Eligibility Requirements
Fulbright student applicants must:
- Be citizens or nationals of the U.S. at the time of application (Permanent residents are not eligible)
- Hold a bachelor's degree or equivalent before the start of the grant
- Meet the language requirements of the award (if applicable) and demonstrate sufficient competency to complete their project and adjust to life in the host country
- Not apply to the Fulbright U.S. Student Program and the Fulbright Scholar Program in the same competition cycle
Refer to the Fulbright website for other eligibility requirements and preferred qualifications.
Award Benefits
Fulbright U.S. Student grants include:
- Round-trip transportation to the host country
;
- Funding to cover room, board, and incidental costs, based on the cost of living in the host country
;
- Accident & sickness health benefits
;
- 24/7 support line for urgent and non-urgent situations
; and
- 12 months of Non-Competitive Eligibility (NCE) hiring status within the federal government
In some countries, grants may also include:
- Book and research allowances
(Stipends differ by type of grant and country.)
- Mid-term enrichment activities
- Full or partial tuition
- Language study programs
- Pre-departure and in-country orientations
2023 - 2024 Competition Cycle
March 31, 2022 (expected): Fulbright Embark Application Portal Opens
June 1, 2022 (Wed) | 5PM ET: Intent to Apply Deadline
- This is optional and is intended for TC students who would like OIA’s support with their application at an earlier stage.
July 1, 2022 (Fri) | 5PM ET: Preliminary Application Deadline
- The Preliminary Application Form and Faculty Endorsement Form will begin receiving responses on April 29, 2022 @ 12PM ET.
- For your Preliminary Application to be considered as complete, please request for a TC faculty member to complete an endorsement form on your behalf before the deadline. Prior to requesting for endorsement, you should have notified your endorser of your intent to apply for a Fulbright grant along with your proposed Fulbright project idea(s).
- This is compulsory for TC students who intend to apply internally and receive institutional endorsement from the College.
- TC students who do not meet this deadline can still apply for the Fulbright award as an external ("at large") candidate. External applicants do not receive institutional endorsement; and must submit their completed application (including statements, sponsorship letter, recommendation letters, etc.) through the Fulbright Embark Application Portal by the national deadline on Oct 11, 2022 @ 5PM ET.
August 30, 2022 (Tues) | 5PM ET: TC Institutional Deadline
- This is only for internal applicants, who must submit their applications via the Fulbright Embark Application Portal. These materials will be reviewed by the College's Faculty Review Committee.
September 2022: Interviews with TC’s Faculty Review Committee
- This is only for internal applicants. Interviews will take place via Zoom.
- The College's Faculty Review Committee will evaluate internal applicants and provide them with feedback for final revisions.
- After receiving this feedback, applicants are welcome to request that OIA unsubmit their applications in the Fulbright Embark Application Portal so that they are able to make revisions. Applicants who elect to have their applications submitted are responsible for submitting their application by the national deadline on Oct 11, 2022 @ 5PM ET.
October 11, 2022 (Tues) | 5PM ET: Fulbright National Deadline
- Both internal and external applicants must submit all application materials through the Fulbright Embark Application Portal by the national deadline.
- OIA will only submit institutional endorsements for internal applicants who successfully submitted their complete applications through the Fulbright Embark Application Portal by the national deadline.
November-December 2023: Selection of Semi-finalists
- The National Screening Committee deliberates and selects the semi-finalist applications to send to each country.
- Candidates are notified via email about whether or not their applications have been recommended to their host country.
March 1 - May 31, 2023: Announcement of Fulbright Awards
- Each country deliberates and selects the final grant recipients, however exact notification dates vary by country.
Recommended Timeline for Application Preparation
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Timeline
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Recommended Task(s)
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March 2022
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- Visit the Fulbright website and become familiar with grant availability by country
- Select a country
For Research Award
- Begin to design your project
- Seek a faculty mentor to guide you through the application process and the technical matters for your project
- Identify a potential affiliation in the host country
For ETA
- Consult with professors and/or colleagues with a background in the country to which you are applying or professionals in the English/TESOL fields
|
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March 31, 2022
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Fulbright Embark Application Portal opens
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March - May 2022
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- Attend 1st OIA information session (March or April)
- Begin your online application on the Fulbright Embark Application Portal
- Declare your “Intent to Apply” to OIA
- Draft a Statement of Grant Purpose
- Draft a Personal Statement
For Research Award
- Request affiliation letter from organization/institution abroad
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May - June 2022
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- Seek a faculty advisor who will endorse your preliminary application
- Seek three individuals who will serve as references in your application process
- Contact the professor or other professional foreign language instructor who will complete the Foreign Language Evaluation form for the application
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June 1, 2022 | 5PM ET
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Deadline for TC “Intent to Apply” (highly encouraged for internal applicants) |
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July 1, 2022 | 5PM ET
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Deadline for TC “Preliminary Application” and "Faculty Endorsement" (mandatory for internal applicants)
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July 2022
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- Attend Alumni Sharing Panel
- Revise drafts of your Statement of Grant Purpose and Personal Statement with feedback from OIA, GWC, faculty, and colleagues/peers, etc.
- Complete the remainder of your online application, including entering all contact information for your references
- Request official transcripts from your higher education institutions
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August 2022
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- Follow up with references to ensure that required recommendations are completed online
- Finalize your Statement of Grant Purpose and Personal Statement
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September 2022
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Confirm online submission of the following:
- Application Form
- Statement of grant purpose
- Personal Statement
- Three references
- Language Evaluation
- Transcripts (official/sealed)
- Letter of Affiliation (for Research grants only)
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August 30, 2022 | 5PM ET
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TC Institutional Deadline (only for internal applicants; submit your application via Fulbright Embark Application Portal)
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Mid-late September 2021
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TC Faculty Review Committee evaluates internal applications and interviews applicants
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October 11, 2022 | 5PM ET
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Fulbright National Deadline (for both internal and external applications; submit your application via Fulbright Embark Application Portal)
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Eligibility
Students who wish to apply through TC as internal applicants must be:
- Enrolled in a degree program; and
- Registered for at least five (5) credits or the equivalent for both Fall 2021 and Spring 2022
Advantages
Per the Fulbright website, if you are currently enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program at a U.S. college or university, you are strongly encouraged to apply through that institution. While there is an earlier deadline for applying through the College, there are also advantages:
- The possibility of receiving institutional endorsement, subject to the recommendation of the Faculty Review Committee
- The likelihood of submitting a stronger application as you will receive feedback from the Office of International Affairs (OIA) and the Faculty Review Committee
- The opportunity to receive guidance from TC-Fulbright alumni on strengthening your application
Award Types
Each year, TC supports internal applicants with two awards:
Campus Pre-Application Process
For students who plan to apply through TC for the College's institutional endorsement:
- We highly encourage you to declare your Intent to Apply as early as possible or by the deadline of Wednesday, June 1, 2022.
- Submit the mandatory Preliminary Application and Faculty Endorsement Form by the deadline of Friday, July 1, 2022.
- This includes providing information about the award you intend to apply for; and sharing drafts/outlines of your personal statement and statement of grant purpose.
- For your Preliminary Application to be considered as complete, please request for a TC faculty member to complete an endorsement form on your behalf before the deadline. Prior to requesting for endorsement, you should have notified your endorser of your intent to apply for a Fulbright grant along with your proposed Fulbright project idea(s).
- Secure letters of recommendation from at least two TC faculty members (Research award only).
Completing the Fulbright application is an endeavor that requires several months of preparation and critical reflection. By formally declaring your Intent to Apply and submitting a Preliminary Application at an early stage in the application process, you will receive tailored guidance and resources from TC to support you with completing and submitting your application in a timely manner.
As such, the information provided in these two pre-application stages is for internal reference only and will not be shared with IIE (Fulbright Program's coordinating body).
Fulbright Embark Application Portal
- Internal applicants must submit their application material twice on the Fulbright Embark Application Portal.
- Once for the TC institutional deadline on Tuesday, August 30, 2022; and
- Once for the IIE national deadline of Tuesday, October 11, 2022. Between these two submission deadlines, you will have a chance to revise your application based on feedback from the TC Faculty Review Committee.
- The institutional deadline requires that you complete the online application and upload your statements and transcripts to the Embark Application Portal, as these are the materials the TC Faculty Review Committee will evaluate.
- Please note that you do not need to upload your (1) host affiliation letter or (2) the letters of recommendation by this institutional deadline, but you do need to upload these items by the national deadline.
Campus Interviews
- In September, TC’s Faculty Review Committee will evaluate internal applicants based on:
- Submitted application materials; and
- Remote (Zoom) interview.
- Following the interview, applications will receive feedback from the Committee.
- After receiving this feedback, applicants are welcome to request that OIA unsubmit their applications in the Fulbright Embark Application Portal so that they are able to make revisions. Applicants who elect to have their applications submitted are responsible for submitting their application by the national deadline of October 11, 2022 @ 5PM ET.
- The deadline for all applications (internal and external/at-large) is on October 11, 2022 @ 5PM ET. This deadine is timezone specific.
Application Components
While the official Fulbright application is submitted electronically via the IIE Embark Application Portal, internal candidates are also required to submit the Intent to Apply and the Preliminary Application to OIA. For more information on these internal forms, please refer to the “Information for Internal Applicants” tab.
The components of the application are:
- Online application (Embark)
- Statement of grant purpose
- Personal statement
- Three (3) recommendation letters (research award) or three (3) recommendation forms (ETA)
- Fulbright recommendation instructions can be found here for research award, and for ETA.
- Language evaluation (if applicable)
- Host affiliation letter(s) (for research award only)
- Transcript(s)
- Arts portfolio (for creative and performing arts grants)
Detailed explanations of the application components for the research award and the ETA award are available on the IIE website.
Things to Note
Research Award
- Take note of host affiliation requirements for your specific country, as some countries have specific criteria for affiliations (e.g. academic institutions only, etc.).
- Your affiliation should be a country‐based institution, not an American institution with branches abroad.
- Although the letters of recommendation and language evaluation are uploaded by others, you must upload the letter of affiliation yourself. It must be on institutional letterhead. It cannot be the body of an email from an email correspondence, but you can ask for a scanned PDF.
- We advise that you contact your host organization for the letter of affiliation as early as March. The letter of affiliation cannot be obtained a month or a few weeks before the application due date. Failure to secure a letter of affiliation is oftentimes the reason applicants are unable to complete the application.
- If you need ideas for a sponsoring institution, explore the Fulbright Alumni Community or the Columbia Global Centers.
ETA Award
- In addition to working with their assigned students, ETA recipients must also complete a community outreach project in the local community. Because the Fulbright Program focuses on cultural exchange, this project is a critical component of the application, and students should mention their project ideas in their statements.
- For ideas on suitable community outreach projects, read the Fulbright Blog and profiles of Fulbright Alumni Ambassadors.
Resources
- From Fulbright U.S. Program:
- Books:
- Tori O'Neal-McElrath and Mim Carlson. Winning Grants Step by Step : The Complete Workbook for Planning, Developing and Writing Successful Proposals. John Wiley & Sons, 2013. (TC Library e-book access)
- Gen Tanabe and Kelly Tanabe. The Ultimate Scholarship Book 2019 : Billions of Dollars in Scholarships, Grants and Prizes. SuperCollege, 2018. (TC Library e-book access)
- Dakota Pawlicki, Chase James, Gregory Michie, and Gregory Michie. The Insider's Guide to Winning Education Grants. John Wiley & Sons, 2013. (TC Library e-book access)
- Donald C. Orlich and Nancy R. Shrope. Developing a Winning Grant Proposal. Routledge, 2012. (TC Library e-book access)
- Burns, Thomas. The Zen of Fulbright. Los Angeles: Don Davis Press, 2014.
- Schall, Joe. Writing Personal Statements & Scholarship Application Essays. Mason: Cengage Learning, 2008.
- Stewart, Mark Alan. How to Write the Perfect Personal Statement. Peterson's, 2012.