Fulbright Program

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Fulbright" redirects here. For the senator, see J. William Fulbright. For UK program, see UK Fulbright Commission.

The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright-Hays Program, is a program of grants for international educational exchange for scholars, educators, graduate students and professionals, founded by United States Senator J. William Fulbright. It is considered one of the most prestigious award programs and it operates in 144 countries. The Fulbright Program has 37 Nobel Prize winners among its alumni, more than any other scholarship program of its kind.[citation needed]

Contents

[edit] History

“The Fulbright Commission aims to bring a little more knowledge, a little more reason, and a little more compassion into world affairs and thereby increase the chance that nations will learn at last to live in peace and friendship.” - Senator J. William Fulbright[1]

Created in the aftermath of the Second World War through the efforts of Senator J. William Fulbright, The Fulbright Program promotes peace and understanding through educational exchange. Senator Fulbright believed that this would be an essential vehicle for mutual understanding between individuals, institutions and future leaders.

Today, the Fulbright Program is one of the most prestigious awards programs world-wide, operating in 144 countries and with 51 commissions. More Fulbright alumni have won Nobel Prizes than those of any other academic programme, including two in 2002.

The US-UK Fulbright Commission was created by treaty on 22 September 1948 and since its inception has expanded its programme to include grants for study in a wide variety of fields. MBA awards, filmaking, sports science, performing arts, science, politics, history, literature and dance to name a few. Since 1949, approximately 12,000 UK Nationals have studied in the US and 9,600 US Nationals in the UK on Fulbright Educational Exchanges out of 200,000 Fulbright alumni worldwide.

In 2008, it was revealed that 8 Palestinian Fulbright scholarship winners living in the Gaza Strip were denied VISAs by Israel.[2][3] They have since been reinstated [4]

[edit] The program

The programs were established to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and other countries through the exchange of persons, knowledge, and skills.

The Fulbright Program provides funds for students, scholars, and professionals to undertake graduate study, advanced research, university teaching, and teaching in elementary and secondary schools abroad. The initial reach of this program had been primarily European countries, but now the program operates worldwide.

[edit] Administration and funding

The program is administered by 50 binational Fulbright commissions, US embassies, and cooperating organizations.

A Fulbright Commission is a foundation established abroad to co-sponsor and administer Fulbright grants locally. Unlike countries where Fulbright grants are paid by the U.S. Department of State, Commissions pay some or all of the scholarships.

Grants for recent B.A. graduates, graduate students and younger professionals are administered by the Institute of International Education. These grants are available for U.S. citizens with a bachelor's degree to study in other countries, and for citizens of other countries to do graduate study in the U.S. Grants for faculty and professionals, as well as grants for U.S. institutions wishing to host scholars from other countries, are administered by the Council for International Exchange of Scholars. Grants for K-12 teachers and administrators are administered by the United States Department of Agriculture. Fulbright-Hays grants, including grants for doctoral and postdoctoral research, summer seminars abroad, and group projects abroad, are sponsored by the United States Department of Education.

The Program is funded by Congressional appropriations and funding provided by partner governments. The program also receives important in-kind and financial support from academic institutions, foundations, and the private sector. Fulbright grants for students, teachers, college faculty and professionals are sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the United States Department of State, governments in other countries, and the private sector. Fulbright-Hays grants for graduate students, teachers, and faculty are sponsored by the United States Department of Education.

[edit] Fulbright Prize

The J. William Fulbright Prize for International Understanding established in 1993 is awarded by the Fulbright Association to recognize individuals who have made extraordinary contributions toward bringing peoples, cultures, or nations to greater understanding of others.[citation needed] Fulbright Prize laureates include:

[edit] Fulbright alumni

Fulbright alumni associations exist in 71 countries around the world[5]. In the U.S., the Fulbright Association[6] counts over 9,000 members.

[edit] Notable alumni

The following are particularly notable:[7]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ "About Fulbright", US-UK Fulbright Commission, 2003. Retrieved on 2008-04-07. 
  2. ^ http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-fg-scholars31-2008may31,0,1451183.story
  3. ^ http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/worldwide/story/0,,2283178,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=networkfront
  4. ^ http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iixtTmkP2o_Ie1mOpcjGtQagiUAAD9123HUO0
  5. ^ Fulbright Alumni Organizations Worldwide
  6. ^ Fulbright Association
  7. ^ Fulbright Alumni Craig R. Barrett, John Hope Franklin, and Shirley Strum Kenny Receive Lifetime Achievement Medals.

[edit] External links