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AUKUS Scholar Award (All Disciplines)

The Fulbright Australia, United Kingdom, U.S. (AUKUS) Scholar Award covers six to nine months of funding for projects that engage the opportunities and challenges of the AUKUS partnership.

This award will fund up to four U.S. scholars to pursue projects in both the U.K. and Australia, spending at least three months in each host country. The maximum grant length including both country visits is nine months. Please note, dual citizens of either the UK or Australia are not eligible to apply for this award.

 

Announced in 2021, AUKUS is a trilateral security partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States intended to ‘promote a free and open Indo-Pacific that is secure and stable.’ In accordance with the Fulbright values, this fellowship will invite scholars to forward innovation and collaboration between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States and to help solve common challenges that impact the Indo-Pacific, the trilateral partners, and the world.

The AUKUS Scholar Award supports projects through an interdisciplinary, collaborative model that will inform policy and support a more secure, peaceful, and sustainable Indo-Pacific future. This includes research focused on international maritime security and nuclear deterrence as well as approaches seeking to understand or combat the combined risk that climate change poses for the region and each member of the trilateral agreement. This award focuses on the strength of bringing together scholars from diverse cultural backgrounds, trainings, and disciplines to collaborate on topics of importance to the three nations, the Indo-Pacific region, and our global community.

Applications are sought in all appropriate specializations. However, the following broad themes impacting the trilateral partnership or the Indo-Pacific will be especially welcome: International Maritime Security; Nuclear Deterrence; Nuclear Waste Management; Maritime Law & Technologies; the Ethics of AI & Autonomous Capabilities; Climate & Food Security; Cyber and Information Security and Diplomatic History. 

Applicants are expected to procure letters of invitations from a relevant department at a higher-education institution or research institution in the U.K. and Australia where they will be hosted for the duration of the grant.  Applicants should clearly outline their project plans in each country in the uploaded project statement, and the amount of time needed in each country to pursue the project.

Projects proposed for this award should start between September 2026 – May 2027. This award allows applicants to do consecutive country visits or pursue the Flex option which would allow two different country visits to be pursued over a one-year period. 

In addition to being a prestigious academic exchange program, the Fulbright Program is designed to expand and strengthen relationships between the people of the United States and citizens of other nations and to promote international understanding and cooperation. To support this mission, Fulbright Scholars may be asked to give public talks, mentor students, and otherwise engage with the host community, in addition to their primary activities‎.

Contacts and Helpful Links:

September 2024 AUKUS Statement

UK Fulbright Commission

Australia Fulbright Commission

 

Grant amount

£3,000 per month (approximately $3,660) per month for the time spent in the UK.

AUD$5,500 (approximately USD$3,630) per month for the time spent in Australia.

Relocation Allowance 

UK: A relocation stipend of $1,500 is provided.

Australia: Round-trip, economy class airfare directly to and from the scholar's home city and the city of the host institution capped at AUD$3,500 (approximately USD$2,300)

Dependent Benefits 

UK: Scholars accompanied by eligible dependents for the full duration of their grant activity in the UK may receive a one-time dependent allowance of USD$1,800 for one dependent or USD$2,500 for two or more dependents. This will be calculated on a pro-rata basis for any Scholars on a grant for less than 6 months.

Australia: There are no additional dependent benefits provided during the time spent in Australia.

Visit our page on US Scholar Awards

for information on how to apply and more.

See other US Scholar Awards available

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University of Nottingham

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Research projects in any research department except the Faculty of Science and Engineering.

Queen's University Belfast Irish Studies

Research, teaching and lecturing in Irish Studies

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