About the awards
No, we welcome applications from any faculty who teach an accredited course at a higher education institution in either the US or the UK, or their overseas territories. Applicants need the support of their institution and must be eligible for the Electronic Travel Authorisation (US applicants) or US ESTA (UK applicants), or have or intend to apply for a different entry clearance, for the visits to the partner institution.
Yes, we welcome applications from all faculty teaching an accredited course at a US or UK HEI, no matter their career level.
Please do note that it is important that all applicants have the support of their institution for their application, and you will need to submit letters of support from your Department and International Office to confirm this.
No, the proposed class that you apply with should be primarily aimed at undergraduate students.
Yes, you may apply with a co-taught or team-taught course. You will need to nominate a primary applicant whose name is on the application and who will be the primary contact, and you must reference the fact that it is a co-taught course in the application.
You should also discuss how the team-teaching functions on your course and how, if you were selected for the programme, you would incorporate COIL/VE teaching into the course structure.
There is no fee to participate in the GCTA programme. The award benefits include a $3000/£2360 technical support fee for the awardee’s higher education institution. This will be payable on completion of the professional development and is intended to cover any costs incurred by the institution through their participation in the programme. It is entirely up to the institution how they use this money.
No, applying for a Global Challenges Teaching Award does not prevent you from applying for other Fulbright awards in the same application cycle. This award is being run by the US-UK Fulbright Commission independently of the Fulbright Foreign Scholarships Board, so applicants are not subject to FFSB approval. Previous Fulbright award recipients are welcome to apply provided they completed their Fulbright award at least two years ago.
Yes, previous Fulbright Scholar award recipients are eligible to apply provided their Fulbright Scholar award is completed prior to the cohort orientation (i.e., before August 2026).
No, you can only apply for one award, and you can only submit one application.
Yes, institutions may support multiple applications, including multiple applications from individual faculty members applying for the same award. Institutions should ensure that their letters of support are tailored to each applicant.
Yes, you may apply for a Fulbright Global Challenges Teaching Award even if your institution has previously been part of the programme.
We encourage you to reflect on how your award would expand on the success of the previous applicant, further support global partnership strategies, and further embed COIL/VE pedagogies on your campus. We also encourage you to ask those writing your letters of support to describe how an additional award would further the impact of the first award.
No, you do not need to have an existing partner to apply for this award as all applicants apply as individuals. We will select awardees and introduce them to their potential counterparts during a partnering process following shortlisting.
If you have an existing collaborator that you wish to work with, you may indicate this as part of the application. We will take this into account during application review but please note that all applications will be assessed individually and there is no guarantee that both preferred collaborators will be shortlisted.
Both parties should apply separately and note that they are applying as part of a partnered application. You will then be asked additional questions around your partnership, existing collaboration, and potential impact of this partnership. However, each applicant and their home institution should be open to working with whomever they are paired with through the process.
How does the award work?
The professional development programme will enable US and UK partners to design and implement a successful COIL/VE module and integrate it into their broader internationalisation activities. Professional development activities will take place online from August to October 2026. Awardees will participate in a six-module COIL Design and Facilitation workshop consisting of synchronous and asynchronous activities, as well as regular cohort meet ups, partnership check-ins, and institutional mentoring sessions with the US-UK Fulbright Commission and COIL Connect staff.
Indicative dates for the synchronous workshops are as follows. Please note that these dates are subject to change based on the availability of awardees.
- 15.00-16.30h, Friday 18th September
- 15.00-16.30h, Friday 25th September
- 15.00-16.30h, Friday 2nd October
- 15.00-16.30h, Friday 9th October
- 15.00-16.30h, Friday 16th October
The Collaborative Online International Education (COIL) professional development programme is a crucial component of this award. The faculty member (main applicant), an instructional designer (or similar), and an administrator from their institution will participate in the professional development programme alongside their counterparts from the other side of the Atlantic.
The centerpiece of the programme is a six-module COIL Design and Facilitation workshop. The workshop enables US-UK faculty partners and their support teams to develop a COIL Module Plan to integrate into course syllabi and implement in fall/autumn 2027.
The workshop is designed and facilitated as a COIL module, providing participants with an empathetic understanding of the student experience and first-hand knowledge of activities and tools they can employ in their own courses. The workshop consists of five 90-minute synchronous Zoom meetings with the entire GCTA cohort, asynchronous independent readings, and synchronous and asynchronous partner work to apply learning to the design of a COIL Module Plan.
Participants complete their independent and partnered work at times that work best for their schedules. After the workshop is over, partners complete final planning details, attend cohort meetups every six weeks, and receive ongoing feedback and support from US-UK Fulbright Commission and COIL Connect staff. Participants receive a digital certificate of completion, representing approximately 20 hours of professional development, for the COIL Design and Facilitation workshop.
You do not need to specify the administrator or instructional designer in the application. If you are shortlisted for an interview, you will be asked to confirm who the administrator and instructional designer would be if you were to receive the award. Both the administrator and instructional designer will be involved in the partnering process and will also participate in the professional development and campus visits. This collaboration aims to establish more enduring connections between the two institutions.
The administrator should be someone involved with international programmes at your institution and who can support the further development and institutionalisation of COIL at your institution.
The instructional designer, or similar individual, should be someone who will provide pedagogical support to instructors and help determine and implement appropriate technologies for the partnership’s instructional needs and envisioned student tasks. If instructional designers are not available at your institution, the program is open to additional participants from other roles or support teams, recognizing that curriculum administrators, international offices, technical teams, and innovation and technology units can also contribute to the institutionalisation and sustainability of COIL.
If you are unsure about selecting the right individuals to work with you on this project, please feel free to get in touch.
The campus visits are organised independently by the faculty instructors and their institutional teams, and should be scheduled to accommodate the timetables of both institutions. The duration and exact timing of the visits should be convenient for both parties, but we expect them to last between 4 days to 1.5 weeks. We encourage all members of the institutional team (faculty lead, instructional designer, and administrator) visit their partner campus, though we recognise that some members of the team may be unable to take part.
The visit's main aim is to provide awardees with a better understanding of the other institution, allow them to connect with their collaborator, and establish the foundation for a long-term relationship between the two institutions. Recommended activities include meeting with university leadership and students, campus tours, delivering an outreach session on COIL and the GCTA partnership, and further developing details for the shared COIL course.
Please feel free to contact either the US-UK Fulbright Commission for support or suggestions for activities during the visit.
The award consists of three financial benefits, all of which will be disbursed by the US-UK Fulbright Commission.
- An honorarium of $7000/£5550 for the awardee (faculty member). This can be spent however faculty see fit. The honorarium will be paid out in two payments, the first at the start of the professional development, the second on completion of the professional development.
- This will be paid either directly to the faculty member or disbursed to their institution for onward payment depending on institutional guidelines.
- A technical support fee of $3000/£2360 for the awardee’s higher education institution. This will be payable on completion of the professional development on receipt of invoice from the institution.
- A travel grant for the partner visit, up to a value of $7500/£5900. This will be paid to the institution on receipt of invoice for them to book flights, accommodation, etc., on the awardee’s behalf and to disburse funds as per their departmental regulations.
The course you apply with
You can apply with any course that will be taught in the Autumn/Fall 2027 semester of the 2027-28 academic year.
No, you can only apply with a course that you have taught previously. The virtual exchange/COIL course is designed as an enhancement of an existing course. Therefore, it is crucial that you have previous experience teaching the material to students before proposing it for this virtual exchange.
Additionally, it is essential that the virtual exchange course is approved by university boards before delivery in the Autumn/Fall 2027 semester. The professional development and exchange have been structured to allow for module information to be finalised after the professional development training. Please contact us if you have any issues or concerns about the approval processes.
Yes, the course should be credit-bearing at your institution. Students who take the class will continue to receive the same credits for the course as they would normally. The virtual exchange elements of the course will take place to enhance the course.
As part of their participation in the module, students will receive a certificate of completion from the US-UK Fulbright Commission, recognizing the skills they’ve acquired in global citizenship, cultural exchange, and cross-cultural communication.
No, you can only apply with one course. We recommend that you carefully consider which course aligns most strongly with the chosen award and has learning outcomes that are most directly related to the award subject.
The class needs to directly address the global challenge, but it is not required for all content to be specifically related to the topic. For the Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) pedagogy to be effective, we recommend at least 5-8 weeks (about 2 months) worth of material that directly addresses the subject. As a minimum, there should be 5 weeks of content directly related to the chosen global challenge.
Additionally, the learning outcomes for the class should be directly aligned with the selected global challenge and the associated UN Sustainability Development Goal.
Successful applicants will be paired with a course from the US/UK that also addresses the global challenges themes. The specific courses for pairing will be determined during the selection process.
Applicants should anticipate being paired with a course with a different, but complementary, focus or from a different discipline. The COIL pedagogy is designed to work across disciplines and the professional development programme will guide you through building a COIL component between the two courses. Therefore, there is no need to pre-emptively outline adaptations to your course in your application. Instead, the application should emphasize the importance of your current course and the benefits to your course, your students, and your institution of participating in the virtual exchange programme.
Your proposed course should span at least eight weeks, with at least 5 of those weeks dedicated to material directly related to the chosen topic. The specific duration spent on the virtual exchange will be agreed upon between faculty members as part of the professional development programme. It is also not anticipated that all the hours taught on the current course will translate into live virtual sessions with partners abroad.
While each course will continue to reach its existing learning outcomes, it will need to be adapted to accommodate collaborative activities between the two groups of students.
Applicants can propose a fully online, fully in-person, or hybrid course to enhance via COIL. Applicants should specify the format of their course in the application.
Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL)
Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) is a teaching and learning modality pioneered by The State University of New York (SUNY) COIL Center since 2004. COIL connects students and professors in different countries for collaborative projects and discussions as part of their coursework. This method identifies shared aspects between courses to develop collaborative activities and embed intercultural exchange into existing classes. COIL enhances intercultural student interaction through proven approaches to meaningful online engagement, providing significant opportunities for global experiences. It is the most widely adopted form of virtual exchange, fostering effective and productive cross-border relationships in over 100 countries.
To learn more about COIL and its impact on global education, please see the following resources: COIL Connect's resources and guidebook; AAC&U VE/COIL webinar series; COIL's Impacts: Collaborative Online Learning | Florida International University
No, you won’t have to rewrite or substantially rework your course. The virtual exchange is designed as an enhancement to your current curriculum, with collaborative activities and projects embedded into your existing classes in a complementary and integrative framework with other components of your class content. The professional development process will enable US-UK partners to establish how their two courses intersect, ensuring a seamless integration. You won’t be combining or re-working two courses into one; instead, COIL Connect professional development will guide partners through the process of building a bridge between their two courses in the form of a COIL module.
Yes, applicants with previous experience of COIL are welcome to apply. In the application, you will be asked to confirm your level of experience with COIL and answer further questions on this.
About applying
The letter from the international office needs to outline your institutions priorities around internationalisation. It also needs to demonstrate support for the hosting a virtual exchange course and commit a member of the institutions’ administrative staff to undertaking the professional development programme alongside the faculty member.
The letter does not need to name the administrator at the point of application, but if you are shortlisted for an interview, we will ask you to confirm who the administrator would be.
If your institution does not have an international office, please indicate this in the letter and have the letter be written by the person at your institution who is best placed to confirm support for the application. If you have any questions about who you should be asking for this letter of support, please get in touch.
The letter of support from the department head needs to outline the benefits of the virtual exchange course to the department. It also needs to demonstrate the department’s support for hosting a virtual exchange and commit to offering the course as an accredited course choice to undergraduates in the 2027-2028 academic year.
There may be more than one person in your department who can make these commitments. If so, the letter can come from either of them. If you have any questions about who you should be asking for this letter of support, please get in touch.
If you are the Department Head, please indicate this in the letter and reach out to the Fulbright Commission at programmes@fulbright.org.uk to confirm if there are any other colleagues who could provide this letter.
Your reference should be from someone who can speak to your suitability for the award, and should discuss your academic expertise, teaching proficiency, ability to collaborate, and your motivation for applying. This may come from a current or former academic colleague or supervisor, a collaborator, a previous employer, or professional contact.
This reference should not be written by the same person writing a letter of support for the application.
No, you do not need a letter of support from your instructional design department. You may find it useful to reach out to them to discuss your application as you will likely need their support to effectively deliver your COIL course.
The letters of support will be uploaded as PDFs as part of the application form. You will need to upload a PDF on headed paper and with the wet or digital signature of the person writing the letter.
You will submit your reference information within the application form via the Reference Request Form. This will take you to a separate form in order to fill in your referee information. Upon submission of this form, a reference request email will be sent to your referee. At the top of the reference request form you can see the status of your request, which can be revisited at anytime. You will also receive a confirmation email once your referee has officially submitted the reference.
The deadline for written applications and all letters of support is Monday 2nd March 2026, 5pm GMT/12pm ET. Applications not submitted by this deadline will not be considered.
If you have any technical difficulties in submitting your application, please get in touch as soon as possible.
We do not have any example applications. The best way to get a sense of what the application requires is to review the application instructions and set up a profile and start an application in the portal. You can save and come back to the application at any time, so you do not need to complete and submit the application in one go.
If you have specific questions as you go through the process of applying, please get in touch. Please also attend our application webinars for more information on this award's application process and benefits.