FULBRIGHT FELLOWSHIPS
There will be an informational meeting for seniors
about the Fulbright application process
& tips on becoming a competitive candidate.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009: 4:30 p.m.,
RAJ Conference Room
PURPOSE
The Fulbright program was created by the US Congress in 1946. The purpose of the program is "to foster mutual understanding among nations through educational and cultural exchanges. . . . It enables US students and artists to benefit from unique resources in every corner of the world . . . [and] to gain international competence in an increasingly interdependent world." Funding is provided by an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress and contributions from other participating countries.
The Institute of International Education (IIE) coordinates the activities for US applicants.
KINDS OF GRANTS AVAILABLE
It is the policy of the scholarship board that grants be awarded to the best qualified students, regardless of degree level. Recent college and university graduates propose projects for which they have had some undergraduate preparation and/or direct work or internship experience. Master's and doctoral-degree candidates,must demonstrate capacity for independent study or research, together with a general knowledge of the history, culture, and current events of the countries to which they are applying.
1. Fulbright Comprehensive [Full] Grants: these grants generally provide round-trip transportation; language or orientation courses (where appropriate); tuition, in some cases; book and research allowances; maintenance for the academic year based on living costs in the host country; and supplemental health and accident insurance. Fulbright Full Grants are payable in local currency or US dollars, depending on country of assignment.
2. Fulbright Travel Grants: Travel grants are available only to Germany, Hungary, or Italy. They are available to supplement an award from a non-IIE source that does not provide funds for travel or to supplement a student's own funds for study. Travel grants provide round-trip transportation to the country where the student will pursue studies for an academic year, supplemental health and accident insurance, and the cost of an orientation course abroad, if applicable.
3. Teaching Opportunities: Opportunities to teach English language and conversation classes are available in approximately 21 countries. Specific information on these opportunities is available in the Individual Country Summary area of the Fulbright website.
4. Opportunities in Business: Mexico and Spain offer Fulbright business opportunities. Specific information on these opportunities is available in the Individual Country Summary area of the Fulbright website.
5. Fulbright Journalism Grants: available in Germany and the United Kingdom. Specific information on these opportunities is available in the Individual Country Summary area of the Fulbright website.
6. Special Opportunities:
a) The US Department of State, as part of the National Security Language Initiative, provides an opportunity for Fulbright US Student Program grantees to receive three to six months of intensive language study in addition to their research or study grants in elibible languages [mainly Arabic, Russian, Turkish, and Indic languages] prior to and during the Fulbright grant period. 150 awards will be available for students to pursue additional in-country training in these languages, in conjunction with a Fulbright project proposal.
b) Fulbright-mtvU Award: Up to four awards will be available to pursue projects around an aspect of international contemporary or popular music as a cultural force for expression. Preference will be given to creative projects that are conveyed in a dynamic fashion and are accompanied by a feasible plan. Applications should not be submitted at the October deadline; the deadline for this award is March 1, 2009.
Additional details on these, and other, new programs will be posted to the Fulbright website as they become available.
SUBJECT
All fields except as otherwise stated in the Individual Country Summaries. If a field is listed as "non recommended," generally applications will not be accepted in that field for that country. Check with IIE before filing an application in a non-recommended field.
NUMBER OFFERED
Approximately 1,100 grants for study in over 150 foreign countries.
ELIGIBILITY
- US citizen
- Preference to students who have received majority of their higher education at a US institution. Study abroad programs in such schools will not be considered disqualifying.
- Preference will usually be given to candidates who have not resided or studied in the country to which they are applying for more than six months. Duty abroad in the Armed Forces of the United States is not considered disqualifying within the meaning of this section
- Applicants must hold a BA or the equivalent degree before the beginning date of the grant. Applicants may not hold a doctoral degree at the time of application.
- Applicants must have sufficient proficiency in the written and spoken language of the host country to communicate with the people and to carry out the proposed study. Such proficiency is especially important to students wishing to undertake projects in the social sciences and the humanities.
- Good health. Grantees will be required to submit a satisfactory Certificate of Health from a physician.
CONTACT
Prof. Jeffrey Cason
443-5154
cason@middlebury.edu
-or-
Lisa Gates, Fellowship Advisor
Adirondack House 204
(802) 443-3183
lgates@middlebury.edu
DEADLINE
Middlebury undergraduates must submit their applications, along with a résumé and a Banner Degree Progress Report, to the Fellowships office, Adirondack House 202, by NOON Tuesday, September 22, 2009. Official transcripts from non-Middlebury schools must be at the Fellowships office no later than October 14, 2009. The electronic application must be submitted by October 19, 2009, and the final deadline, when the paper application is due to the IIE, is October 21, 2009.
At-large applicants (not currently enrolled at Middlebury) collect all their own materials and submit them directly to the IIE by October 21, 2009.
URL
http://www.iie.org/TemplateFulbright.cfm?section=Fulbright1
(last edited 9/8/09)