Nationally Competitive Scholarships

Fulbright Student Program

Purpose of the Award: The Fulbright Program is designed to enable U.S. students, artists, and other professionals to study or conduct research in over 100 nations, and to enjoy opportunities for personal development and cross-cultural interaction.

Nature of the Award: The U.S. Student Program gives recent B.A./B.S. graduates, masters and doctoral candidates, and other artists and professionals the opportunity to study and/or conduct research for one academic year. Full Grants generally provide round-trip transportation; language courses, where appropriate; book and research allowances; tuition, in some cases; living expenses; and supplemental health and accident insurance. Other methods of funding include the Fulbright Travel Grants, Foreign and Private Grants, Teaching Opportunities, and Business Opportunities (see link below to Fulbright website for more details).

Eligibility Requirements: To be eligible, applicants must be U.S. citizens, hold a bachelors degree before the beginning date of the grant, and have received the majority of their higher education in the U.S. In addition, applicants should not have lived more than six months in the country to which they apply. See the Fulbright website (link below) for exceptions.

Selection Criteria: Fulbright Fellows are chosen on the basis of academic or professional record, language proficiency, feasibility of proposed study project, personal qualifications, requirements of programs in individual countries, and several other criteria (see link to Fulbright website below).

Application Procedures: All Fulbright applicants must secure the endorsement of their respective universities. University of Arizona applicants must meet both the UA deadline and the Fulbright deadline (see important dates). Enrolled students must receive the paper application, or access to the on-line application, from Dr. Karna Walter, Fulbright Program Advisor for the University of Arizona. Application materials, including the application form, statement of proposed study, curriculum vitae, foreign language report, and three references (submitted by referees) to Dr. Walter. A faculty committee will review applications, interview applicants, and offer feedback to applicants so they can strengthen their applications before they must be submitted to the Fulbright Program. While there is no limit to the number of students who can be nominated by the University of Arizona, only strong applications will be submitted to the Fulbright Program.

Nomination Procedures: IIE, the agency that administers the Fulbright selection process, submits applications to the National Screening Committee, which is charged with recommending candidates for further consideration. Applications of recommended candidates are forwarded to supervising agencies abroad to determine feasibility of candidates' projects. The Fulbright Board, which considers the Committee's recommendations, the approval of agencies abroad, and availability of funds, makes final decisions in the spring.

Important Dates:

• September 22: Fulbright application materials are due to Dr. Karna Walter.
• October 21: application materials are due to IIE.

Contact Information: Potential applicants should consult the Fulbright website to obtain specific details related to the Fulbright Fellowship. UA students considering applying for the Fulbright should contact Dr. Karna Walter, Assistant Director of International Studies and Scholarships, at 621-6546 or karna@u.arizona.edu. Dr. Walter is available to discuss application procedures and essay ideas.