The Middle East and North Africa Regional Travel Program for U.S. Fulbright Scholars:

• Provides travel grants to individual U.S. Fulbright Scholars to spend a period of 3 to 14 days, including travel days, in another eligible MENA region country during their grant period to participate in professional activities such as lectures, workshops, graduate or faculty seminars, master classes or recitals, curricular advising or panel presentations. Eligible Countries and locations include Israel, Jordan and Morocco (all with Fulbright Commissions), and Algeria, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, UAE (where the Fulbright program is managed by US Embassy Public Affairs Sections).

• Offers local academic institutions, U.S. embassies and consulates, and Fulbright Commissions in the MENA region the opportunity to benefit from the academic and professional expertise of U.S. Fulbright Scholars currently in the region.

• Fulbright scholars may pursue their own invitations for appropriate short-term activities, or US Embassy Public Affairs Sections (PAS) or Fulbright commissions may extend invitations to individual scholars for specific activities.

• The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) at the US Department of State funds the NEA Regional Travel Program, and it is administered by the Jordanian-American Commission for Educational Exchange (JACEE) in Amman, Jordan.

• U.S. Fulbright Scholars in the MENA region.

• U.S. Scholars with Flex Awards are not eligible to participate in the RTP.

• Recipients of US Fulbright Student awards (student researchers or English Teaching Assistants) are not eligible to apply for the RTP.

• It is the sole responsibility of the U.S. Scholar to secure a letter of invitation from the institution they plan to visit., If the Public Affairs Section in a Commission country wishes to host a U.S. Scholar, the Commission in that country should submit the request.

• The invitation letter must indicate the dates of the visit, the type of activity, the lecture(s) topic, and should clearly state the level of cost-sharing proposed – such as providing the Scholar’s in-country accommodation, meals, and local travel.

• Scholars cannot participate in the RTP within the last 30 days of their Fulbright Scholar Award.

• Only on an exceptional basis may an individual Scholar receive more than one regional travel grant in a given program year.  

• All U.S. Scholar regional travel should be on a U.S. Passport. If applicable, the receiving Post or Commission will be responsible for securing the U.S. Scholar’s visa prior to his/her/their arrival in the destination NEA country.

You can access the full guidelines here.

Academic institutions and relevant organizations in eligible MENA countries may indicate their interest in hosting a U.S. Fulbright Scholar for a specific short-term activity or project. Fulbright Commissions or U.S. Embassies  will review these expressions of interest and, where appropriate, reach out to eligible U.S. Fulbright Scholars currently placed in the region to identify an interested and suitable scholar. The identified scholar may then apply to the MENA Regional Travel Program, subject to eligibility and approval.

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• RTP funds cover between-country travel, but not per diem or accommodation.

• Scholars will be reimbursed for the round-trip travel from their NEA host country to the destination country by the most economical route.

• RTP funds can also be used to cover in-country ground travel from the arrival city to the city where the activities are taking place.

• Cost sharing by receiving-country institutions, a Fulbright Commission, or U.S. Embassy is highly desirable, but not required if the Scholar is willing to assume responsibility for accommodation and per diem costs.

• Per Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board (FFSB) policy, Fulbrighters are not permitted to receive honoraria from either Commissions or Posts. Although receiving institutions are not required to pay an honorarium to the Fulbright Scholar, such support is welcome and viewed as a contribution toward cost sharing.

Commissions, Posts, and U.S. Scholars interested in applying for the RTP must submit the following to JACEE at least two months in advance of the proposed travel:

• An online application form: RTP Application

• The following documents by email to JACEE at info@fulbright.org.jo:
  - A letter of support from the RTP host institution indicating its willingness to work with the Scholar, the length of the visit, and confirmation of what cost share will be provided.
  - An e-mail of acknowledgment from the Scholar’s Fulbright host institution.
  - ■ An email of support from the Commission (for scholars based in a Commission country) or the Public Affairs section (for scholars based in a Post country, i.e., U.S. Embassy run), acknowledging the dates the Scholar will be out of the country.

You can access the program's one-pager here.

For more information, please contact our team at: info@fulbright.org.jo