Fulbright Program Adviser
Newsletter

Applying to the Near East/North Africa

Region-Wide Considerations

For most countries in the Near East/North Africa region, candidates who make it past the first round of selection and who are ultimately offered grants will have their institutional affiliations finalized by the host country Fulbright Commission or U.S. Embassy.  Nevertheless, we strongly encourage applicants to be proactive in securing in-country contacts early in the application process, as the National Screening Committees like to see proof of confirmed affiliations included with applications.  While many Commissions and U.S. Embassies reserve the right to place Fulbrighters at the institution they deem most appropriate, most will try to accommodate the affiliation preferences expressed in candidates' applications.  Candidates should, therefore, make every effort to include letters of affiliation with their Fulbright applications.  If this will not be possible, they should at least indicate the institution with which they would like to be affiliated, and why, in their proposals.

Candidates are also encouraged to apply for the Critical Language Enhancement Awards for additional Arabic study, and should consider how this opportunity could improve their projects and overall Fulbright experiences.  The award's requirements include pre- and post-testing of the prospective Fulbrighter's language skills, as well as a clearly defined commitment to continuing Arabic language study for the Fulbright grant's full duration.   Candidates should familiarize themselves with the relevant country guidelines for information on minimum language requirements, participating language training institutes or venues, and other important details.

A Few Country-Specific Considerations

Egypt, Israel, Jordan and Morocco remain the most popular countries for applicants to the region. Their appeal may be attributed to a number of factors - including the location of Fulbright Commissions in those countries and the fact that they offer the most grants - and generally have good track records of accepting projects in a wide variety of disciplines.

Israel is especially noteworthy in this regard particularly because it is one of the few countries in the region that perennially attracts - and accepts - candidates in the sciences.  All applicants to Israel should bear in mind that their affiliations must be with institutions that are accredited by the Israel Council of Higher Education (further details about this can be found in the country summary).  And while knowledge of Hebrew or Arabic may not be essential for all projects, it generally does strengthen one’s candidacy.  At a minimum, candidates should consider complementing their research projects with an ulpan (an institute or school for the intensive study of Hebrew) or similar plan for language acquisition, and should definitely attain a basic hospitality level of the language before leaving the United States.

Egypt also has a fairly diverse range of topics in its applicant pool and fellows.  It is very important to remind applicants, however, that all finalists must receive research clearance from the Egyptian government in order to be awarded funding, and that not all projects are approved.  Interested candidates are well-advised to do as much background checking as possible on their proposed research topic to ascertain whether it might touch upon potentially sensitive issues or subjects.  While the Egyptian Fulbright Commission facilitates the government approval process, it can still be rather lengthy.  Finalists might have to wait until late spring or early summer before learning whether or not they have been awarded grants.

We encourage candidates to strongly consider the other participating countries in the region, which are sometimes overlooked.  Bahrain, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates may be especially appealing for people interested in conducting research in the region but whose Arabic skills may not be very strong.  These Gulf countries have large expatriate, non-Arabic speaking populations, meaning that it may be possible to craft projects that may not require much language proficiency.  However, applicants with reasonably strong Arabic language skills will still be the most competitive.  Kuwait has somewhat stricter language requirements, as outlined in its country summary.

Syria is another popular country for Fulbright applicants to the region.  The Syria program includes a number of unique requirements, so it is important that candidates review the Syria country summary carefully.  For example, students must begin their programs in September and complete their programs by June.  Further, grantees with Critical Language Enhancement Awards, must study Arabic concurrently with their Fulbright grant.

Syria typically attracts considerable interest among those with projects in Islamic Studies (e.g., history, literature, etc.) and Arabic language but is open to a wide range of other disciplines and topics.  While Syria has fairly stringent language proficiency requirements, many previous Fulbrighters have commented on the dramatic improvement in their Arabic skills during their grant terms.  This is due primarily to the fact that English is not widely-known or spoken among the Syrian population, making the country a good location for a truly immersive language acquisition experience.

The Fulbright U.S. Student Programs in Qatar, Tunisia, and Yemen remain suspended indefinitely.  There are also no student programs in Algeria, Gaza, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, or Saudi Arabia.

English Teaching Assistantships

The most significant recent regional development has been the expansion of the English Teaching Assistantship (ETA) programs.  ETA grants are now available in Morocco, the West Bank, Oman and Bahrain.  The program in Jordan has expanded from six positions in its first year, to 10 positions anticipated for 2011-2012.  Ten students have been awarded ETA grants to Egypt for 2010-2011 and it is anticipated that the same number of grants will be awarded in 2011-2012.

Given the continued dynamism of the ETA programs, advisers and applicants should check our website periodically for any possible updates on these awards in this region.

Arabic Language Study Proposals

Candidates who have a strong foundation in Arabic and would like to devote their Fulbright experience exclusively to additional training may submit proposals focused solely on Arabic language study.  Language study-only applications from candidates who have little to no prior knowledge of Arabic are usually not very competitive, as preference is typically given to people who instead seek mastery or fluency in the language.  Candidates should indicate the following in their applications: the reasons for wanting to pursue language study overseas, the institution in which they plan to study (along with any details about possible courses they would take), and how this Fulbright experience would benefit their future academic or professional goals.  Egypt has the strongest track record of accepting language study-only applications.  Jordan is the only other country willing to consider such proposals, although it generally gives higher priority to candidates pursuing research projects.

Creating a Fulbright Culture on Campus

Beverly L. Kahn, Ph.D., Fulbright Program Adviser at Farmingdale State College, SUNY

While each of these institutions is quite different, there are some common lessons to be gleaned from my experiences about how one creates a successful “Fulbright Culture” on campus.  First, the FPA cannot remain squirreled away and remote.  The FPA must advance a “full court press” that involves units and personnel from across the institution.  In particular, the FPA must enlist, involve and excite students and faculty members.

In communicating with students, I have found that direct and personal communication (email or letter) works best.  I will typically write to all rising seniors with a GPA of 3.2 or higher (although it should be noted that the Fulbright Program has no GPA requirements) inviting them to consider the Fulbright.  And, of course, one can also target particular constituencies who are likely to be receptive to the Fulbright: returnees from study abroad, students in the honors program, and certain majors (e.g., international studies).

Such direct communication can recruit a cadre of applicants, yet to make the Fulbright initiative part of the campus culture, one must enlist faculty members and key staff.  Faculty members perform a variety of important functions.  They can promote Fulbright opportunities to students in their courses, during academic advisement, to members of honor societies.  Some faculty members are good at brainstorming with students, getting them to think about where they might go and what they might propose to do.  Other faculty members might assist students in finding contacts abroad.  Some faculty members are good with red pens, giving critical reads to draft essays.  And, of course, one needs a faculty committee to interview and evaluate all of the applicants.

There are a variety of techniques one might employ in identifying and recruiting the faculty members who will become effective champions of the Fulbright cause.  One should turn first to faculty members who themselves have received Fulbright Scholar Program awards; they are natural advocates for the program.  To find the right people, one must get to know individual faculty members well from across all disciplines: their research interests, their work or other experiences abroad, etc.  At Pace University, we created an online survey that over 400 faculty members completed, identifying their foreign experiences, language proficiency, etc.; that database proved to be most helpful.  Reference librarians should be enlisted as they are invaluable in assisting students with their research.  Furthermore, assistance from the provost, deans and department chairs is vital, since they can recruit volunteers to serve on the campus Fulbright Committee (and they should also be encouraged to advise faculty members that such service is appreciated, and really does count when promotion and tenure decisions are being made).

Once faculty recruits for a campus committee have been enlisted, the next step is to involve and invest them in the process so that they create the “Fulbright buzz” that is so important to making Fulbright part of the campus ethos.  Here, ongoing communication, regular meetings, letters of thanks, and celebrations of winners are essential.  At Fairfield University, a senior political science professor once proclaimed to me, “This is the most hard-working committee I have ever served on...and it’s the most fun too.”  The real fun (and gratification) comes in seeing one’s students learn and grow during the process of developing their Fulbright proposals; you know that even those students who did not succeed in the competition learned a great deal from researching a country, composing a personal statement, and crafting a proposal.

Finally, beyond faculty members, one can build the Fulbright culture by communicating with others who are in a position to spread the word, plant the idea, and boast of Fulbright accomplishments.  Such partners include: the campus public relations office, those who update the campus news and website, study abroad advisors, honors directors, career counselors, academic advisors, admissions officers, the president, and the board of trustees.

To be successful, the FPA cannot do it alone.  The FPA must enlist and excite students, faculty members and staff from across the institution so that they, together, create a campus culture that recognizes, encourages, and celebrates the Fulbright scholarship as an amazing (and prestigious) opportunity.