Fulbright Foreign Student Program
The Fulbright Foreign Student Program enables graduate students, young professionals and artists from abroad to study and conduct research in the United States. The Fulbright Foreign Student Program operates in more than 160 countries worldwide. Approximately 4,000 foreign students receive Fulbright scholarships each year.
The Fulbright Foreign Student Program provides funding for graduate study in the United States. If you are considering graduate study in the U.S., we encourage you to consider submitting an application to the Fulbright program in your home country! Learn more.
Rice Contacts: Jennifer Hunter, Assistant Dean, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (jkh6@rice.edu)
Seiichi Matsuda, Dean, Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies (graddean@rice.edu)
Applying to Rice Graduate Programs as a Fulbrighter (Student) via the Fulbright Foreign Student Program
Contact Us
Thinking about a Fulbright experience at Rice University? Please reach out to Jennifer Hunter (jkh6@rice.edu) and Dean Seiichi Matsuda (graddean@rice.edu). Together, they are the points of contact for all things Fulbright at Rice University. Dean Matsuda and Jennifer Hunter sponsor social, educational, and cultural activities through our Fulbright@Rice group. You can learn more about our structure here.
Financial Support from Rice University
At Rice, all accepted graduate students who are recipients of a Foreign Fulbright Student Award for their incoming academic year are eligible for full tuition waivers, excepting programs in the Jones School of Business. Doctoral students are additionally eligible for stipend support.
Application Fee Waivers
Rice provides application fee waivers to all Fulbrighters, Fulbright Finalists and Fulbright applicants applying to Rice graduate programs (except for the Jones School). The fee waiver will automatically be applied when you state your Fulbright status. For questions, please email Jennifer Hunter at jkh6@rice.edu as well as gradadmissions@rice.edu.
We are incredibly grateful for our wonderful community of Rice Fulbright Scholars, and hope you will consider joining our Rice family!
The Rice Grad School Application
Degree-seeking Fulbright awardees and candidates can apply to Rice University via gradapply.rice.edu. Applications for fall admission will open in the summer of the preceding year (e.g. applications for fall 2024 will open in late summer 2023). If you would like to apply but the application is not yet open, please contact Jennifer Hunter (jkh6@rice.edu), and let us know you are a Fulbright scholar or Fulbright applicant!
Admissions are handled directly by the department of interest. A listing of all graduate programs at Rice can be found here.
Please follow each department’s application instructions as found on the department website to complete the application.
Representatives of Fulbright Commissions, IIE, AMIDEAST, and other agencies assisting with Fulbright student applications may send a scan of official transcripts, GRE, and TOEFL scores via the application portal. For questions, please email our office at gradadmissions@rice.edu.
All information on graduate admissions at Rice University can be found here: https://graduate.rice.edu/admissions
When in doubt, contact Jennifer Hunter!
Rice Degree Types
There are three different types of degrees that Rice offers.
- Professional Master's Degrees can be completed in 1-2 years, and do not require research or a thesis. They are designed to give applicants a competitive edge in their chosen field. Rice would provide a tuition waiver for the duration of the academic program, provided that the student remains in good, full-time standing with both the program and the university.
- Research Master's Degrees can generally be completed within two years. They do require research and a thesis, and can be a pathway to the Ph.D. Most commonly, these degrees are offered as part of a Ph.D. program, earned en-route to the doctorate. Rice would provide a tuition waiver for the duration of the academic program, provided that the student remains in good, full-time standing with both the program and the university. Stipend support after the Fulbright grant duration is not guaranteed.
- The Ph.D. or Doctoral Degree, at Rice, does require research and a thesis. These degrees do not require a master's degree for entry, nor a defined thesis topic prior to entry. These degrees can generally be completed in 4-6 years. Financial support would come from the department once the Fulbright grant ended. No tuition is charged.
Guide for International Applicants
The Office of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies has put together a comprehensive guide for international applicants here. Be sure to reach out to a current Fulbright student or one of our graduate student ambassadors to further connect!
Your Immigration Contact
Your immigration contact during your Fulbright is your grant administrator. Most commonly, that is IIE or Amideast, though your specific commission may operate differently. It is best to check with your commission if you are unsure.
After your Fulbright grant has ended, the Office of International Students and Scholars will help you with the visa process. You can find the OISS contacts here.