Fulbright U.S. Student Program

KU International Affairs coordinates the applications by students at the University of Kansas for grants under the auspices of the Fulbright U.S. Student Program.

Applications for the 2020-21 Fulbright grant competition are due to International Affairs via the online national application, which will become available in April 2019.

Ready to get started? You can view a video information session or make an advising appointment with Dr. Rachel Sherman Johnson, Fulbright Program Adviser. If you would like your Statement of Grant Purpose pre-reviewed by a member of the Campus Committee, you should submit the Pre-Proposal Form to rachelsj@ku.edu by August 26, 2019 (this is an optional deadline; the firm KU internal deadline is Sept. 5, 2018).

What is Fulbright?

From the Fulbright U.S. Student Program website:

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program provides grants for individually designed study/research projects or for English Teaching Assistant Programs.  A candidate will submit a Statement of Grant Purpose defining activities to take place during one academic year in a participating country outside the U.S.

During their grants, Fulbrighters will meet, work, live with and learn from the people of the host country, sharing daily experiences.  The program facilitates cultural exchange through direct interaction on an individual basis in the classroom, field, home, and in routine tasks, allowing the grantee to gain an appreciation of others’ viewpoints and beliefs, the way they do things, and the way they think. Through engagement in the community, the individual will interact with their hosts on a one-to-one basis in an atmosphere of openness, academic integrity, and intellectual freedom, thereby promoting mutual understanding.

The purpose of the Fulbright Program, which was created by the U.S. Congress in 1946, is to foster mutual understanding among nations through education and cultural exchanges. Fulbright Grants are funded under the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961 through annual appropriations made by Congress to the United States Information Agency (USIA) and by foreign governments, universities, corporations and private donors. The J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, composed of 12 educational and public leaders appointed by the President of the United States, establishes criteria for the selection of candidates and has final authority for the awarding of grants. The Institute of International Education (IIE) administers the Fulbright U.S. Student Program on behalf of this Board and USIA. Each year the program enables more than 800 Americans to study or conduct research in over 100 countries.

Types of Fulbright Grants

Study/Research Fulbright grants provide round-trip travel, maintenance, a research allowance and tuition waiver, if applicable. Most grants are for one academic year of study or research. All grants include health and accident insurance.

The Fulbright English Teaching Assistant program places grantees in schools overseas to supplement local English language instruction and to provide a native speaker presence in the classroom.

Eligibility

Applicants must be U.S. citizens at the time of application and hold a bachelor's degree or its equivalent by the beginning date of the grant. Applicants may not hold a Ph.D. at the time of application. Applicants must have sufficient proficiency in the written and spoken language of the host country to communicate with the people of the host country and to carry out the proposed study. Grantees will be required to submit a satisfactory Certificate of Health from a physician.

Fall 2019 application timeline for 2020-21 grants

Contact

Dr. Rachel Sherman Johnson                                                
Fulbright Program Adviser                                   
rachelsj@ku.edu 

make an advising appointment                             

KU International Affairs
300 Strong Hall
785-864-6161