Join us in pioneering impactful research in bioenergy, biodiversity, or sustainable food production at one of the esteemed universities in the state of São Paulo, contributing to a sustainable future for generations to come.

The Fulbright Distinguished Scholar Awards, Fulbright-FAPESP Network are pre-arranged affiliations to host exceptional scholars who conduct research relevant to any of the six public universities in the state of São Paulo. These universities are interested in hosting Distinguished Scholars and encouraging them to engage with students, faculty, and the broader community. Scholars can conduct their own research, work collaboratively with Brazilian colleagues, guest-lecture, mentor students, network, and promote their research while representing the United States, the Fulbright Program, and their home and host universities in the following areas of interest:

• Bioenergy
• Biodiversity
• Innovative Materials
• Marine Sciences
• P4 Medicine
• Sustainable Food Production

The applicant must select one of the six public universities in the state of São Paulo from the list below and indicate their choice as the main host university in the application form. If selected, the scholar will develop their work at the chosen host university and be granted the opportunity to join the Fulbright-FAPESP Network (FFN).

Universidade de São Paulo (USP)

Universidade Estadual Paulista Júlio de Mesquita Filho (UNESP)

Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP)

Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCar)

Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC)

Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP)

The Fulbright FAPESP Award in São Paulo

The Fulbright Brazil award in bioenergy, biodiversity, or sustainable food production in São Paulo can total two, three or four months long.

Two- or four-month awards can be split into equal segments of 1+1 months or 2+2 months between July 1, 2026, and September 30, 2027. Split awards are known as Flex Awards.

What is a Flex Award?

Flex awards allow the stay to be split into two visits of one or two months each between July 1, 2026, and September 30, 2027. There must be a period of at least two months between the two in-country stays.

Please be aware that most institutions in Brazil take a recess between December and January.

What should I know before starting my application?

• For this award mid-career, and senior candidates are welcome
• There is no need to have advanced skills in Portuguese. In most cases, English will be sufficient.

Benefits of the Fulbright Fapesp award

• A fixed sum of US$ 5,400 per month to cover all expenses but housing.
• The partner university will help find accommodation for the award period.
• Additional U$ 1,200 monthly to help with housing costs. This amount corresponds to the estimated housing costs at a medium-priced hotel or Airbnb in a good location.
• Scholars who opt for a Flex Award will receive US$2,400 for two international roundtrip tickets.
• Scholars on non-flex awards will receive US$1,500 for an international roundtrip ticket.

Applications deadline

The deadline for applications for the 2026-2027 Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program All Disciplines is September 15, 2026, at 5 pm EST.

More about the application process

The Institute of International Education – IIE handles all application stages. Please check their website.

Why a Fulbright in Brazil?

Brazil has a wide range of higher education institutions, with over 200 universities, as well as 3,472 master’s programs and doctoral programs with 122,000 graduate students. There are currently over 37,000 research groups around the country, with more than 200,000 researchers. Its leading research centers in agriculture, energy, biotechnology, environmental sciences, and epidemiology attract scholars and students worldwide. Among the top 20 universities listed in the Times Higher Education 2020 ranking, 13 are from Brazil. Additionally, Brazil is responsible for 52% of Latin American publications in indexed journals, which places the country as fourteenth worldwide by the Scimago Journal and Country Rank

Additional information about award details and benefits

The Brazilian government co-funds the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program in all disciplines through the Federal Agency for Support and Evaluation of Graduate Education (CAPES).

Check out this video if you are a U.S. scholar and want to learn about award details and benefits.

If you are a Brazilian scholar who would like to host a U.S. colleague in your institution, please direct your questions to the Fulbright Commission.