Fulbright U.S. Student Program
Apply through Reed Fellowships and Awards Committee
Internal Deadline: August 7th, 2024 12 PM and September 4th, 2024 12 PM Pacific Time
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Description
2025-2026 Competition
National Deadline: Tuesday October 8, 2024 at 2 PM Pacific Time
The Fulbright U.S. Student Program seeks to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. U.S. citizens or nationals may apply in one of three primary categories:
Study/Research Awards
Study/research awards are offered for projects in all academic and creative & performing arts fields. Applicants can propose their own independent study/research projects, or, in some countries, can propose to enroll in a graduate program.
Creative & Performing Arts Awards
Creative & performing arts projects fall under the Study/Research grant category and are available in all countries where Study/Research grants are offered. Arts applicants should review the Creative & Performing Arts Fields of Study section of the Fulbright website for information about available fields and supplementary materials requirements.
Graduate Degree Grants
For some countries, applicants may apply for a Fulbright Graduate Degree Grant to help fund a degree program at an international institution. Some countries allow you to apply through the Open Study/Research Award for a graduate degree grant, but many countries have named graduate degree grant opportunites that are sometimes called Partnership Awards (see the United Kingdom country page for an example).
English Teaching Assistant Awards
The English Teaching Assistant (ETA) Programs place Fulbrighters in classrooms abroad to provide assistance to the local English teachers. ETAs help teach English language while serving as cultural ambassadors for the U.S. The age and academic level of the students varies by country, ranging from kindergarten to university level. Applicants for ETA Programs can apply to only one country. ETAs are often placed outside of capital cities and are fully integrated into the host community, increasing their own language skills and knowledge of the host country. English Teaching Assistants in many cases may also pursue individual study/research plans in addition to their teaching responsibilities. Awards cover round-trip transportation to the host country, living costs for the duration abroad, books, research allowance, and, if relevant, full or partial tuition.
Students interested in any of these awards should discuss the opportunity with their academic adviser and a CLBR advisor. Specific program questions can be addressed to CLBR Fellowships.
Eligibility
Requirements:
- Applicants must be citizens or nationals of the United States of America at the time of the application deadline. Permanent residents are not eligible. Please review the Award Description in relation to the eligibility of dual citizens.
- Applicants must have a conferred bachelor's degree or equivalent before the start of the grant period.
- Applicants must meet the language requirements of the award to which they are applying and demonstrate sufficient competency to complete their project and adjust to life in the host country.
Preferred Qualifications:
- In general, there is a program preference for those who have not previously held a Fulbright grant.
- Preference will be given to applicants whose higher education was undertaken primarily at educational institutions in the United States. Undergraduate study abroad experiences, either in the chosen host country or elsewhere, will not be considered a disadvantage.
- Candidates who have not resided or studied in the country to which they are applying for more than six months, not counting undergraduate study abroad, are preferred. Duty abroad in the Armed Forces of the United States is not considered disqualifying within the meaning of this section.
- Candidates who have served in the Armed Forces of the United States will be given preference, provided their qualifications are approximately equivalent to those of other candidates.
- For most programs, applicants who have had extensive, recent previous experience in the host country are at a competitive disadvantage but are still eligible to apply.
More information is available on Fulbright's eligibility page.
Selection Criteria
Applications are reviewed holistically against the requirements set forth by the host country and the preferences of the program.
Initial screening of applications for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program awards at the national level are made based on the below three categories:
- Project Proposal & Grant Purpose:
- Quality and feasibility of the proposal as described in the Statement of Grant Purpose.
- For Academic Study/Research applications: Plan, timeline, and methodology of proposed project; appropriate in-country affiliation and resources; strong connection between proposed project and host country
- Qualifications:
- Academic and/or professional record.
- Relevant training, accomplishments, and extracurricular activities
- Language preparation (if required by host country or for project)
- Contribution to the Fulbright Mission & Personal Attributes:
- Preference factors as established by the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board (FFSB) and the Fulbright Commissions/Foundations.
- 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.
- Desirability of achieving wide institutional and geographic distribution.
- Additional selection factors:
- Ability of the supervising agencies abroad to arrange/confirm supervision and facilitate research clearance, if necessary.
- 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.
- Refer to the award description before beginning an application to understand the requirements of your chosen award and confirm with IIE if you do not meet country specifications.
Application Procedure
Graduating Reed seniors and recent alumni who are not enrolled at another institution are eligible to apply through Reed and participate in our internal process. This includes a feedback session for each applicant conducted by the Reed Fulbright Campus Committee (composed of faculty and staff) on campus or virtually. You are encouraged to apply through your current institution, if it is not Reed. If you have a question about your eligibility to apply through Reed, please email clbrfellowships@reed.edu.
Study the Fulbright website for the U.S. Student Program, which provides detailed instructions on how to complete each part of the application, from selecting the country to acquiring an affiliation (for a study/research Fulbright) to writing a proposal and getting a foreign language evaluation (if needed). Once the online application opens in April, register and begin the process. Review Reed's internal application instructions for more information, and make certain to carefully read the the country pages of the awards you're considering, as each award will have its own additional rules and, sometimes, may have deadlines as early as August for affiliation letters, when required.
Fulbright Internal Application Instructions
Hear from Reedie Awardees
Check out this interview with Meredith Theus '21, conducted by CLBR advisor Shania Siron:
And this one between Shania and Jolon Timms '18:
Fulbright Summer Webinars
Fulbright hosts virtual webinars about the program spanning from April to August. Registration links are on the Fulbright website, as well as the recordings for any webinars that have already occurred.