Fulbright Grant for Educational and Cultural Exchange – The U.S. Student Program
Website: https://us.fulbrightonline.org
Campus Contact: Elana Passman: email
This fellowship requires an institutional endorsement. A copy of all materials must be submitted by the Campus Deadline to enable the Campus Committee to conduct interviews and the fellowship liaison to write an institutional letter of endorsement. There is no limitation on the number of candidates; all applications are submitted to the U.S. Fulbright.
Who May Apply
U.S. citizens who wish to study or perform research in one of over 140 countries overseas at the post-baccalaureate level. Government-sponsored teaching assistantships are possible in 70 countries. Successful applicants tend to have at least a 3.5 GPA. The program is open to recent graduates as well as artists and scholars at large for current MA or Ph.D. students and for faculty.
Applicant Pool Description
See the Fulbright web site. Applicants are encouraged to look at the competition statistics from the previous year to see the number of grants available to a specific country and how many candidates applies. Then look for the number of positions available for the current year. This will help you predict how competitive it is to get to be awarded a specific grant.
Eligibility Limitations
Applicants must be U.S. citizens at the time of application. Expectations for foreign language proficiency differ by country. Some countries/regions favor graduate student applications while others expressly welcome applicants holding only the B.A. or B.S. Preference is given to candidates who have not previously spent more than six months in the country of application. Preference is given to students demonstrating sufficient proficiency in the host country’s written and spoken language.
Award Description and Duration
See the Fulbright Web site for details on programs in over 135 countries. The amount of the one-year award varies.
Campus Requirements and Deadline
You will want to begin meeting and working closely with the Fulbright Liaison during the previous spring. Complete applications are due to the liaison in September.
Application Requirements and Deadline
Applicants should report to the Liaison of their intention to apply by September 1. They will be given a timeline of consultation or workshops and an Earlham preliminary proposal deadline. The student will submit the complete specific plan of study, a personal narrative, three letters of recommendation and a language report by October 7. The Liaison submits a letter of institutional endorsement.
Notification
The U.S.-based commission usually notifies the College by the end of January if an application has been recommended to the overseas commissions. Finalists for the Teaching Assistant positions are then expected to complete an application to the appropriate government ministry, usually written in the language of the country. Final notification for all awards occurs between late March and early June, with the majority of responses in April.
Typical Essay Questions
- Describe your study or research plans and your reasons for wishing to undertake them in the country of your choice. Outline a plan that realistically can be completed in one academic year abroad. Graduating seniors, applicants in the creative or performing arts, and applications for teaching awards are not expected to formulate detailed research projects. Graduating seniors should describe the study programs they wish to follow in terms as specific as possible.
- The Personal Statement should be a narrative focusing on you and your academic interest, giving a picture of yourself as an individual. It should deal with your personal history, family background, influences on your intellectual development, the educational and cultural opportunities (or lack of them) to which you have been exposed, and the ways in which these experiences have affected you. Also include your special interests and abilities, career plans, and life goals, etc. It should not be a recording of facts already listed on the application or an elaboration of your statement of proposed study. Please limit to the space provided.
Recipients
- 2022 Emma Guenthner ’20, Human Development and Social Relations; Spanish and Hispanic Studies – English Teaching Assistantship in Argentina
- 2021 Kate Buche-Pattison ’18, English; Comparative Languages and Linguistics – English Teaching Assistantship in Germany
- 2020 Chloe Halsted ’19, Music Studies – English Teaching Assistantship in Andorra
- 2019 Tyler Tolman ’18, History; Spanish and Hispanic Studies – English Teaching Assistantship in Thailand
- 2019 Jacob Harris ’18, Biochemistry – English Teaching Assistantship in South Korea
- 2019 Nicole Gruszka ’19, Peace and Global Studies; Politics – Sociology in Poland
- 2018 Sonia Norton ’18, Politics – English Teaching Assistantship in India
- 2017 Eleanor Baude-Phillips ’17, English – English Teaching Assistantship in the Czech Republic
- 2016 Chisama Ku Penn ’16, Spanish and Hispanic Studies; TESOL minor – English Teaching Assistantship in Argentina
- 2015 Brian Forman ’14, History – History in Germany (declined to enter Ph.D. program at Northwestern University)
- 2014 Rosalyn Endlich ’12, Peace and Global Studies – Environmental Studies in Canada
- 2014 Hanley Fultz ’14, International Studies; Politics – English Teaching Assistantship in Taiwan
- 2014 Shannon Herbert ’14, Japanese Studies – English Teaching Assistantship in South Korea
- 2014 Chris Marshall ’13, History – English Teaching Assistantship in Thailand
- 2013 Hugh Schmidt ’14, German; History – History in Austria
- 2013 Jared Patton ’13, English Teaching Assistantship in Spain
- 2012 Sean David Conley ’12 English Teaching Assistantship in Georgia
- 2011-12 Sarah Chalfin ’12, English Teaching Assistantship in Sri Lanka
- 2011-12 Erica Gendall-Conrad ’12, English Teaching Assistantship in Germany
- 2011-12 Anna Hetzel ’12, English Teaching Assistantship in Andorra
- 2009-10 Ian Cross ’10, History – English Teaching Assistantship in Kosovo
- 2009-10 Max Crumley-Effinger ’10, German – English Teaching Assistantship in Germany
- 2009-10 Janel Torkington ’09, English – English Teaching Assistantship in Spain
- 2009 Thomas Stead, ’09, English Teaching Assistantship in Indonesia
- 2009 Erika Richter ’09, Political Science – Political Science in Finland
- 2008-09 Colin Haywood ’08, English; Japanese Studies – Literature in Japan
- 2007-08 Meredith Hanson ’07, Comparative Languages and Linguistics; TESOL minor – English Teaching Assistantship in France
- 2007-08 Katherine Brim ’07, German; TESOL minor – English Teaching Assistantship in Germany
- 2007-08 Ellen Falk ’07, German; Human Development and Social Relations – Social Work in Germany
- 2006-07 Tim Shenk ’04, Spanish and Hispanic Studies – Economic Development in the Dominican Republic
- 2005-06 Mollie Cripe ’05, Sociology/Anthropology – English Teaching Assistantship in Argentina
- 2005-06 Kelsey Mann ’05, Comparative Languages and Literatures – English Teaching Assistantship in Germany
- 2005-06 Garret Bucks ’03, Peace and Global Studies – Political Science in Sweden
- 2005-06 Kjersti Knox ’03, Biology; Chemistry – Public Health in Sweden
- 2004-05 Karen L. Hibbard-Rode, ’04, Biology – Environmental Studies in Finland
- 2004-05 Charles Kamm, ’91, Music – Conducting in Finland
- 1999 Joel Andrews ’99, Biology; German – Germanic Languages and Literature in Austria
- 1997 Sara Kriksciun ’96, German; Politics – Education in Germany
- 1996 Mary Landrum ’96 – English Teaching Assistantship in France
- 1995 Rebecca Thomforde ’95 – Theology & Religion in Germany
- 1991 David Fernandes ’91 – International Relations in Chile