The Fulbright FAPESP Postdoctoral award are pre-arranged affiliations to host early career scholars who conduct research relevant to any of the six public universities in the state of São Paulo. These universities are interested in hosting postdoctoral scholars and encouraging them to engage with students, faculty, and the broader community. Postdoctoral 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. 

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 research at the chosen host university.

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 all disciplines in the state of São Paulo can last six or twelve months.

The earliest you can start will be in July 2026, and the latest in March 2027. Please be aware that most institutions in Brazil take a recess between December and January.

What should I know before starting my application?

• Program open to Ph.D. holders with up to seven years of experience in all fields of study
• 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$ 3,500 per month to cover all expenses.
• A fixed sum of US$1,500 to help pay for an international round-trip ticket.

Applications deadline

The deadline for applications for the 2026-2027 Fulbright U.S. Fulbright-FAPESP Postdoctoral Award 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