Fulbright Program

The Fulbright Program is program of educational grants (Fulbright Fellowships) sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the United States Department of State. It was established to increase mutual understanding between the peoples of the United States and other countries through the exchange of persons, knowledge, and skills.

The program was created through the efforts of Arkansas Senator J. William Fulbright, who promulgated its passage through the US Senate in 1946. It is considered one of the most prestigious award programs worldwide, 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 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 reach of this program had been primarily European countries in the beginning. Now the foundation and granting of scholarship funds are worldwide operations.

The program is administered by binational Fulbright commissions. The scholarships are so-called "challenge grants", in that recipients are required to undertake useful activities while studying abroad. Recipients of Fulbright Fellowships are subject to a two-year home-residency requirement.

Its first participants went overseas in 1948, funded by war reparations and foreign loan repayments to the United States (Fulbright Foundation). Since then, some 250,000 individuals have received Fulbright Fellowships.

Fulbright Commission

A Fulbright Commission provides scholarships to citizens of countries participating in the Fulbright Program who wish to study in the US, and to US citizens who wish to study in those countries.

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. Fulbright Prize laureates are:

• Colin Powell (2004)
• Fernando Cardoso (2003)
• Sadako Ogata (2002)
• Kofi Annan (2001)
• Martti Ahtisaari (2000)
• Mary Robinson (1999)
• Patricio Aylwin Azócar (1998)
• Václav Havel (1997)
• Corazon Aquino (1996)
• Franz Vranitzky (1995)
• Jimmy Carter (1994)
• Nelson Mandela (1993)

External links

• Fulbright Program homepage
• Institute of International Education: Fulbright Program
• The Atlantic Review A newsletter on transatlantic affairs edited by three German Fulbright alumni with the goal of increasing mutual understanding
• US Department of State Fulbright webpage