Application Deadline
U.S. citizens: 2025-26 Fulbright U.S. Scholar Competition Deadline is Monday, September 16, 2024 at 5 PM EST. Find out more.
Fulbright Arctic Initiative 2021-2022 (Video)
Building on the scholarship of three cohorts of the Fulbright Arctic Initiative, Fulbright Arctic IV will bring together a network of professionals, practitioners and researchers from the United States, Canada, the Kingdom of Denmark (including Greenland and the Faroe Islands), Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia and Sweden for monthly webinars, thematic group collaboration, three in-person meetings and an individual exchange experience. Fulbright Arctic Initiative (FAI) IV will address key research and policy questions related to promoting Arctic Security through a diverse, multi-dimensional, cooperative interdisciplinary framework.
FAI IV will stimulate international research collaboration on different dimensions of Arctic security while increasing mutual understanding between people of the United States and member countries of the Arctic Council. Using a collaborative, diverse, multi-dimensional, interdisciplinary approach, FAI IV will address public-policy research questions relevant to Arctic nations’ shared challenges and opportunities as they relate to the multiple elements that contribute to the Arctic being a safe, healthy, prosperous, and sustainable place to live and thrive. Academic researchers in the physical, natural, social, and health sciences, Indigenous and local knowledge holders, professionals in the fine arts and liberal arts as well as practitioners working in various disciplines are encouraged to apply.
Outstanding scholars and practitioners from the U.S. and the other seven Arctic Council member states participate in the program as Fulbright Arctic Initiative Scholars through an open, merit-based competition. At least four of the scholars will be selected from the United States and at least one scholar from Canada, the Kingdom of Denmark (including Greenland and the Faroe Islands), Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia and Sweden. Co-Lead Scholars will provide intellectual leadership and guidance throughout the program, in addition to mentoring program participants, connecting program scholars to other international experts, and facilitating discussion and collaboration among the scholars. See Program Details and Timeline below.
Fulbright Arctic Initiative IV seeks to support research through an interdisciplinary, collaborative model that will inform policy and support a more secure, just, and sustainable Arctic future. This includes approaches that value the assets and potential of Indigenous and Northern communities and focuses on the strength of bringing together scholars from diverse cultural backgrounds, trainings, and disciplines to collaborate on topics of importance to the Arctic. Potential applicants are encouraged to review products from the first three cohorts of FAI scholars and agenda setting documents coming from the U.S. Arctic Research Plan, Arctic Council Working Groups, current and past Arctic Council Chairship programs, and documents from Indigenous People’s Organizations representing Arctic stakeholders.
In addition to the multitude of professional development benefits that come with participation in this cohort program, Fulbright Arctic Initiative Scholars will receive grant funding in the amount of $40,000 (or an equivalent amount in local currency) to support their international travel to all in-person program meetings and maintenance for the individual exchange visit, research materials and assistance for grantees only. Accommodations and meals for all group meetings will be covered separately.
FAI Scholars will be provided ASPE health benefits for the periods of their exchange visits and their attendance at the three international program meetings. Participating scholars should maintain any additional personal primary health insurance coverage they may have for the duration of the program.
FAI IV scholars will be expected to actively participate in diverse learning environments. The components of this Fulbright opportunity include:
November 2023 | | Fulbright Arctic Initiative Scholar Competition Opens |
March 1, 2024 | | APPLICATION DEADLINE |
April 2024 | | Country Reviews |
April 2024 | | Short-listed candidates invited to submit video recording |
Early May 2024 | | Final Review Committee |
May 2024 | | Finalists notified of selection decisions |
June 2024 | | Virtual PDO |
September 8-14, 2024 | | Opening Group Meeting (Norway) |
June 2025 | | Mid-year Group Meeting (TBD) |
April 2026 | | Final Group Meeting (Washington, DC) |
A. Group Work
B. Individual
FAI IV will provide a platform for scholars from across the Arctic region to engage in collaborative thinking, analysis, problem-solving and multi-disciplinary research in three main thematic areas. FAI IV seeks scholars who propose innovative and creative scientific, cultural, applied, and artistic approaches to activate a diverse multidimensional framework to generate security in the Arctic. Thus, the topics are not meant to limit or direct, but rather to stimulate the proposed research and interdisciplinary collaboration of scholars interested in the Fulbright Arctic Initiative.
Theme #1: Climate Change and Arctic Resources
Given the impact of climate change and increase in extractive industries in the Arctic, there is a need to understand how climate change affects access to and use of Arctic resources. Further, geopolitics in the Arctic and local Arctic governance structures influence decision making about resources in Arctic communities. The rich natural resources of the Arctic are the basis for livelihoods in the Arctic. At the same time, the Arctic region has considerable potential for economic development in connection with the global green transition.
Theme #2: Arctic Security and Governance
The Arctic region benefits from innovative models of bilateral and multi-lateral international cooperation. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in addition to the present threat of climate change, bring urgency to further developing and strengthening Arctic governance structures and multifaceted partnerships that support Arctic security and attend to the geopolitics of the Arctic Region. Further, Arctic security comes in multiple forms, including human security, environmental security, energy security, and the security of Indigenous peoples of the Arctic and their traditional cultures and livelihoods. The concept of Arctic security becomes more nuanced, complex, and precarious with political conflicts in the Arctic region. Public diplomacy plays an important role in activating diverse stakeholders on Arctic security issues and can contribute to honoring Indigenous sovereignty and diplomatic dynamics in Arctic politics, particularly as it relates to concepts of Indigenous sovereignty in the Arctic.
Theme #3: Mental Health and Well-Being
The mental health and well-being of Arctic citizens are impacted by the consequences of Arctic security, development, and climate change on individuals, families, and communities. Furthermore, the daily stress of changes in livelihood, the impacts of climate change, colonialization on traditional life pathways, economic and educational pressures, out-migration to larger cities, and increasing geopolitical tensions in the region influence mental health and well-being in the Arctic. Arctic communities are grounded in diverse Indigenous and local traditions, values, and beliefs, and languages that foster family, kinship, sharing, consensus building, and community connectedness. In addition, vibrant natural environments and rich ecosystems continue to promote thriving Arctic communities. These cultural and environmental elements also influence mental health and well-being in the Arctic.
Program activities will take place over an 18-month period beginning in September 2024.
Participating Fulbright Offices
Canada: https://www.fulbright.ca/
Denmark: https://fulbrightcenter.dk/
Finland: https://www.fulbright.fi/
Iceland: https://fulbright.is/
Norway: https://fulbright.no/
Sweden: https://www.fulbright.se/
U.S. and Russian Applicants: arctic@iie.org
The Fulbright Arctic Initiative is a program of the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA).
November 2023 | | Fulbright Arctic Initiative Scholar Competition Opens |
March 1, 2024 | | APPLICATION DEADLINE |
April 2024 | | Country Reviews |
April 2024 | | Short-listed candidates invited to submit video recording |
Early May 2024 | | Final Review Committee |
May 2024 | | Finalists notified of selection decisions |
June 2024 | | Virtual PDO |
September 8-14, 2024 | | Opening Group Meeting (Norway) |
June 2025 | | Mid-year Group Meeting (TBD) |
April 2026 | | Final Group Meeting (Washington, DC) |
Successful candidates will include scholars at all career stages, to include applied researchers, professionals, and Indigenous and traditional knowledge experts active in the academic, public or private sectors that demonstrate outstanding qualifications and a record of experience and accomplishment in an area clearly related to one of the designated research themes. Applicants must be actively engaged in an area of inquiry relevant to the program's themes and objectives, be open to exploring and incorporating comparative, interdisciplinary approaches in their investigations, and interested in developing collaborative activities with other Fulbright Arctic Scholars.
Eligibility requirements apply at the time of application. Applicants must meet all of the following requirements, unless specific exemptions apply. The complete Fulbright policies are available here (Chapters 600 and 700)
Applicants will select one of the three thematic areas below within the application. Explain how your individual research and plans for your individual exchange visit will fit into an interdisciplinary investigation in the chosen thematic group and convey your capacity and skills to work collaboratively with an interdisciplinary team.
The questions posed below suggest the range of topics and disciplines that could be applied to address the Arctic’s shared challenges and the thematic group topics. FAI IV seeks scholars who propose innovative and creative scientific, cultural, applied, and artistic approaches to activate a diverse multidimensional framework to generate security in the Arctic. Thus, the topics and disciplines are not meant to limit or direct, but rather to stimulate the proposed research and interdisciplinary collaboration of scholars interested in the Fulbright Arctic Initiative.
Theme #1: Climate Change and Arctic Resources
Given the impact of climate change and increase in extractive industries in the Arctic, there is a need to understand how climate change affects access to and use of Arctic resources. Further, geopolitics in the Arctic and local Arctic governance structures influence decision making about resources in Arctic communities. The rich natural resources of the Arctic are the basis for livelihoods in the Arctic. At the same time, the Arctic region has considerable potential for economic development in connection with the global green transition.
Policy-relevant research questions on this theme could address questions such as:
Theme #2: Arctic Security and Governance
The Arctic region benefits from innovative models of bilateral and multi-lateral international cooperation. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, in addition to the present threat of climate change, bring urgency to further developing and strengthening Arctic governance structures and multifaceted partnerships that support Arctic security and attend to the geopolitics of the Arctic Region. Further, Arctic security comes in multiple forms, including human security, environmental security, energy security, and the security of Indigenous peoples of the Arctic and their traditional cultures and livelihoods. The concept of Arctic security becomes more nuanced, complex, and precarious with political conflicts in the Arctic region. Public diplomacy plays an important role in activating diverse stakeholders on Arctic security issues and can contribute to honoring Indigenous sovereignty and diplomatic dynamics in Arctic politics, particularly as it relates to concepts of Indigenous sovereignty in the Arctic.
Policy-relevant research on this theme could address questions such as:
Theme #3: Mental Health and Well-Being
The mental health and well-being of Arctic citizens are impacted by the consequences of Arctic security, development, and climate change on individuals, families, and communities. Furthermore, the daily stress of changes in livelihood, the impacts of climate change, colonialization on traditional life pathways, economic and educational pressures, out-migration to larger cities, and increasing geopolitical tensions in the region influence mental health and well-being in the Arctic. Arctic communities are grounded in diverse Indigenous and local traditions, values, and beliefs, and languages that foster family, kinship, sharing, consensus building, and community connectedness. In addition, vibrant natural environments and rich ecosystems continue to promote thriving Arctic communities. These cultural and environmental elements also influence mental health and well-being in the Arctic.
Policy-relevant research questions on this theme could address questions such as:
United States
Professor
Department of Human Development and Community Health
Montana State University
Discipline: Public Health
Dr. Elizabeth Lynne Rink is a Professor in the Department of Human Development and Community Health at Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, USA. She received her Ph.D. in Public Health from Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon, USA. Dr. Rink conducts mixed-methods, community based participatory research with Indigenous communities in Montana and Greenland to address the socio-ecological determinants of reproductive health with a focus on Indigenous centered multi-level interventions. She is particularly interested in the extent to which diverse systems within the human ecology, including individual, familial, cultural, environmental and structural dynamics, influence reproductive health outcomes in Indigenous communities. From 2019 to 2022, Dr. Rink was a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Interdisciplinary Research Fellow examining the implementation of trauma informed policies within Indigenous governance structures to promote health equity. Dr. Rink was a scholar in Cohort II of the Fulbright Arctic Initiative Program and conducted her individual exchange program at the University of Oulu – Thule Institute where she studied perspectives of reproductive health among Sami living in Northern Finland. In Spring 2023, she returned to the University of Oulu -Thule Institute on a Fulbright Specialist Award to study the ethical challenges and solutions of collaborating on interdisciplinary research teams. Dr. Rink was the Co-Lead Scholar for Cohort III of the Fulbright Arctic Initiative from 2020-2023. Over the course of her academic career in the Arctic she has taught seminars as part of the University of the Arctic Ph.D. Institutes in Greenland and Finland on community based participatory research, mixed methods, and research ethics. Her more recent Arctic scholarship includes: 1) collaborating on a multi-site case study project that examined the impact of COVID-19 on Arctic Indigenous communities; and 2) partnering with the University of Greenland, the Greenland Institute for Natural Resources, the Greenland National Museum, Southern Denmark University, Dartmouth College, and Montana State University on a project called, Ileqqussaasut: An Ethical Framework for Research in Greenland.
Lill Rastad Bjørst is an Associate Professor at Aalborg University and Ph.D. in Greenlandic and Arctic Studies from University of Copenhagen. At Aalborg, she also served as the Scientific Director of the SSH Signature: Green Societies. One particular strength of her research profile is her 15 years’ experience researching climate change as a scholar within the human and social sciences as well as my many years of involvement with research management both as a principal investigator (PI); work package leader (WPL); as the head of CIRCLA—Centre for Innovation and Research in Culture and Living in the Arctic (2016-2023); and as a research coordinator of the cross-faculty interdisciplinary platform AAU Arctic at Aalborg University (2016-2019). In 2022, she was a Fulbright Arctic Initiative III Visiting Researcher with the Institute of Arctic Studies at Dartmouth (US) and the Center for Arctic Policy Studies at University of Alaska Fairbanks.