Scholarships for Israeli Students at US Universities

Fulbright Israel awards

The Fulbright Program in Israel is the largest source of dedicated US-bound funding for Israeli students. It runs several tracks that Israeli citizens can apply for through the Fulbright Israel website , including funded master's and postdoctoral fellowships and research grants at US universities.

These awards cover tuition, a living stipend, and travel, and they come with a competitive national selection process run through the binational Fulbright commission in Israel. Application cycles open about a year before the program start date, so check the website early and build your project proposal or study plan around the specific award you are targeting.

US Embassy exchange scholarships

The US Embassy in Jerusalem funds exchange programs beyond Fulbright, listed on its exchange and scholarship programs page . The Global UGRAD Program is the most relevant for undergraduates: it funds one semester of non-degree study at a US university, covering tuition, housing, a stipend, and health insurance. It is not a path to a US degree, but it gives you US classroom experience, letters of recommendation from US faculty, and a stronger later application if you plan to transfer or apply to a US graduate program.

University merit and need-based aid

Once you apply directly to US universities, look at each school's own aid policy for international students. Aid varies enormously by institution. A small group of highly selective private universities, including Harvard, Yale, Princeton, MIT, Amherst, and Dartmouth, are need-blind for international applicants, meaning your ability to pay does not affect your admission decision, and the university commits to meeting your full demonstrated financial need if admitted. Notre Dame and Brown have both announced plans to extend need-blind admission to international applicants for upcoming entering classes, according to reporting on university aid policy .

Most other US universities are need-aware for international applicants, meaning your financial need is a factor in admission, but many still offer partial merit scholarships and need-based grants. Check the financial aid or international admissions page of each university on your list, since the aid budget and rules differ by school and are not standardized across the US system.

Graduate assistantships

If you are applying to a US master's or PhD program, ask about teaching assistantships (TA) and research assistantships (RA). In many PhD programs, and in some funded master's programs, the assistantship covers tuition and pays a monthly stipend in exchange for teaching sections or lab work under a faculty supervisor. Funding offers usually come from the academic department, not the university's general financial aid office, so ask your prospective advisor or the graduate program coordinator directly about funding norms in your field.

Israeli funding for study abroad

Options funded from the Israeli side are limited and mostly aimed at postdoctoral researchers rather than degree students. Yad Hanadiv's Rothschild Fellowships fund Israeli PhD graduates for a period of postdoctoral study and research abroad, including at US universities, with the expectation that fellows return to Israel afterward. If you already hold or are close to finishing an Israeli PhD, this is worth checking alongside university-specific postdoc funding in the US.

How to build your funding plan

• Apply to Fulbright Israel and Global UGRAD on their own separate timelines, usually a year ahead of the program start, since these run independently of university admissions cycles.

• Shortlist universities partly by aid policy: check whether each school is need-blind or need-aware for international applicants before you apply.

• For graduate school, contact the department about assistantship funding before you apply, since funding decisions there often run separately from the central admissions office.

• Keep a spreadsheet of deadlines. Fulbright, university aid applications, and assistantship deadlines rarely line up, and missing one closes off a funding source for that year.