Fulbright Program Adviser
Newsletter

Applying to the Near East/North Africa

For much of 2011, the Arab Spring has dominated news headlines, so it is no surprise that ongoing political developments have impacted Fulbright Programs in the Near East/North Africa region.

These events have resulted in:

• The two-month suspension of the Fulbright Program in Egypt; once the suspension was lifted, Fulbrighters were allowed to return to Egypt and complete their grants
• A voluntary departure for Fulbright grantees studying in Bahrain; since most students did not feel threatened by events, they remained in-country and completed their grants
• The suspension of the Syrian Fulbright Program; fortunately, by the time grantees were required to leave the country, most grantees had completed all but the final month of their grants
• The Syrian Fulbright Program's suspension has continued and grants are not being offered for the 2012-2013 academic year; because of ongoing changes in the region's sociopolitical climate, applicants and their Fulbright Program Advisers should frequently check the Fulbright U.S. Student Program website for updates

For most countries in the Near East/North Africa region, candidates who are offered grants will have their institutional affiliations finalized by the host country Fulbright Commission or U.S. Embassy.  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 Fulbright Commissions and U.S. Embassies reserve the right to place Fulbrighters at institutions they deem most appropriate, most will try to accommodate the affiliation preferences expressed in candidates' applications.  This is yet another reason why candidates should make every effort to include letters of affiliation with their Fulbright applications.  If this is not possible, they should at least indicate the institution with which they would like to be affiliated and why in their proposals.

Finally, please note that due to funding restrictions the Critical Language Enhancement Award (CLEA) Program for the Near East/North Africa will not be offered for the 2012-2013 academic year.  IIE would publicize and notify Fulbright Program Advisers of any additional changes, based on future budget allocations and Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State priorities.

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 presence of Fulbright Commissions, the fact that they offer the most grants and their generally good track records of accepting projects in a wide variety of disciplines.

Israel is especially noteworthy 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 for Higher Education (further details about this can be found in the country summary).  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 represented in its applicant pool and by its 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 research as possible on their proposed topics to ascertain whether they 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.

Candidates should note that the Egyptian Commission generally affiliates its U.S. students with Egyptian universities and research centers.  These include institutions such as Ain Shams, Helwan and Cairo universities.  The Commission prefers to limit affiliations with the American University in Cairo (AUC) to people participating in the CASA and ALI language programs and those participating in AUC’s Center for Migration and Refugee Studies certificate program.

We encourage candidates to consider strongly the other participating countries in the region that 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.

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.

Fulbright English Teaching Assistantships

2012-2013 is the first program year during which Fulbright English Teaching Assistantships (ETA) have been publicized for Israel.  It now joins the following countries in offering these awards:  Bahrain, Jordan, Morocco and Oman.  Candidates at all degree levels are eligible for these grants.  Those interested specifically in Morocco should bear in mind that even though the country has a stated preference for graduate-level applicants it is more than willing to accept those at the bachelor’s level as well.

Unfortunately, Fulbright ETA applications for the popular programs in Egypt and the West Bank will not be accepted for 2012-2013.

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.

Working with Campus Fulbright Committees

Susan Krauss Whitborne, Fulbright Program Adviser at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst

The best faculty committees reflect a cross-section of academic areas and languages.  Many faculty members enjoy working with Fulbright applicants, and advising them often allows them to fulfill service requirements in their home departments.  There may be a core group of faculty members currently participating on your campus evaluation committee.  It is important for you to keep them informed about your upcoming requests for their help to determine whether they will be able to continue to serve.  If they are unable to serve, the chair of their department will most likely be willing to help you find replacements.  You may also decide, depending on your applicant pool, to reduce or expand your current committee.  Although long-standing committees often have worked out many of the kinks in the process, it is a good idea to bring new members in as they may offer different perspectives and new strengths to the committee’s work.  It's also easier to add new members than to remove current members who are perhaps not as helpful as you would like them to be.  To prevent such difficult scenarios from developing, you may decide to set terms of service, which you can extend should you and the committee member mutually want to continue collaborating.

What exactly can your faculty committee members do to help you?  First, they can play a vital role in advising students in preparing their applications.  Their knowledge of the host country, the field, the language and perhaps even their contacts there, can give students important insights - particularly when students are developing their applications.  Second, faculty members can provide you with the critical feedback you need in composing the campus evaluation both prior to and during the campus committee interview.  I assign each student's application to two faculty members whose primary role is to review the applications, although each faculty member has access to each application (and extra copies are brought to the interview).  The lead reviewers are asked to complete a Word file with the Campus Evaluation Form prior to the interview based entirely on the written materials.  Each interview runs for 20 minutes.  The applicant is then asked to leave the room and the committee assigns a rating.  At the same time, I record any additional comments.  Finally, faculty on our campus committee provide another very vital function, and that is to be available for support or feedback in between the campus interviews and the final online application submission date.  Our campus evaluation committee is evaluative, but it also provides substantive help to applicants if requested on the basis of their interview.  Students are greatly appreciative of the opportunity to follow up on suggestions with faculty who reviewed their applications.

Following the campus interview, I write the Campus Evaluation Form using the reviews provided by faculty both prior to and after the student’s interview.  At this point, I have a wealth of data that I can use to flesh out each portion of the form.  Having the faculty committee members' input throughout the process helps tremendously in this process.

Finally, I write a thank you to each faculty member (copying the Dean) and continue to keep the faculty committee members informed of our students' progress throughout the remainder of the year.  I also include the names of Fulbright Committee members in press releases announcing the results of the year’s application process.  These are small ways to show my thanks for the time they graciously and, often eagerly, contribute.

I have prepared several guides in my Psychology Today blog that contain advice on preparing students for interviews, securing recommendation letters and writing personal statements.