Fulbright Grants

Awarded for a year's study or research abroad in many different countries. There are also awards to assist in teaching English as a second language in more than 50 countries. 

Deadlines

• Preliminary: July 1, 2024
• Internal: Sept. 6, 2024
• External: Oct. 8, 2024

Who is Eligible?

U.S. citizenship required.

Adviser: Eleanor (Ellie) Stanford, Fellowship Adviser

Application Process

Preliminary application (strongly recommended): Students interested in applying for a Fulbright are encouraged to contact the Fellowships Adviser early in the summer before the senior year, with a brief write-up of possible project ideas.

Students interested in receiving feedback on their ideas should submit either the Fulbright Advising Questionnaire through Wufoo or two essays and your resume by email to Ellie Stanford at estanford1@brynmawr.edu by the preliminary deadline. You will be asked to submit drafts of the following:

• Statement of grant purpose
• Personal statement
• Resumé

Official fall internal application: We are asking students to submit the complete online application by the internal deadline. Please always navigate to open the online application via the Fulbright website: https://us.fulbrightonline.org under ‘Applicants’ > Fulbright Online Application to Application Management. This application includes the following elements:

• A few pages of biographical information: name, addresses, schools attended, activities and honors, employment, etc.
• A statement of proposed study, research, or plans for teaching, in which you “describe your ... plans and your reasons for wishing to undertake them in the country of your choice.” This statement must not exceed 2 single-spaced pages for a research grant, and must not exceed 1 single-spaced page for an ETA positions. It should have a project title of seven or fewer words and should have a specified field of study from the Fulbright list of fields.
• A personal statement “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 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.” This statement should not exceed 1 single-spaced page.
• Three letters of recommendation. For study or research grants, all three letters will generally be from faculty, at least two of whom should be in your major field (or the field in which you are applying). For ETA positions, at least two letters should be from faculty, at least one from your major. Recommenders should know you well and be familiar with your proposed project. 

From the Fulbright website:

• Useful application advice when applying for a study or research grant
• Useful application advice when applying for an application in the arts
• Useful application advice when applying for an ETA position
• Instructions for applicants: letters of recommendation for study/research 
• Instructions for applicants: letters of recommendation for ETA applicants
• Information sheet for faculty writing letters for study/research applicants
• Information sheet for faculty writing letters for ETA applicants
• Information sheet for faculty writing language evaluations
• A Foreign Language Report, completed by a professional language teacher, if applicable.  As with the letters of recommendation, you will need to register the language evaluator electronically as part of the online application. This will give them the opportunity to complete the form online and have it submitted with your electronic application. In some cases the evaluator will need to interview you to assess your language skills.
• Uploaded official transcripts from Bryn Mawr and from all colleges or universities attended during your time here, including study abroad.

On the basis of this application, you will be interviewed by the Fellowships Committee on campus in mid-September. After the on-campus interview, the Committee will complete a Campus Evaluation Form, which will be submitted to the Fulbright Commission. You will also receive some feedback on your application and have a short time period in which to revise materials for your final application. The fellowships adviser will "return" your application to you so that you can make these changes.) The better and more polished your initial application; the likelier you are to have a strong interview, a strong Committee Evaluation, and the strongest possible final application.

External application: You should plan to complete all revisions and resubmit by 5 p.m. at least three business days before the final external deadline.   

After the application is submitted: At the end of January, applicants learn whether they have been recommended by the central screening committee. Recommended students’ applications are then sent on to individual countries, where the final decisions are made regarding awarding of grants. Timetables vary greatly from country to country, but may be anywhere from April to June.

May 17-June 30: During the summer it is strongly recommended that you discuss your project, application and any questions that you might have with the deans office for initial review and feedback.  If you are on campus for summer research, you are welcome to schedule an appointment to meet with the deans office.

July 1: Last day by which you submit an internal preliminary application and the Fulbright Advising Questionnaire through Wufoo or two essays and your resume by email to Ellie Stanford @ estanford1@brynmawr.edu. You will no longer be able to access the application on line after this deadline.

September 6: Last day to submit official Fulbright fall Internal Application via the Fulbright portal. 

Mid-September: Attend on campus interview with the Fellowships Committee.  Receive feedback and comments from Committee members provided to students.  Students make revisions to their applications. Committee sends evaluation forms to Fulbright. 

October 6 at 5 p.m.: Recommended deadline to submit final external application.

October 8 at 5 p.m.: National deadline for Fulbright. You must submit your application via the Fulbright portal. No exceptions.

October to January: All applications will be evaluated in a preliminary national screening. Results will not be announced before January.

Mid-to-late January: In recent years, news about the first round has arrived during the second half of January. You will receive an email notification of your status of Recommended or Not Recommended. Not Recommended means that you will not be going forward this year. If you receive this status, you can re-apply during the next cycle and often people are successful after revising their applications or selecting a different country. Recommended means that you will advance to the panel in the country to which you’ve applied.

January to March: The panel in the host country reviews recommended applications and makes the final award decisions. If you receive this status, your chances are good but not yet definite. Sometimes, students might be invited for a phone interview.

Mid-March to June: Final award decisions are emailed on a country by country basis. Some countries notify students sooner than others.

Step 1: Submit Internal Preliminary Application (Jul. 1, 2024) (strongly recommended)

• Students interested in applying for a Fulbright are encouraged to contact the Fellowships Adviser early in the summer before the senior year, with a brief write-up of possible project ideas. Students interested in receiving feedback on their ideas should submit the Fulbright Advising Questionnaire through Wufoo or two essays and your resume by email to Ellie Stanford @ estanford1@brynmawr.edu. by the preliminary deadline.

Step 2: Submit Official Fulbright Fall Internal Application via the Fulbright application portal (Sep. 6, 2024)

Once students have submitted their preliminary application for review and have received the necessary feedback, we are asking students to submit the complete Fulbright online application for the internal deadline.  Please always navigate to open the online application via the Fulbright website: https://us.fulbrightonline.org under ‘Applicants’ > Fulbright Online Application to Application Management. This application includes the following elements:

• Biographical information: name, addresses, schools attended, activities and honors, employment, etc.
• A statement of proposed study, research, or plans for teaching
• A personal statement “giving a picture of yourself as an individual.
• Three letters of recommendation.  For study or research grants, all three letters will generally be from faculty, at least two of whom should be in your major field (or the field in which you are applying). For ETA positions, at least two letters should be from faculty, at least one from your major. 
• A Foreign Language Report, completed by a professional language teacher, if applicable.
• Uploaded official transcripts from Bryn Mawr and from all colleges or universities attended during your time here, including study abroad. If you have a hold on your account, please note that you will not be issued a Bryn Mawr transcript

Step 3: Attend an on-campus Fulbright interview

• On the basis of this application, you will be interviewed by the Fellowships Committee
• The dean’s office will contact you to schedule your interview
• Interviews are generally in late September or early October.

Step 4: After the interview

• The Committee will complete a Fulbright Campus Evaluation Form, which will be submitted to the Fulbright Commission.
• You will receive some feedback on your application. 
• Revise your materials for your final application.

Step 5: Submit Official Fulbright Fall External Application via the Fulbright portal (Oct. 8, 2024)

Plan to complete all revisions and resubmit at least three business days before the final external deadline.  

The Fulbright Program sponsors a huge variety of grants. This makes for many different opportunities, but it also makes for a complicated and often confusing application process. Try not to let the complications discourage you. Bryn Mawr students win Fulbrights virtually every year!

Here are some tips:

• When using the Fulbright website, make sure you’re looking at the U.S. Student home page. The dropdown menu from the About tab provides basic information about the program; the Countries tab provides a wealth of information about the extent of the program; the Applicants tab walks you through the process of applying.
• You may register online at the Fulbright website.  Please always navigate to open the online application via the Fulbright website: https://us.fulbrightonline.org under ‘Applicants’ > Fulbright Online Application to Application Management (the last item under the Applicants tab) anytime after May 1. Registering gives you access to the online application and ensures that you will receive the useful and sometimes inspiring Fulbright Applicant Newsletter. It also alerts Bryn Mawr’s Fellowships Adviser to your interest in the program. It does not commit you to applying.
• Once you’ve begun looking through the website, you will soon realize that the Fulbright differs tremendously from country to country. In some places, the Fulbright is incredibly competitive, and it is very difficult for anyone other than a top graduate student pursuing dissertation research to win a Fulbright in those countries. In other places, a comparatively high percentage (20-30 percent or even higher) of applicants receives grants.
• The Fulbright ETA positions tend to work especially well for graduating seniors. No specific teaching experience is usually required, although previous work as a TA or in some other similar capacity can help you write a stronger application. Although teaching takes up the bulk of your working time (and the bulk of your application), in many countries you are encouraged to develop a “secondary project” to work on during your time abroad.
• Candidates are usually expected to have some degree of language proficiency appropriate to their projects, but specific language requirements vary tremendously from country to country, and within one country, from project to project. Many positions teaching English assume no preexisting knowledge of the host-country’s language.
• In some regions of the world, many countries participate in regional programs, which permit multi-country proposals. However, it is usually recommended that graduating seniors apply to a single country.
• All regular Fulbright grants (i.e., all except TA-ships) require candidates to have an institutional affiliation during their time abroad, with either a university or some other research institute. In many cases, you will have to arrange this affiliation in advance. Faculty in your major department or in a related language department can help you learn more about appropriate places to seek affiliation. You will then need to write (probably email) individuals at that institution, seeking their sponsorship. Save this correspondence to use as supporting documentation! In other cases, the Fulbright Commission will help you arrange affiliation. Check particular country descriptions for details.
• Most graduating seniors seeking a regular Fulbright grant will be attending university lectures, supplemented by independent work. You should not necessarily expect close supervision from your faculty sponsor.
• Bear in mind that the purpose of the Fulbright is to promote international understanding. Your ability to serve as a good informal ambassador of the U.S. is as important as your intellectual and academic credentials.

Yes.  As the instructions make clear, titles should have no more than seven words.  If you are applying to be an ETA, your title should be “Teaching Assistantship.” 

On 1A, you are given very little space and should merely list items without description. On page 2, you are given the space to add additional items and to include any description of previously listed items that may be necessary or useful. You should still be succinct. Don’t feel bad if you don’t use up all the space.  Remember that this same application is used by advanced graduate students who have had several more years to accumulate honors!

Probably not.  If your occupational experience helps show what kinds of skills or interests you have, then it would be useful to list it. 

Only if you’re planning to travel with a spouse, child, or other dependents.  Realize, though, that the Fulbright stipend is fairly limited.  You may want to try to have some savings to rely on in emergencies or to allow for a little bit more flexibility or comfort in your life abroad. 

No. The instructions state clearly that your application should be prepared in 12-point Times New Roman. 

No.  This is the expectation for graduate students applying for Fulbrights, but it does not apply to graduating seniors. 

Maybe. According to the Fulbright Applicant newsletter:

"In general, as stated above, it is best to ask for references from people who have knowledge of your field of study, project or host country. However, some applicants may find it difficult to obtain all three letters of recommendation from people who can fulfill these guidelines. It may not always be possible to include references from professors or other field specialists.  You will need to use your best judgment on who would make the best reference letter writer for your project. These letters can come from peers, supervisors, or employers.  We recommend trying to obtain as many letters from people who meet our guidelines, but you can submit a reference letter from anyone that you wish."

One important reason is that the same application process and forms are used for a wide variety of grants.  Students apply for Fulbrights for formal graduate study leading to a degree, for independent research, for work in the creative and performing arts, and for ETA (English Teaching Assistant) positions.  Not all the forms are relevant for all candidates.  Read the instructions carefully, start early, give yourself plenty of time to ask questions if you need to.

You should describe in detail your reasons for wanting to undertake work as a teaching assistant in Country X and your ideas about what you would want to do in the classroom to enhance your students’ understanding of the English language and of American culture.  You may choose to talk about experiences you would draw on, but you should make sure that most of your proposal looks forward and towards the work you would be doing in Country X. Your answer should also display some knowledge of how the educational system in Country X works. 

Many Fulbright ETA positions are less than full-time, and you are also supposed to have a secondary project.  You should spend the last paragraph describing this project.  If you do not speak the language of Country X, you should choose a project that would be feasible even without language skills. 

No, but if it was for a period of six months or more, it may make you uncompetitive.  Contact the particular country’s program manager for guidance. 

No.  The Fulbright commission does not consider college study abroad as a disadvantage, even if it lasts longer than six months. 

No.  However, if you do have some proficiency in the country’s native language, it may be useful to go ahead and submit a Foreign Language Report.  You may also want to indicate if you plan to work on any hospitality/survival language skills in the statement of
 

According to an article published in the Fulbright applicant newsletter, you should still submit a report.  Rather than being evaluated by a professional language teacher, you should merely indicate on the form how you will acquire a basic survival/hospitality level of proficiency. 

No.  We are required to keep your official JYA transcript in your permanent record here.  You must obtain an additional official transcript directly from your study abroad program.  Make this request early. 

This varies greatly from country to country.  In most cases, you will be expected to arrange for affiliation with a university or other research institute by the time of your application.  In other cases, the Fulbright Commission will help arrange affiliation after you have been named a Fulbright recipient. 

In cases where you are responsible for arranging affiliation, you should include a letter from a faculty member at the institution.  The letter at the very least should indicate support of the project and willingness to work together.  The letter might also include specifics about the support that will be given and the resources that will be made available.  If the faculty member knows you, he or she should also explain how and to what extent.  This should be a signed hard copy, not a fax or an email. 

The Fulbright Program offers graduating seniors, recent graduates, and graduate students one-year fellowships for study, research, or teaching assistantships abroad.  Like the entire Fulbright program, its mission is “to increase mutual understanding between the peoples of the United States and other countries through the exchange of persons, knowledge and skills.”

This information sheet is intended to make the process of submitting a letter of recommendation as simple as possible and to help you make the letter as effective as possible. We know you work hard on behalf of our applicants, and we appreciate your efforts!

Fulbright uses a completely online system, and signed hard copies of recommendations are no longer required.  Because Fulbright requires a campus review of all candidates, the internal deadline for submission of all materials is September 6, 2024. 

Prior to preparing your letter, it is essential that you review the project summary provided by the applicant.    If you are not familiar with U.S. Student Fulbright Program in general or with the program the student is applying to, you may wish to visit the Fulbright website at https://us.fulbrightonline.org/ or our website at https://www.brynmawr.edu/fellowships/fulbright-grants.  In preparing your statement, please keep in mind that the applicant will be serving as a citizen representing the United States and that personal suitability, as well as academic excellence, is an important criterion to be considered.

In particular, please comment on any of the following that are appropriate relative to the candidate, the proposed plan for study and/research, and country to which he/she is applying.

• Ability of the applicant to carry out the proposed research project and/or study program.
• If the proposal is primarily a research project or has a significant research component, feasibility of the applicant's proposed project in terms of resources available in the host country and the time allowed for completion.
• Merit or validity of the research or study project itself.
• Linguistic preparation for the proposed plan.
• Candidate's ability to adapt to a different cultural environment.
• Impression the candidate will make abroad as a representative of the United States.
• In the Creative or Performing Arts: The candidate's talent and potential for growth.
• Any other factors which you believe may have a bearing on the candidate's experience overseas

Fulbright uses an online recommendation system.  If a student asks you for a Fulbright letter in person, please provide your email address for her to register you online.   

Once the student has registered you, you will receive an email message with user id, password, and a link to the application website.  Please save this email in a secure, easily found place, so that you may return to it as necessary.  You will be asked to log in to confirm the following:  Name, Organization, Email and Address.  You will then find a list of applicants, both past and present, who have requested recommendations from you, based upon your email address.  Current applicants will be accessible via a hyperlink. 

Note: Messages from Embark are sometimes perceived as spam.  If necessary, please check your quarantine folder or contact the Help Desk.  Students can also activate the application system to resend the email.

After clicking on the student’s name, you will find two pages to be completed.  The first page requires your biographical data, such as name, title and institutional information.  This page also asks you to indicate in what context and for how long you have known the candidate.  This answer must be limited to 10 lines, which may be previewed to be certain that your answer fits.  The second page is where you may upload your letter of recommendation.

Please follow these steps in preparing and uploading your letter.

1. Prepare your letter offline.
2. At the top of each page of the document that you upload into the system, state the name of the applicant and the country to which they are applying.
3. Limit your comments to two, single-spaced pages.
4. When finished, save your letter as a Word document. Or you can print out your letter on university letter head, sign it and then scan it into a PDF file. Make sure that you compile all documents into a single file for upload.
5. To upload your reference letter, simply click on the "Browse" button below to select your reference letter. When the name of your document appears in the box, click on the Upload button to complete your upload.
6. The final step is to Submit the reference.

You may save what you have entered and return to the recommendation site as often as you like before the deadline for submission.  Nothing that you enter will be seen by the Fulbright Commission until you click the “Submit” button.  However, no modifications will be possible after the recommendation has been submitted.  If you have any concerns about the content of your letter, please contact me before you submit it. 

Questions:  Contact Ellie Stanford, Bryn Mawr Fellowships Adviser

The Fulbright Program offers graduating seniors, recent graduates, and graduate students one-year fellowships for study, research, or teaching assistantships abroad.  Like the entire Fulbright program, its mission is “to increase mutual understanding between the peoples of the United States and other countries through the exchange of persons, knowledge and skills.”

This information sheet is intended to make the process of submitting your foreign language evaluation as simple as possible.

Because Fulbright requires a campus review of all candidates, the internal deadline for all materials is September 6, 2024. 

Fulbright uses a completely online system.  Students must use this online system for gathering evaluations before the internal review.  If a student asks you for a foreign language evaluation in person, please provide your email address for her to register you online.  

Once the student has registered you, you will receive an email message with user id, password, and a link to the application website.  Please save this email in a secure, easily found place, so that you may return to it as necessary.  You will be asked to log in to confirm the following:  Name, Organization, Email and Address.  You will then find a list of applicants, both past and present, who have requested evaluations and recommendations from you, based upon your email address.  Current applicants will be accessible via a hyperlink. 

Note: Messages from Embark are sometimes perceived as spam.  If necessary, please check your quarantine folder or contact the Help Desk.  Students can also activate the application system to resend the email.

After clicking on the student’s name, you will find one page to be completed.  This page requires your biographical data, such as name, title and institutional information.  Below this, you will find a list of questions regarding the student’s language ability and a short answer section regarding your method of evaluation.   We have instructed students to provide you with an outline of their proposals in order for you to best evaluate their ability to undertake it in their prospective language.   

You may log in to the recommendation site as often as you like before you submit the evaluation.  You may save your answers and return to them to edit them as you wish.  Once you have submitted, you may not edit or delete the form. 

Special notice for faculty who are asked to write both a letter of recommendation and a language evaluation

Fulbright recommends that students not ask the same person for both these documents, and we will pass that recommendation on to students.  Inevitably, however, there are times when it is unavoidable, and Fulbright rules do allow this.  However, the online system requires a unique email address for each submission.  If you have an alternate email address, we ask that you give the student that address to enter for the second form.  If you don’t, or if you are unwilling to do this, please contact me to make alternate arrangements. 

Questions:  Contact Ellie Stanford, Bryn Mawr Fellowships Adviser

The Fulbright Program offers graduating seniors, recent graduates, and graduate students one-year fellowships for study, research, or teaching assistantships abroad.  Like the entire Fulbright program, its mission is “to increase mutual understanding between the peoples of the United States and other countries through the exchange of persons, knowledge and skills.”

This information sheet is intended to make the process of submitting your recommendation as simple as possible and to help you make your recommendation as effective as possible.  We know you work hard on behalf of our applicants, and we appreciate your efforts!

Fulbright uses a completely online system, and signed hard copies of recommendations are no longer required.  Because Fulbright requires a campus review of all candidates, the internal deadline for submission of all materials is September 6, 2024. 

After clicking on the student’s name, you will find two pages to be completed.  The first page requires your biographical data, such as name, title and institutional information.  This page also asks you to indicate in what context and for how long you have known the candidate.  This answer must be limited to 10 lines, which may be previewed to be certain that your answer fits.  The second page is where you will begin your recommendation.  

You may save what you have entered and return to the recommendation site as often as you like before the deadline for submission.  Nothing that you enter will be seen by the Fulbright Commission until you click the “Submit” button.  However, no modifications will be possible after the recommendation has been submitted.  If you have any concerns about the content of your letter, please contact me before you submit it. 

Questions:  Contact Ellie Stanford, Bryn Mawr Fellowships Adviser

The ETA program does not use regular letters of recommendation.  Instead, recommenders are led through five short-answer questions about the student’s communication skills in English, ability to work in unstructured situations, cultural adaptability, and suitability as a teacher or mentor.  There is also an open-ended question that allows you to comment on any other factors that you believe are relevant.   It is important that you try to address the specifics of each question.  In this case, content is far more important than style.  Keep your answers concise, and don’t worry if they’re lacking in eloquence.  You may log in to the recommendation site as often as you like before you submit the recommendation.  You may save your answers and return to them to edit them as you wish.  Your responses will not be shared with the Fulbright commission until you click the “Submit” button at the end of the form. 

We have asked students to provide you with copies (or at least drafts) of their teaching proposals and personal statements.  These can be enormously helpful to you as you prepare your recommendations.  If you are not familiar with U.S. Student Fulbright Program in general or with the particular program the student is applying for, you may wish to visit the Fulbright website at https://us.fulbrightonline.org/ or our website at https://www.brynmawr.edu/fellowships/fulbright-grants.

Students must use this online system for gathering recommendations before the internal review.  If a student asks you for a Fulbright recommendation in person, please provide your email address for her to register you online.  

Once the student has registered you, you will receive an email message from the Embark application system with user id, password, and a link to the application website. Please save this email in a secure, easily found place, so that you may return to it as necessary.  You will be asked to log in to confirm the following:  Name, Organization, Email and Address.  You will then find a list of applicants, both past and present, who have requested recommendations from you, based upon your email address.  Current applicants will be accessible via a hyperlink. 

Note: Messages from Embark are sometimes perceived as spam.  If necessary, please check your quarantine folder or contact the Help Desk.  Students can also activate the application system to resend the email.