The Fulbright/NAF Heersink Family Foundation Fellowship in Global Health is a Netherlands award within the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, distributed by the Netherland-America Foundation with funding from the Heersink Family Foundation.
One U.S. grantee spends nine months at a Dutch university on research tied to global health and foodborne illness, or combines research with graduate courses. The field and proposal must relate to food safety and delivery, infectious diseases, maternal health or cancer.
Benefits & funding
- Stipend of €1,750 a month for 9 months, paid in instalments
- One-time €250 for registration/permit fees and local transport
- International travel and health insurance
- 12 months of non-competitive eligibility for U.S. federal hiring
- Tuition and affiliation fees are not covered
Eligibility
- U.S. citizens or nationals at the application deadline; permanent residents cannot apply
- Bachelor’s degree conferred before the grant starts (graduating seniors may apply); anyone holding a PhD by the deadline is ineligible
- Not open to anyone who lived abroad five or more of the six years before the deadline
- Dual U.S.–Dutch citizens are not eligible; no residence in the Netherlands in the year before the grant
- No proposals involving clinical training, patient care or patient contact
- Staff of the U.S. State Department, USAID and Fulbright administering bodies, and their immediate families, are barred until one year after leaving
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.
“Applicants must have a conferred bachelor's degree or equivalent before the start of the grant period. … The following individuals are not eligible for consideration: … Applicants who currently hold or will hold a doctoral degree (Ph.D.) by the national application deadline. … 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
Bachelor Enrolled · Bachelor
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Application process
- 1Arrange your own affiliation with a Dutch university; a research proposal must include an affiliation letter.
- 2Apply through the Fulbright U.S. Student online application, choosing this fellowship.
- 3Enrolled students go through their campus Fulbright adviser (campus deadline typically 4–6 weeks before the national one, plus a campus interview); at-large applicants submit directly.
- 4Submit by the national deadline: 6 October 2026 for 2027–28 (now closed).
Program timeline
6 Oct 2026
National deadline (2027–28 cycle; closed)
National Screening Committee review
Nov–Dec 2026
Recommended / not-recommended notice
By end Jan 2027
Final selections, on a rolling basis
Mar–Jun 2027
By 1 Sep 2027
Grant starts (orientation late Aug / early Sep)