Fulbright Program

Last reviewed: February 2017

Abstract

The Fulbright Program, administered under the auspices of the U.S. State Department, is the world’s largest and among the world’s most prestigious international scholarship programs. The program annually oversees the awarding of more than eight thousand fellowships to recent college graduates, current master’s and doctoral candidates, as well as to teachers from pre-K to the graduate school level. The fellowship involves these academics going abroad, specifically to continue their studies, complete original research, and/or teach in another country. The program also selects foreign students and teachers to come to the United States for a similar experience.

Overview

The Fulbright Program was largely the vision of a single individual: the five-term Democratic senator from Arkansas James William Fulbright (1905-1995). After completing his undergraduate degree in history at the University of Arkansas in 1924, Fulbright was given the opportunity to study abroad. He studied at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar, then as now among the premiere study abroad programs. After completing his degree there, Fulbright spent more than a year visiting major cities of Europe. The experience changed him profoundly. He later explained that as a child growing up in rural Missouri, the larger world had never been real to him and that even during his time in college he had never significantly understood how the United States fit into a global context.

The recent experience of World War I confirmed for Fulbright the dangers of not understanding. Parochial thinking, he came to believe, created deep tensions between nations, enforced as absolute national boundaries, and engendered xenophobia and short-sighted nationalism. The ultimate result was paranoia and a willingness to lead any negotiation by using confrontation, inevitably turning to violence to settle disputes between nations. Additionally, he believed that the people in England and in Europe perceived Americans largely as stereotypes and caricatures that had little to do with the subtle realities of the individual American character.

He returned from overseas and completed a law degree at George Washington University just outside the nation’s capital. He loved the energy of the city, but he returned to the University of Arkansas to teach law. He quickly distinguished himself as a leader in its broader academic community and was appointed to the presidency of the university in 1939, the youngest person ever to serve in that capacity. With the advent of World War II, and particularly the insidious rise in Germany, Italy, and Japan of fervid nationalism, Fulbright was restless to champion international cooperation. He ran for Congress, serving first in the House (1942-1944) and then as a Senator (1944-1974) in a public service career that came to span more than thirty years.

As a Senator, he served most notably as the chair of the powerful Foreign Affairs Committee for more than fifteen years (1959-1974), the longest serving tenure in that position ever. During that time, he became a vigorous advocate of the newly formed United Nations.

Over the next decades, he helped shape the American response to both the Cold War and to the country’s long and often controversial involvement in the civil war between North and South Vietnam. He became known as a powerful advocate for peace, an often harsh if articulate critic of American foreign policy whenever he believed it did not serve the best interests of the global community. He was defeated for reelection in 1974, a victim in large part of the national rejection of long-serving establishment politicians in the wake of the Watergate scandal that had just brought down the administration of Richard Nixon. Fulbright retired from politics but over the next twenty years remained a national figure in promoting cooperation among nations.

The Idea for the Program. In his early years in the Senate, just after the end of hostilities in World War II, Fulbright first proposed the idea of using the monies America was accruing as a result of the war’s reparations settlements and the first repayments of massive loans extended to friendly foreign countries during the war to fund an ambitious program to use university students to promote conciliatory attitudes between the United States and other countries. He thought it appropriate for the money to foster internationalism. Indeed, at the end of the war, with the atomic explosions in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the United States had established itself as the dominant postwar world power. Fulbright had learned during his years overseas, however, that with its power and reputation, the United States still needed to encourage its citizens to understand other nations.

Fulbright became a vocal advocate of international cooperation and envisioned the scholarship program that provided for study overseas as a way to create a positive working environment between the United States and the rest of the world. These students, he reasoned, would take leadership positions in their fields and they would do so gifted with a complex perception of the international scene that, in turn, would promote a far greater sensitivity to the rich diversity of the international community. The world, Fulbright argued, could simply not afford another global war.

The program would be merit-based. A blue ribbon panel would select from applications submitted by the country’s best students, and because they would pursue study abroad, these scholars would essentially be unofficial ambassadors of the United States, representing its intellect, its creativity, and its innovation. As a Fulbright scholar recalled after returning from Bulgaria, “Undoubtedly, the Fulbright Program provided [both he and his students] some distances from our own cultures and gave us a better perspective to see ourselves in the context of our interchanging cultures and changing world” (Ho, 2012).

The Program. In 1946, President Harry Truman signed into law the bill providing federal funding for the Fulbright Program. Initially four nations agreed to co-sponsor the student exchanges: Greece, China, Burma, and the Philippines. As of 2016, the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the branch of the State Department that oversees the day to day operations of the Fulbright program, reports that 147 countries cosponsor Fulbright scholars. Each selected applicant receives funding to cover room and board as well as a generous stipend to help complete the year of study. The money comes largely from U.S. federal government funding, but other participating countries also contribute, as do private donors, universities, educational foundations, and international corporations.

In 1948 the program selected its first recipients. The program steadily grew as did its reputation for recognizing outstanding young people in a wide variety of fields. Fulbright fellowships are now awarded in virtually every academic field and professional endeavor, most broadly in the arts, the hard sciences, the human sciences, environmental research, public service and government administration, education, business and finance, engineering, mathematics, and computer programming and software development. Indeed, the only professional field in which the Fulbright Foundation does not award merit scholarships is medicine, because development and research in that field can involve tangled litigation over patent rights. The foundation, however, has sponsored numerous awards for the study of health care and national health policy.

Applicants must be at the master’s level at the time the award will begin; artists, considered a different kind of applicant from career academics, must have at least four years of demonstrable experience in their field. Although most of the students are in graduate programs, the Foundation now has competitive awards that recognize professionals in a variety of specialized fields as well as teachers from the grade school level upward. The award itself, both for academics going abroad and for foreign nationals coming to the United States, has become synonymous with outstanding achievement and has become both for its recipients and for the universities (or corporations) where they study (or work) a prestigious hallmark of accomplishment.

Since the mid-1940s, the mission of this program has been to promote a greater understanding between the United States and other nations by providing opportunities for the “best and brightest” to experience first hand another culture and its people in the hopes that such an experience will in the short and long term promote peace among nations. Since its inception, the program has recognized more than a quarter of a million outstanding academics, among them future heads of state, Nobel laureates, university presidents, political and social activists, artists, scientists and researchers, and CEOs in business and industry.

Further Insights

Fulbright scholarships are not simply awarded for outstanding academic or professional achievement, although those are assumed elements of any successful application. Applications for the awards must be project specific and site specific. An applicant must outline a specific and original research goal or teaching goal in a particular country as part of their study abroad. Funded research must be tied specifically to the cultural environment and opportunities of the country where that applicant wants to visit.

More than 1,600 academics in U.S. universities volunteer to act as campus coordinators for the program. These coordinators help canvas potential candidates, advise them on how to best present their work, and often shepherd the application through the paperwork involved in the application process. Emphasis is placed not only on creativity and originality of the idea but also on its practical applicability—how the project will help bring together the creative energies and intellects of the two countries involved in the exchange. Grantees help in local hospitals, schools, utilities, museums, theaters, and businesses. Because of its emphasis on internationalism, the Foundation puts special emphasis on language skills. In addition, applicants can be asked to participate in as many as a half dozen interviews with different panels or committees. These interviews establish that the applicant has demonstrable social skills, a command of articulation, a clarity of purpose, and the professional demeanor expected of recipients. And finally potential grantees must be in generally good health and have a stable psychological profile.

The major work of the selection process is directed by the twelve-member J. William Fulbright Scholarship Board, each member appointed by the president of the United States. Applications for these appointments are screened by three different committees made up of professionals in each field with a special background in international studies.

In a post-9/11 world, practical considerations must also be taken into account. The Foundation must ensure a safe environment in the targeted country, and exchange countries should be receptive rather than hostile to an American presence. In many participating countries there is a preference for candidates with at least a doctorate in progress.

Each year the Foundation accepts on average only 18-20 percent of the total applications they receive. Candidates who do not receive a grant are not told directly why their projects were not sponsored, but rejected candidates often work on their presentation and reapply later. Applications are usually accepted until mid to late October; decisions are announced in early spring.

Viewpoints

Given its track record—fifty-four Nobel laureates, eighty-two Pulitzer Prize winners, and more than thirty heads of state and/or government leaders—it is difficult to fault the Fulbright program. Its goal, while lofty and certainly ambitious, is actually for those who experience the Fulbright program overseas quite practical. As Fulbright scholar Virginia Gonzalez recalled in 2012 after studying in Costa Rica, “There was always just enough time to enjoy wonderful catering meals and their famous Costa Rican coffee, and to delight in cultural activities and music…and to partake in wonderful conversations and laughs with new friends and colleagues.”

Visiting a country is one thing, but living there for a year, among its people, eating local cuisine, driving on its highways, watching its news, and talking with its residents invariably puts the American experience in a clear context. “In international education, the equivalent of acculturation is cultural learning, when students learn through direct interactions within the host country’s culture, as opposed to through indirect exposure in books or on the Internet” (Akli, 2013,). Academics who have participated in the program return unable (and unwilling) to forget that impression (D’Amato & Singleton, 2001; Lentz, 2011; Daniel-Burke, 2012).

The Fulbright program has recognized a rich variety of projects, which have involved virtually all disciplines from photography to highway engineering, dance to economic theory, environmental impact studies to archeological digs. It has encouraged the most promising scholars and academics in diverse fields to apply for the opportunity to work and study abroad. In turn, foreign scholars coming to the United States have learned to appreciate the widest possible dimension of the American character—projects here have helped local hospitals, banks, computer developers, and urban planners, among many other disciplines. The scope of the Fulbright is expanding; since the turn of the new century, the Foundation has established scholarships for students in two-year colleges and for professionals already in the workforce (Mangan, 2015).

Federal Investment. Critics have long expressed reservations about the significant investment the federal government continues to make into the Fulbright program. The U.S. investment is far greater than any other nation contributes. Further, skeptics have questioned whether sending young and often impressionable academics abroad actually serves the greater good of the United States. Why not, they argue, spend this federal money to sponsor academic work directed and devoted to American agencies and projects.

Exposing the best and brightest young Americans to foreign influences and foreign cultures benefits the American people only in the most indirect and non-quantifiable ways. Bringing foreign nationals into the United States raises questions about security risks and how foreign scholars might impact the communities where they work for their year. Such concerns are ironic given the original impetus of the program to help moderate exactly those attitudes. Supporters counter that the Fulbright has long documented how its study abroad program benefits the countries involved and how the influence of experiencing first hand another culture fosters respect for the global community without compromising the academic’s sense of national identity.

Although the Fulbright program has been responsible for cutting edge developments in the sciences and for experimental and often highly creative artistic expressions, more than anything else the program directors point to how the program has helped develop character. The tag, Fulbright scholar, carries considerable prestige, and its bearers have seldom been the subject of national or international scandal. The program’s recipients, although not all responsible for producing groundbreaking achievements in their field or winning Nobel Prizes or leading a nation, demonstrate confidence and leadership that have come to define the template for a Fulbright scholar. “We need to understand each other and better address our common goals. A Fulbright experience is one small step that can help move us in that direction” (Infeld & Li, 2009).

Terms & Concepts

Acculturation: The process of learning about and then responding appropriately to a different culture.

Binational: Programs, policies, laws, and protocols that involve an equal exchange between the governments and/or peoples of two sovereign nations.

Fellowship: Unlike a scholarship, monies awarded to undergraduate or post-graduate academics to provide the opportunity for additional study and/or the experience of teaching.

Merit Scholarship: Monies awarded for achievement and/or specific accomplishments rather than based on financial need and/or recommendations.

Rhodes Scholarship: A scholarship awarded to undergraduates of any nation to provide financial support to attend Oxford University in England.

Xenophobia: An unreasonable and often passionate distrust and/or paranoia directed at other nations and/or other cultures.

Bibliography

Akli, M. (2013). Study abroad and cultural learning through Fulbright and other international scholarships: A holistic student development. Journal of International Students, 3(1), 1–9. Retrieved October 23, 2016, from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=87778218&site=ehost-live

Biraimah, K. K. (2016). International research partners: The challenges of developing an equitable partnership between universities in the global north and south. BCES Conference Proceedings, 14(1), 51–57. Retrieved October 23, 2016, from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=116860883&site=ehost-live

D’Amato, R. C., & Singleton, R. L. (2001). Life lessons learned from a Fulbright scholarship in Latvia. School Psychology International, 22(3), 285. Retrieved October 23, 2016, from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=5858181&site=ehost-live

Daniel-Burke, R. (2012). Gaining a broader perspective in the land of language, poetry and arts. Counseling Today, 54(9), 12–13. Retrieved October 23, 2016, from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=72636659&site=ehost-live

Ho, K. (2012). Out of America: Exploring collaborative mural teaching in Bulgaria. Teaching Artist Journal, 10(2), 77–87. Retrieved October 23, 2016, from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=74073367&site=ehost-live

Infeld, D., & Li W. (2009). Teaching public administration as a Fulbright scholar in China: Analysis and reflection. Journal of Public Affairs Education, 15(3), 333–347. Retrieved October 23, 2016, from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=508077667&site=ehost-live

Lentz, C. (2011). A Fulbright experience: Building relationships with Christians and Muslims with HIV/AIDS in Zambia. Journal of Public Affairs Education, 17(3), 407–416. Retrieved October 23, 2016, from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=508460301&site=ehost-live

Mangan, K. (2015). Fulbright pitches international exchanges to 2-year colleges. Chronicle of Higher Education, 61(23), A8. Retrieved October 23, 2016, from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=101054924&site=ehost-live

Suggested Reading

Bashir, M. (2012). Fulbright program for foreign students and the study of public administration. Journal of Public Affairs Education, 18(1), 229–237. Retrieved October 23, 2016, from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=73899694&site=ehost-live

Basko, A. (2015). Fulbright administrators program. Recruitment & Retention in Higher Education, 29(10), 6–8. Retrieved October 23, 2016, from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=110370698&site=ehost-live

Whitby, M. (2015). Global ambition. Global talent. Chronicle of Higher Education, Supplement Birmingham Global, 8. Retrieved October 23, 2016, from EBSCO Online Database Education Source. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=102910406&site=ehost-live