Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE): International Foreign Language Education (IFLE): Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad (DDRA) Fellowship Program, Assistance Listing Number 84.022A

For the addresses for obtaining and submitting an application, please refer to our Revised Common Instructions for Applicants to Department of Education Discretionary Grant Programs, published in the Federal Register on December 7, 2022.

Purpose of Program: The Fulbright-Hays DDRA Fellowship Program provides opportunities for doctoral students to engage in dissertation research abroad in modern foreign languages and area studies. The program is designed to contribute to the development and improvement of the study of modern foreign languages and area studies in the United States.

Assistance Listing Number (ALN) 84.022A.

Electronic Submission of Applications.

Submit applications for grants under the Fulbright-Hays DDRA Fellowship Program, Assistance Listing Number 84.022A, electronically using the G6 system, accessible through the Department’s G6 site at: www.g6.ed.gov. While completing the electronic application, both the IHE and the doctoral student applicant will be entering data online that will be saved into a database. Neither the IHE nor the doctoral student applicant may email an electronic copy of a grant application to us.

Please note the following:

• The process for submitting applications electronically under the Fulbright-Hays DDRA Fellowship Program requires several steps. The following is a brief overview of the process; however, all applicants should review the detailed description of the application process in the application package. In summary, the major steps are:

(1) IHEs must email the name of the institution and the full name and email address of the project director to DDRA@ed.gov. We suggest that applicant IHEs submit this information no later than 2 weeks prior to the application deadline date to ensure that they obtain access to G6 well before that date;

(2) Doctoral students must complete their individual applications and submit them to their home IHE project director using G6;

(3) Persons providing references for individual doctoral students must complete and submit reference forms for the doctoral students to the IHE project director using G6; and

(4) The IHE project director must officially submit the IHE’s application, including all eligible individual doctoral student applications, reference forms, and other required forms, using G6.

• The IHE must complete the electronic submission of the grant application by 11:59:59 p.m., Eastern Time, on the application deadline date. G6 will not accept an application for this competition after 11:59:59 p.m., Eastern Time, on the application deadline date. Therefore, we strongly recommend that both the IHE and the doctoral student applicant not wait until close to the application deadline date to begin the application process. The table below shows the days and times that the G6 web site will be available.

G6 Hours of Operation in Eastern Time

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Unavailable from 03:00PM - 11:59PM

Unavailable from 12:00AM - 06:00AM

Available 24 hours

Unavailable from 09:00PM - 11:59PM

Unavailable from 12:00AM - 06:00AM

Available 24 hours

Available 24 hours

• Doctoral student applicants will not receive additional points because they submit their applications in electronic format, nor will we penalize the IHE or the doctoral student applicant if the applicant qualifies for an exception to the electronic submission requirement, as described elsewhere in this section, and submits an application in paper format.

• IHEs must upload all application documents electronically, including the following forms: the Application for Federal Assistance (SF 424), the Department of Education Supplemental Information for SF 424, Budget Information--Non-Construction Programs (ED 524), and all necessary assurances and certifications.

• Both IHEs and doctoral student applicants must upload their applications, including the required narrative sections and all required attachments to their applications, as files in a read-only flattened Portable Document Format (PDF), meaning any fillable documents must be saved and submitted as non-fillable PDF files. Do not upload any interactive or fillable PDF files. If you upload a file type other than a read-only, non-modifiable PDF (e.g., Word, Excel, WordPerfect, etc.) or submit a password-protected file, we will be unable to review that material. Please note that this will likely result in your application not being considered for funding. The Department will not convert material from other formats to PDF.

• Submit doctoral student transcripts electronically through the G6 system.

• Prior to submitting your electronic application, you may wish to print a copy of it for your records.

• After the individual doctoral student electronically submits their application to the IHE, the doctoral student will receive an automatic acknowledgment from the G6 system. After the person designated to provide a reference submits the reference electronically to the Department on behalf of a doctoral student applicant, they will receive an automatic acknowledgment from the G6 system. After the applicant IHE submits its application to the Department, including all eligible individual doctoral student applications, the applicant IHE will receive an automatic acknowledgment from G6 that will include a unique PR/Award number for the IHE’s application.

·                 Within 3 working days after submitting its electronic application, the applicant IHE must--

   (1) Print the SF 424 from G6;

   (2) Have the Authorizing Representative sign the SF 424 form;

   (3) Place the PR/Award number in the upper right-hand corner of the hard-copy signature page of the SF 424; and

   (4) Email the signed SF 424 to DDRA@ed.gov.

• We may request that you provide us hard copies with original signatures for other forms in the application at a later date.

Application Deadline Date Extension in Case of System Unavailability: If an IHE is prevented from electronically submitting its application on the application deadline date because the G6 system is unavailable, we will grant the IHE an extension until 11:59:59 p.m., Eastern Time, the following business day to enable the IHE to transmit its application electronically, by mail, or by hand delivery. We will grant this extension if--

(1) The IHE is a registered user of the G6 system and the IHE has initiated an electronic application for this competition; and

(2) G6 is unavailable for 60 minutes or more between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time, on the application deadline date.

We must acknowledge and confirm these periods of unavailability before granting the IHE an extension. To request this extension or to confirm our acknowledgment of any system unavailability, an IHE may contact either (1) the person listed under For Further Information Contact or (2) the e-Grants help desk at 1-888-336-8930. If G6 is unavailable due to technical problems with the system and, therefore, the application deadline is extended, an email will be sent to all registered users who have initiated a G6 application. Extensions referred to in this section apply only to the unavailability of the G6 system.

b. Submission of Paper Applications.

    We discourage paper applications, but if electronic submission is not possible (e.g., you do not have access to the internet), you must provide a written statement that you intend to submit a paper application. Send this written statement no later than 2 weeks before the application deadline date (14 calendar days or, if the fourteenth calendar day before the application deadline date falls on a Federal holiday, the next business day following the Federal holiday) to Amy Marrion, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Ave, SW, room 258-24, Washington, DC 20202-4260. Telephone: (202) 453-5628. Email: DDRA@ed.gov. If you mail your written statement to the Department, it must be postmarked no later than two weeks before the application deadline date.

    If you submit a paper application, you must have, and include in your application, a UEI and you must mail the original and two copies of your application, on or before the application deadline date, to the Department at the following address: U.S. Department of Education, OFO/G6 Functional Application Team, Mail Stop 5C231, Attention: 84.022A, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW, Washington, DC 20202-4260.

The IHE must show proof of mailing consisting of one of the following:

(1) A legibly dated U.S. Postal Service postmark.

(2) A legible mail receipt with the date of mailing stamped by the U.S. Postal Service.

(3) A dated shipping label, invoice, or receipt from a commercial carrier.

(4) Any other proof of mailing acceptable to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education.

If the IHE mails its application through the U.S. Postal Service, we do not accept either of the following as proof of mailing:

(1) A private metered postmark.

(2) A mail receipt that is not dated by the U.S. Postal Service.

Note: The U.S. Postal Service does not uniformly provide a dated postmark. Before relying on this method, the IHE should check with its local post office.

We will not consider applications postmarked after the application deadline date.

c. Note for Mail or Hand Delivery of Paper Applications: If an IHE mails or hand delivers its application to the Department--

(1) The IHE must indicate on the envelope and--if not provided by the Department--in Item 11 of the SF 424, the Assistance Listing Number, including suffix letter, if any, of the competition under which the IHE is submitting its application; and

(2) The G6 Functional Application Team will notify you of the Department’s receipt of your grant application. If you do not receive this notification within 15 business days from the application deadline date, you should contact the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.