, USAID and agencies that run its exchanges (and their immediate family) are barred until one year after leaving
- One Fulbright U.S. Student application per cycle
Can you apply?
Here's who can apply
Decoded from the official rules. A free account checks them against your passport, degree and age in seconds.
“Students enrolled in a doctoral program in the United States. … Residency in host country NOT permitted in year prior to grant … Anyone who has resided abroad for five or more years in the six-year period preceding the national application deadline.” Eligibility
Eligible nationalities
USA
Education required
PhD Enrolled
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Application process
- 1Apply in the Fulbright online application and pick this award from the drop-down list.
- 2By the deadline, submit a Statement of Grant Purpose, three short answers, transcripts and a letter of affiliation from CESI.
- 3Three recommendation letters are due by the same deadline.
- 4Students enrolled at a U.S. university are strongly encouraged to apply through that university.
- 5Recommended applicants go to host-country review, which may include an interview.
Program timeline
2027–28 application deadline (closed)
Oct 6, 2026
Recommended or not-recommended notice
By end of January 2027
Final selections
March–June 2027
Grant starts (preferred)
September or October 2027
Next cycle opens
Spring 2027