Fulbright Overview | Inter/National Fellowships

What is the Fulbright U.S. Student Program?

Deadline

The Amherst internal deadline for the Fulbright Student Program is:

September 12, 2022 at Noon

The Fulbright program offers one year of independent research, study, or assistant-teaching English in about 140 countries outside the U.S. Beyond their grant work, Fulbrighters 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. To learn about the program overall and specific types of grants, watch these brief tutorials.

Award Details

Who is eligible?

U.S. citizens; seniors who will hold a degree by the time the grant starts, and recent graduates (within about six years); language and field of study qualifications or teaching experience depend on country; study grant applicants apply to universities separately but may apply to Fulbright before admittance; grantees must submit a satisfactory Certificate of Health.

Does this application require endorsement by the college?

Yes. All Amherst College students and alumni who select Amherst as the institution through which they are applying and follow our campus deadline will be endorsed to move forward to the Fulbright national competition. Fulbright asks us to conduct a campus interview (after the internal deadline) and to write an evaluation of you as a candidate based on the interview and your written materials. We upload the evaluation to your application before it goes to the Fulbright reviewers.

What are the different grant types?

A research or study grant will fund independent research or a graduate degree (a one-year master's or the first year of a longer degree) abroad. In some countries, you can combine research and coursework, or even an internship. Study grants are offered in about 80 countries, with specific university partnership grants offered at over 40 universities in the UK and many elsewhere. (To find UK universities that are tops in your field, consult this recent REF ranking by subject of UK unis.) Under the category of research grants, applicants may pursue training in the creative and performing arts. Take a look at examples of these on the RISD Fulbright page.

An English Teaching Assistantship (ETA) will support you teaching English and U.S. culture to non-native speakers in a classroom (elementary, secondary schools, or universities) or community setting (American Corners and other educational-focused community centers). Many placements do not require extensive teaching experience or training and all grantees are offered an online ESL training course. Consult this chart or this filterable search tool to find a good fit for you.

Beyond these grants, applicants with some professional experience or graduate education may also be interested in one of the Business grants, Journalism and Communication grants, or Science & Public Health Grants or the National Geographic Storytelling Award. (Note that to apply for the NatGeo award, you must first apply as a regular research/study grant applicant.)

How much funding is awarded and how can I use it?

All grantees receive round-trip transportation to host country, room, board, living expenses based on the cost of living in the host country, and health benefits; some grantees may receive a research allowance, and funding for enrichment activities, tuition, language study, and orientations.

Who from Amherst has won this award?

During the 2021-2022 application cycle, nice Amherst students were selected as Fulbrighters. As you think about your own candidacy, read applications from some of our recent winners.

Jane Bragdon '21 - research, Turkey
Naya Burshan '22 - ETA, Cyprus
Sophia Ewing '22, ETA, Taiwan
Hubert Ford '20 - ETA, Colombia
Emma Ratshin '22E - ETA, Taiwan
Molly Sanderson '22 - ETA, Taiwan
Samuel Schulz '22 - research, France
Theresa Tian '21 - ETA, Taiwan
Maggie Wu '22 - ETA, Taiwan

What is the Fulbright U.S. Student Program’s history and mission?

In 1945, Senator J. William Fulbright introduced a bill in Congress to fund the "promotion of international good will through the exchange of students in the fields of education, culture, and science." Now, 75 years since its inception, the Fulbright program continues to create connections between people of the U.S. and more than 140 countries worldwide. The program is under the Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and is run by the Institute of International Education (IIE).

How do I apply and what do I need?

While institutional endorsement is not required, we enthusiastically encourage seniors and alums to apply with support from the Office of Fellowships! We'll advise you on choosing a grant, give you essay feedback, provide interview coaching (as applicable) and write a campus evaluation/endorsement for you. Application components for the Fulbright differ depending on the type of grant. Please use the links below to apply for your specific grant.

Fulbright Applications

ETA Application Grad Study Application Research Application

For Recommenders

Recommendation content and format differs depending upon the Fulbright grant to which the student is applying (ETA or research/study grant). Recommenders will receive a link from the Fulbright Online Application portal in response to an email generated by the applicant. Office of Fellowships' staff can access your letter from the portal. Recommendations are due by the AC internal deadline of SEPT 12, 2022 so that the campus committees may review them before the applicant is interviewed. The form and content for each grant is below:

Research/study grants - In a letter format, discuss the candidate’s ability to carry out the proposed research or graduate study taking into consideration their research experience, understanding of the field, linguistic preparation, and feasibility of the project, as well as their potential to adapt to a different culture and represent the U.S. abroad. If you can, also address the relevance of the candidate's research. in the field. Fulbright offers further instructions for reference writers here. The Office of Fellowships provides recommendation letter writing suggestions here, and will provide feedback as requested.
- Format and submission: Letters should be typed on institutional letterhead (electronic is fine; if the writer has no access to letterhead they should type their name and mailing address on the first page. There is no word limit, but two pages is sufficient.
English Teaching Assistantships - a traditional letter is not accepted. Instead, Fulbright poses five questions in an online form aimed to assess the applicant's ability to assistant/teach English in a different cultural setting. Fulbright offers these ETA recommendation instructions. Questions on the form that are answered in detail will help the applicant's chances substantially. See sample ETA recommendation form.
- Format and submission: Recommenders complete the form online.

Have questions? Please contact us.

Christine Overstreet, Director of Fellowships
212 Converse Hall
413-542-2536
coverstreet@amherst.edu

Eric Myers, Associate Director of Fellowships
213 Converse Hall
413-542-5079
ermyers@amherst.edu

Mailing address: Office of Fellowships, Amherst College, Amherst, MA 01002

On-Campus Mailing Address: AC # 2214

Office of FellowshipsFulbright Overview

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