Fulbright Grant/Fellowship

Official Website Campus Deadlines

Who Can Apply:

  • Recent BA/BS graduates, master’s, and doctoral candidates
  • Young professionals
  • Artists
  • Awards grants to U.S. citizens in all fields of study.

Video Resources for Applicants:

An applicant must be:

  • A United States citizen at the time of application (Permanent residents are not eligible).
  • Hold a Bachelors degree by the beginning of the grant. (Creative & Performing artists are not required to have a Bachelors degree, but must have four years of relevant training or study).
  • Have sufficient proficiency in the language (written and spoken) of the host country.
  • Be in good health. (Grantees will be required to submit a satisfactory Medical Certificate of Health from a physician).

Applicable to Fulbright Grants and to Foreign Grants supplemented by Fulbright Grants.

For additional eligibility/ineligibility requirements, please visit the eligibility section of the Fulbright website.

NOTE: Students may receive only one U.S. Department of State-funded US Student Fulbright grant in a lifetime, including Fulbright travel. Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad grantees are not eligible to apply for a U.S. Department of State-funded U.S. Student Fulbright grant. However, recipients of U.S. Department of State-funded U.S. Student Fulbright grants are eligible to receive a Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Abroad award one year following the completion of their U.S. Department of State-funded grant. Candidates may NOT apply to IIE and CIES in the same year.

Award Amount:

Various amounts to cover a year of studying or teaching. Awards more than 1,300 grants to U.S. students. See additional information regarding possible benefits.

Scholarship purpose:

“Fostering leadership, learning and empathy between cultures was and remains the purpose of the international scholarship program”  ~Senator J. William Fulbright

Operates in more than 140 countries worldwide. Awards more than 1,300 grants to U.S. students to study overseas. Offers one academic year of study, research, or teaching assistantship experience. Projects may include university course work, independent library or field research, or professional training in the arts.

  • Provide opportunities for personal development and international experience
  • Allow students to design their own programs, including:
    • University coursework
    • Library or field research
    • Classes in a music or art school
    • Independent projects in the social or life sciences
    • Assistant in teaching English
    • A combination of these or other projects
  • Provide invaluable opportunities to meet, work, and live with people of the host country, sharing daily experiences.
  • Promote cross-cultural interaction and mutual understanding through engagement in the community on a one-to-one basis in an atmosphere of openness, academic integrity, and intellectual freedom.
  • Foster appreciation of other’s viewpoints and beliefs, the way they do things, and the way they think, through direct interaction with them on an individual basis in the classroom, field, home, and in daily tasks.

History:

The Fulbright Grant was established in 1946 by the U.S. Congress to “enable the government of the United States to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.” Awarded approximately six thousand grants in 2006, at a cost of more than $235 million, to U.S. students, teachers, professionals, and scholars to study, teach, lecture, and conduct research in more than 150 countries, and to their foreign counterparts to engage in similar activities in the United States.

The Foundation receives its primary source of funding through an annual appropriation from Congress to the Department of State. Participating governments and host institutions in foreign countries, and in the United States, also contribute financially through cost-sharing and indirect support, e.g., through salary supplements, tuition waivers, and university housing. It is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State. Also it is the largest U.S. international exchange program offering opportunities for students, scholars, and professionals to undertake international graduate study, advanced research, university teaching, and teaching in elementary and secondary schools worldwide.

How to Apply:

Notice your application will not be complete until all components are complete and received. (There is an online application form on the official web site listed above.)

  1. You must be nominated by your areas faculty representative. You can contact this representative to ask if you might be considered for this nomination. .
  2. Once you are nominated by the school you will complete an online application using the Embark Online Application form and must submit it electronically. Applications submitted to IIE become the property of IIE. No part will be returned under any circumstances.
  3. You will need to ask the people that you would like to complete letters of reference and the Foreign Language Report Form. Be sure to give these people a summary of your Project Statement and/or a description of the special Fulbright Program or type of grant. You will register these people in the Embark Online Application.
  4. Applicants must submit a two-page Statement of Proposed Study/Research and a one-page Personal Statement. These can be prepared as Word documents and uploaded into the application. If required, be sure to initiate contact with a host country affiliation and make sure that you have a letter from them by the date that you need to submit the application.

Checklist for Supporting Documents:

  • Online application
  • References
  • Supporting documents, e.g., foreign language report, references, transcripts

There are more detailed instruction that you should read on the official website or talk with your campus representative about, but these are the basic requirements.

Final Selection:

Selection is made on the basis of:

  • Academic or professional record
  • Language preparation
  • Feasibility of the proposed study/research/teaching assistantship project
  • Personal qualifications
  • Preference factors as established by the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board (FSB) and the Fulbright Commissions/Foundations

Among other factors, selections may be affected by:

  • Extent to which the candidate and the project will help to advance the Fulbright aim of promoting mutual understanding among nations through engagement in the host community, among other activities.
  • Ability of the supervising agencies abroad to arrange supervision.
  • Requirements of the program in individual countries. In some countries, advanced-degree candidates are preferred, and in some countries, certain fields of study are not recommended. Check with IIE before filing an application if you do not meet country specifications.
  • Ratio of the number of awards offered in a country to the number of applications received. For example, the competition for some countries is especially keen, and many well-qualified applicants cannot be accommodated. Therefore, if your project can be accomplished in a less competitive country, your chances for success in the competition may be enhanced by applying in the less stringent country competition. Consult last year’s competition statistics for comparative country statistics.
  • Desirability of achieving wide institutional and geographic distribution. Other qualifications being equal, veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces receive preference.

Stages in Selection

Stage 1: National Screening Committee Review (NSC). Specialists in various fields and area studies meet in November and December and recommend candidates for further consideration.

  • Academic fields: Reviewed based on country or region by faculty from various disciplines with experience in the region.
  • Creative and performing arts fields: Review by specialists/faculty/ professionals in each field, e.g. Creative Writing, Painting, Piano.

Stage 2: Host Country Review. Applications of recommended candidates are transmitted to the supervising agencies abroad for further review, particularly with regard to placement at foreign universities.

Stage 3: Final selection for Fulbright Grants is made by the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board (FSB), taking into account the recommendations of the NSC, availability of funds, approval of the supervising agencies abroad, and other program requirements. For non-Fulbright grants, the appropriate foreign government, university or private donor makes the final selection.

Notification of Selection:

Round 1: Applicants will be notified via email in late January indicating if they have been recommended to the host country or not.

Round 2: Final selection letters sent between mid-March and late June.

Duration/Conditions of Awards:

If you are recommended for further consideration for a grant in the first round of the selection process, then you must notify IIE immediately of:

  • Changes of present or permanent address, including telephone number
  • Changes in marital status or in accompanying dependents
  • Changes in anticipated academic progress
  • Awards of any other grant for study during the same academic year
  • Any other change which affects your application in any way
  • Any correspondence with foreign institutions indicating admission granted

Final Reminder

There is a list of important deadlines on the official website. Good luck with your application process.

If you have any other questions or if we may be of further assistance with your application process, please contact the Graduate Office at gradstudies@truman.edu.