Fulbright Student Researcher Program (Thailand Open Study/Research Award)

Benefits & funding

• Monthly stipend of 25,000 Thai Baht; the award page quotes this as roughly US$780.
• Monthly housing allowance of 14,000 Baht (about US$435) and monthly subsistence allowance of 4,000 Baht (about US$125).
• One-time relocation allowance of 10,000 Baht (about US$310) and a research and materials allowance of 30,000 Baht (about US$935).
• In-transit allowance of 9,000 Baht in total (about US$280).
• Up to 20,000 Baht (about US$625) for language training.
• Economy round-trip international airfare with two checked bags.
• Accident and sickness health benefits, plus 24/7 mental health support.
• In-country orientation in Thailand; this award has no pre-departure orientation.
• Twelve months of non-competitive eligibility hiring status within the U.S. federal government.
• No financial support is available for dependents.

Eligibility

• Open to citizens or nationals of the United States at the application deadline; permanent residents are not eligible.
• Dual Thai-U.S. citizens may apply and must enter Thailand on a U.S. passport.
• A conferred bachelor’s degree is required before the grant starts; the award accepts applicants at bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral-candidate level.
• Anyone who holds or will hold a Ph.D. by the national deadline is not eligible.
• Applicants who have resided abroad for five or more of the six years before the national deadline are not eligible.
• Applicants who have spent more than 180 days in Thailand in the year before the deadline are not eligible; for the 6 October 2026 deadline that year runs from 8 October 2025 to 7 October 2026.
• Applicants may not already be affiliated with a Thai institution when the grant begins, although leisure travel to Thailand is allowed.
• Every grantee must affiliate with a Thai university or academic institution and include an affiliation letter with the application.
• Thai language proficiency is recommended at novice level and may be necessary for certain projects, depending on the nature of the work.
• Applicants who are not enrolled students should have relatively limited professional experience in their field, typically seven years or less.
• Employees of the U.S. Department of State and USAID are not eligible until one year after their employment ends.

Application process

1. 1
   Read the Thailand Open Study/Research award description in the Fulbright U.S. Student Program catalogue and check the 180-day rule and the residence-abroad rule against your own record.
2. 2
   Secure a host in Thailand and ask for an affiliation letter, signed, in English and on institutional letterhead; the host institution’s invitation also supports the visa extension you will need for a stay of more than 90 days.
3. 3
   Create an account in the Fulbright online application and select the Thailand Open Study/Research award.
4. 4
   Write the application: a project title of up to 90 characters, an abstract of up to 1,750 characters, a Statement of Grant Purpose of up to 6,000 characters, and three short answers on flexibility and adaptability (2,000 characters), community engagement (2,000 characters) and the impact of the award (1,000 characters).
5. 5
   Arrange three confidential recommendations, complete the language self-evaluation and, where the project requires Thai, the Foreign Language Evaluation Form; upload transcripts from every degree-granting institution.
6. 6
   Enrolled students apply through their campus Fulbright Program Adviser, whose deadline is typically four to six weeks earlier. Applicants who are not enrolled submit directly as at-large candidates by 6 October 2026 at 5 p.m. Eastern Time.

Program timeline

1. Four to six weeks before the national deadline

   campus deadlines for enrolled applicants

2. National application deadline

   6 October 2026, 5 p.m. Eastern Time

3. National Screening Committee review

   November – December 2026

4. Recommended or non-recommended notification

   End of January 2027

5. Final decisions issued on a rolling basis

   March – June 2027

6. Grant begins in Thailand and runs 6 to 10 months, opening with in-country orientation

   Autumn 2027