Application deadline: March 15, 2024
The U.S. Department of State and IREX announce a program for outstanding international secondary-level schoolteachers to come to the U.S. for a six-week professional development opportunity. The Fulbright TEA Program seeks to:
- Equip teachers with a deeper understanding of best practices in teaching methods, content-based instruction, project-based learning, lesson planning, and instructional technology.
- Create among educators a more nuanced understanding of the U.S.
- Develop productive and lasting relationships and mutual understanding between U.S. and international teachers and their students.
- Contribute to improved teaching in participating countries and communities by preparing participants to serve as stronger teacher leaders who, upon returning home, will apply and share their experience and skills with their peer sand students.
- Make U.S. students more aware of other countries around the world through interaction with international teachers.
2025 Program Overview for International Teachers
Program Overview
The Fulbright Teaching Excellence and Achievement Program (Fulbright TEA) is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The Fulbright program was established in 1946 under legislation introduced by former United States Senator William Fulbright of Arkansas. Since its inception in 1946, more than 400,000 “Fulbrighters” have participated in the Fulbright program. Eligible countries for the Fulbright TEA Program Media Literacy program are Algeria, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burma, Cambodia, Cameroon, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Estonia, Georgia, Ghana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, India, Iraq, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lithuania, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor Leste, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vietnam, West Bank/Gaza, Zambia.
Teachers are nominated to participate in the Fulbright TEA Program based on their educational experience, academic training, leadership and professional experience. Final selection of Fulbright TEA teachers is made by the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board (FFSB). The FFSB is an independent, presidentially appointed board that has oversight responsibility for all Fulbright academic exchange programs.
Eligible Teaching Disciplines Are:
- English or English as a Foreign Language (EFL)
- Math
- Science
- Foreign Language
- Social Studies (civics, history, geography, global studies, media studies, and law, etc.)
- Journalism
- Communications
- Special Education in the disciplines listed above
Eligibility Requirements
Be current secondary school-level*, full-time teachers of English, English as a Foreign Language (EFL), math, science, foreign language, social studies, journalism, or communications, including special education teachers in those subjects at an institution serving primarily a local population;
- Have earned a Bachelor’s degree or equivalent;
- Have completed at least three years of full-time teaching by the start of the program, with a preference for those who have completed at least five or more years of full-time teaching;
- Be a current citizen and resident of a participating country at the time of application and of program participation;
- Earn a minimum score of 450 on the paper based TOEFL or an equivalent English language examination**;
- Demonstrate a commitment to continue teaching after completion of the program; and
- Have submitted a complete application.
*Secondary-level teachers include both middle and high school teachers serving students between approximately 12 and 18 years of age. Teachers responsible for teaching additional grade levels must teach middle or high school students more than 50% of their work time in order to be eligible for the program. The most competitive applicants will have shown evidence of leadership in their schools or districts.
**A limited number of participants with TOEFL scores between 425 and 450 or equivalent may be accepted into a special cohort of the program with additional English language training provided.
Former participants of the Teaching Excellence and Achievement (TEA) Program, the International Leaders in Education Program (ILEP), the Edmund S. Muskie Graduate Fellowship Program, the Partners in Education (PiE) program, or Fulbright Distinguished Awards in Teaching Program for International Teachers Program are not eligible to apply.
Find out more about details and application instructions: https://rs.usembassy.gov/fulbright-teaching-excellence-and-achievement-program-2025.
