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FULBRIGHT SCHOLAR PROGRAM INFORMATION

Tips for Applying for a Fulbright Grant

General

  • Make sure you meet the eligibility guidelines and the application deadline.

  • Plan ahead. Producing a strong application takes time, and peer review and final selection are based solely on your application and accompanying materials.

  • Do your homework. A thoroughly researched, well-planned application for a carefully chosen award (the best match of applicant to award) will have a considerable advantage over its competitors.

  • Realize that collaborative projects between a U.S. and an overseas scholar are more compelling to reviewers.

  • Have a clear strategy. Make sure all parts of your application work to form an integrated whole. Your application should
    Highlight the aspects about you and your career that will give reviewers a focused yet well-rounded view of your candidacy
    Convince reviewers that this is the best award for you and you are the best applicant for it

  • Make sure your curriculum vitae clearly explains your job responsibilities.

  • READ and follow the instructions carefully, including formatting requirements. The instructions are your guide to creating a complete and competitive application.

  • Proofread!

  • Have a trusted colleague review your application materials and offer feedback.

  • Include only the information requested. Do not exceed page limits. Pages surpassing limits will be deleted.

Selecting an Award

Constructing the Project Statement

The project statement is the core of your application and vital to the successful application package. In addition to being persuasive and compelling, the project statement must explain

  • What you propose to do

  • How you will accomplish it

  • Why it is important

  • Why you want to do it

Lecturing Awards

The project statement for a lecturing award should specifically describe the following:

  • What you propose to teach

  • What related courses you have taught in the past

  • How you will adapt the material and your teaching style to fit the host culture

  • Why you are particularly suited to this award

  • Why you want to teach in this particular country

  • Why you want this experience

In addition,

  • Give as much evidence as possible of your teaching abilities.

  • Include descriptive information to demonstrate your cultural sensitivity and flexibility.

Research Awards

Research award project statements should describe:

  • What you will do

  • How you propose to do the research (specifics, logistics)

  • Why this research is needed

  • Why it must be done in this country

  • How you face the challenge of conducting research in a foreign language (if applicable)

Also,

  • Address what will be contributed to both countries and to the discipline

  • Demonstrate why you need to be in-country to conduct your research.

  • Demonstrate that the research strategy is feasible, including its time frame

  • Consider the culture and politics of the host country and how these could impact your work

  • Indicate a dissemination plan for your results

Lecturing/Research Awards

 Follow the above tips.

Additionally, the project statement for lecturing/research awards should dedicate attention to teaching and to research proportional to that indicated in the award description. For example, if the award indicates that 80 percent of the time will be dedicated to lecturing, 80 percent of the project statement should describe the lecturing component of the project.

 For All Awards

  • Use the project statement to make the parts of the application work together, referring to items in the curriculum vitae, the research bibliography or the course syllabi in a way that will allow reviewers to find the key pieces of information you want to convey.

  • Focus on what you want to do, not your biography. Your curriculum vitae can give your biography.

  • Write so people outside your discipline can understand your project and why it is important. Avoid jargon.

  • Organize your statement carefully. Don't make reviewers search for information.

  • Limit background discussion. Use a bibliography to give background information.

  • Indicate the results of previous grants if you have had them (publications, presentations, new programs, etcetera).

  • Address the potential benefit or impact your participation in the program will have on your career, your institution, and to your field.

Making Contacts/Letter of Reference

Most awards do not require a letter of invitation from the host institution, although some "Any Field" awards and a few others do.

Some awards identify the hosting institution, in which case you should write directly to that institution, introducing yourself and requesting information on its programs and faculty.

Some awards require you to arrange your own institutional affiliation. You can accomplish this with or without prior contacts abroad.

With Contacts Abroad

If you already have contacts abroad, you only need to make sure that when you request the letter, you indicate what should be contained in it. You may also want to add that any letter the institution might write does not bind them to host you nor does it guarantee you an award. Institutions may be more willing to issue letters of invitation to more than one scholar if they understand these facts.

Without Contacts Abroad

Step 1: Research to identify potential host institutions, departments and faculty associates. There are many possible sources of this information:

  • The Internet. Start by searching by your discipline or keywords of your project coupled with the country you are interested in to start.

  • Also try the Web sites www.braintrack.com and www.petersons.com

  • The international office on your campus or its library. Examine guides to international education and educational institutions, such as World of Learning and The International Handbook of Colleges and Universities.

  • International students and faculty as well as area studies faculty on your campus who may know people in your discipline in their home countries.

  • The international division of your professional organization may have in its membership people who could serve as contacts or direct you to others who could.

  • Utilize Title IV Area Centers for information.

  • Professional journals in your field-look for authors from the country you are interested in.

  • Current and former Fulbright U.S. and Visiting scholars often have valuable information. Get the current and past directories of these scholars at the CIES Web site: www.cies.org.

  • CIES program officers. Program officers may have leads; contact the appropriate program officer for the country you are interested in.

Step 2: Contact that country's CIES program officer for any relevant cultural or institutional knowledge. They are there to help you.

Step 3: Send a letter of introduction and a copy of your curriculum vitae to your potential hosts. In your letter briefly identify

  • what you do,

  • what you wish to accomplish at that institution through a Fulbright and

  • that you are inquiring about the potential for collaboration and if they would be interested in hosting a U.S. scholar.

Please note

A letter of invitation does not guarantee you will be chosen for the award. Many other factors contribute to that decision.

Also be aware that in the United States we have become accustomed to rapid response, especially in electronic communication. Many cultures do not have this expectation, and many people do not enjoy the reliable connectivity or easy access to the Internet that we do. Therefore, be advised that you may not receive a response to your inquiries as quickly as you might hope.

Letters of Reference

Letters of reference allow reviewers to understand how you are viewed by others in your discipline and your institution.

Do not rely on stock references you may have. Reference letters should be current and specifically address your ability to fulfill your proposed grant activity.

  • Choose those people to serve as references who can cogently comment on your strengths and suitability for the grant.

  • Arrange for references early in the process and indicate the deadline by which the letters must be submitted. Your application will not be considered complete until all required reference letters have arrived.

  • If there is a lecturing component to your award, you will need to secure a teaching report. This should come from a supervisor familiar with your teaching abilities, such as your department chair

  • One letter should come from someone familiar with your work.

  • One letter should come from someone in your discipline but outside your institution. This allows reviewers to judge how you are known in the broader field of your discipline.

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Last modified 04/10/2006  College Home | College Directory | Index | Search | Help