Tips on writing the Project Proposal & the C.V.

Tips on writing the Curriculum Vitae-- The Fulbright C.V. is NOT a resume or curriculum vitae in the traditional sense. Instead, it is a personal/intellectual biography, written in narrative form that should give the screening committee a clear picture of who you are as an individual. Keep in mind that there is no standard "blueprint" for a successful C.V., so candidates are free to craft their statements however they wish, and include any information that they see fit in order to give the best sense of how they came to be the person that they are, and how they developed their current (intellectual) interests and goals.-- Candidates who may have had a period of poor academic performance may also choose to address the reason(s) for this in their C.V. This may help to offset any doubts that might be raised by a subpar semester or academic year, as reflected on the transcript. Tips on writing the "Statement of Proposed Research or Study"Before you begin….
The best proposals begin with good ideas. Start by putting your ideas on paper, and list the goals and objectives of your project. Share your ideas with your Fulbright Program Adviser, your academic adviser and professional colleagues in your field. As you work on your proposal, consider the following questions and remember your audience. Avoid discipline-specific jargon. The individuals reading your proposal prefer you get to the point about the "who, what, when, where, why and how" of the project. In a direct and persuasive manner address the following:

1. With whom do you propose to work?
2. What do you propose to do? What is exciting, new or unique about your project? What contribution will the project make to the Fulbright objective of promoting cross-cultural interaction and mutual understanding?
3. When will you carry out your study or research? Include a timeline.
4. Where do you propose to conduct your study or research? Why is it important to go abroad to carry out your project?
5. Why do you want to do it? What is important or significant about the project?
6. How will you carry out your work? All students should discuss methodology and goals in their statements. How will it help further your academic or professional development? Is the project feasible…

You must also demonstrate that the research strategy is feasible, including its time frame. How will the culture and politics of the host country impact your work? How do the resources of the host country support your project? Will you have access to the documents/equipment necessary for successful completion of you project? If employing methodological techniques such as extensive interviewing and the use of questionnaires, how will you get / locate your subjects? Have you received approval for your questionnaire? Have you received all of the necessary permissions from local authorities? Is your language facility adequate? If not, how will you accomplish your work?
In other words, if there could be any question regarding the feasibility of your project or your background or ability to conduct the project, address the issue directly. Enrolled students are urged to consult professors in their major fields and their FPAs about the feasibility of their proposed projects. At-large applicants should consult qualified persons in their fields. Teaching Assistantship Applications
Students applying for teaching assistant positions are not expected to present extensive research plans. Rather, they should describe for the reviewers:

1. Why they would like to undertake a teaching assistant assignment.
2. What their qualifications are and what experiences they have had which relate to the overseas assignment.
3. How they expect to benefit from the assignment and what use they will make of the experience upon their return to the U.S.
4. What use they will make of their time outside the classroom. (Most TAs work no more than 20 hours per week.) A bibliography?
Since applicant's Statements can not exceed two pages, a formal bibliography is not necessary; however, if background data is provided it is appropriate to briefly cite sources, within the two pages.

A final word….
Organize your statement carefully. Don't make reviewers search for information. We urge you to have several people read and critique your Statement including a faculty adviser, a faculty member outside your discipline, a fellow student, and/or a colleague. It would be ideal to have a host country academic/artist review your proposal for refinement and issues of host country sensitivity/security.

Commission Director Videos

Commission Directors from around the world talk to IIE about the Fulbright experience, and the experience of being director. Visit the links below to go to the country pages and view the videos.

Argentina
Executive Director - Dr. Norma Gonzalez
Commission for Educational Exchange Between the United States of America and Argentina
www.fulbrightonline.org/us/program_country.php?id=3

Tips for Reference Letters & Foreign Language Evaluation

1. Applicants should ask for references from people who have some knowledge of the field, or host country who can speak intelligently about the applicant"s ability to carry out the proposed project.  They should also comment specifically on the feasibility of the applicant"s project in terms of resources available abroad, linguistic preparation of the proposed project and the candidate"s ability to adapt to a different cultural environment.  They are free to comment upon any other factors that they believe may have a bearing on the applicant"s successful overseas experience.  They should also indicate their feelings as to the merit or validity of the project itself.  For arts candidates, letter writers should discuss the applicant"s potential for growth.

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2. We do not recommend applicants to use reference letters from university letter services for their Fulbright applications.  We would prefer for your recommendation letter writers to address the specific issues that we ask about on our Letter of Recommendation form. These issues are specific to the goals of the Fulbright program and reference letters that address them will be more beneficial to your application.  Letters from a service will not be specific to your application so are not as strong as those that you request specifically for your Fulbright project.

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3. Many of your recommendation letter writers may prefer to use institutional letterhead instead of the form provided by Fulbright. This is perfectly acceptable.  However, you should still provide a copy of the form to your letter writers so that they may follow the necessary instructions. It is important that they note your full name, field of study and country of application at the top of each page of their letter. Also, they should be advised to write on only one side of the page as we will not photocopy the backs of any pages of your application.

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4. In general, as stated above, it is best to ask for references from people who have knowledge of your field of study, project or host country. However, some applicants may find it difficult to obtain all three letters of recommendation from people who can fulfill these guidelines.  It may not always be possible to include references from professors or other field specialists.  You will need to use your best judgment on who would make the best reference letter writer for your project. These letters can come from peers, supervisors, or employers.  We recommend trying to obtain as many letters from people who meet our guidelines, but you can submit a reference letter from anyone that you wish.

Foreign Language Evaluation

1. One of the biggest myths of the Fulbright program is that applicants must be proficient in the host country"s language to even consider applying to any particular country. Although, language proficiency may be a factor in competitiveness it does not mean that a candidate is ineligible from applying. In general an applicant should have the necessary language skills to complete the project that they design feasibly given whatever language skills they have. Therefore, the world is really open to many possibilities and the onus is on the applicant to design their projects so that they are feasible.

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2. It is true, that many applicants design projects that do not require that they speak the host language.  In this case, applicants should still submit a foreign language report with the application.  However, if they do not speak they host language then they do not need to be evaluated. Instead, they should just indicate on the Language Evaluation form what they will do, over the course of the next year, to obtain a hospitality/survival level of the host country"s language. The Fulbright program is a cultural understanding program so learning some of the language before going shows a commitment to the host country's culture. 

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3. Foreign language evaluations should come from an instructor in the language.  For widely spoken languages (i.e. Spanish, French, German, Chinese, Russian etc.) there really is no reason why any candidate could not find a language teacher to evaluate them. However, for lesser know languages it is fine for the applicant to have an evaluation done by a native speaker of this language.  If possible, we would recommend obtaining an evaluation from a native speaker who is also a college professor, but if that is not feasible then anyone should do. Some recommendations for finding a native speaker include: host country"s embassy, cultural center, international students.  We do not recommend that you obtain an evaluation from a family member.

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4. Some project proposals require an applicant to have knowledge of more than one foreign language. In this circumstance, we recommend that you submit a language evaluation for each of the languages that you will need for your project.

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5. Creative and performing Arts candidates and those proposing projects in the hard sciences often do not need to speak the host language for their projects at all.  In general, the language expectations for these candidates are more relaxed than for academic projects.  However, given the cultural understanding nature of this program we still recommend that these candidates make an effort to learn at least a hospitality level of the host language before taking up the grant.

Featured Video: Abimbola Cole, 2005 Fulbright Fellow to Botswana

See a video of a 2005 Fulbright Fellow before she heads off to Botswana. She provides insight to her project and tips for applicants.

Filmmaking in Juchitán, México

The Fubright-García Robles program provided me and my family with a stipend to become "cultural ambassadors" and to promote mutual understanding and respect between the United States and México. We had the extreme pleasure of spending a year way down south in Juchitán, México. I am a Mexican American filmmaker and I made a short fictional film, with the support of local actors and the community, called, Al Garete, which means adrift, and finds a young woman facing a difficult situation with the assistance of a pirate, a cross dressing Lady boy, and a full tilt pachanga.

Before arriving in Juchitán, I got to spend a week in México City meeting with my fellow Fulbrighters and exploring the delights of the city. We were given a tour of the Museo Nacional de Antropolgía, attended a performance of the Ballet Folklórico de México at the Palacio de Bellas Artes, climbed the ruins of the magnificent pyramids of Teotihuacán, and went to a formal reception at the U.S. Ambassador"s house. We ate wonderful and elegant four course lunches and were given readings from scholars and the Press Attaché of the U.S. Embassy. While standing in front of the Diego Rivera mural inside of El Palacio Nacional, I felt overwhelmed while looking at his representation of the entire history of México. It is painted in the fresco technique and includes Quetzalcóatl, the Aztec plumed serpent god and Moctezuma"s warriors, wearing the skins of jaguars while battling the heavily armed Conquistadors. The glory of the Mexican Revolution and victory over the greed and cruelty of the Spanish comes alive with unbelievable details and colors. Frida Kahlo is painted as a teacher. I can not tell you how beautiful this mural is. It is also remarkable because this painting is housed in The Palacio which is built in the same place where Moctezuma and Hernán Cortés lived and where Mexican President Vincente Fox now works.

My fellow Fubrighters were by and large, "Latinofiles", or gringos who have a passion for Latin culture. Many were married to or had been married to a person from Latin America. They were smart, spoke excellent Spanish, and were extremely knowledgeable about their particular expertise in México. I noticed straight away, that with the exception of two people, none of the Fulbrighters were people of color. My guess is that Chicanos who attend Harvard or who have access to the good Universities are still an anomaly. Access, opportunity, and education, are still mostly in the hands of the privileged few and it is vital that more people of color find the means and the knowledge to participate in the Fulbright program.

Our house down in Juchitán was a concrete palace. One of my favorite places to be was on the roof where the sultry wind would blow and I would remind myself how lucky I was to be living in the Isthmus of Mexico, the land of my father. This is where I hung our laundry to dry and I could sometimes hear my 11 year old son, Max, shouting out during his school time recess soccer matches. I enjoyed looking out over two large fields packed with all sorts of living and growing things, such as soaring coconut trees overloaded with coconuts, morning glories, cucumber vines, yellow daisies, iguanas, and birds. I once saw a 20 pound blue jay with long and curly feathers sprouting out of his head. Max told me that Jaguars live in the field too.

Max was in the fifth grade and went to a prissy and dilapidated Catholic school right around the block called "La Escuela Vicente Ferrer". He got to wear a groovy "sporting uniform" on Wednesday, his tee shirt boldly promoting the school with a red flamed torch and the words "Science and Virtue". A local friend, Jose Hinojosa, went with me to help sign Max up for school. Jose was a bit rattled after noting the school had not changed a speck since he had been a student there twenty two years ago. Max would occasionally mix up his Spanish and English and came home talking about "The Muns". A nun in Spanish is a monja pronounced "mon-ha", so the nuns will forever be "muns" in our house.

I walked Max to school in the morning. Our first "Buenos Dias" was to our neighbor Herman, who had a bright orange and royal blue house and the finest grass in the neighborhood. He tended to his tidy house and had a passion for sweeping the street. Herman was loud and fun and has been sober for 28 years in a town where people really like to drink. Diego, the tortilla teenager, would cruise by on his bike, which is how most working men got around town. His bike was a three wheeler with a single wheel in the back and two wheels supporting a sturdy cart in the front. In the morning his cart was filled with tortillas and in the afternoon his sweetie got the pleasure of being biked around town. She looked like a queen. I would buy a kilo of steaming hot tortillas for 7 pesos which is around 76 cents. I would toss a lime into my pocket that had fallen off a neighbor"s tree. I liked the way the lime made my hand smell.

We would then greet our neighborhood vigilante who had a single shot bolt action rifle slung over his shoulder. Our day time vigilante was grumpy and sullen, but the night time vigilante was gracious and a lot of cheerful young women and other folks from the barrio enjoyed hanging out with him in the evening. The night time vigilante was bowlegged and packed a six gun tied on with rope. He would walk down the middle of our street, late at night, back lit by the street lights.

Our trash men had the three wheeled bikes too, rode by daily, and threw each neighbor"s small bundle of trash into their cart. While on my roof, I would see one of the trash men, who was about 12, take his daily collection of trash and toss it over a fence into a field nearby. The one Max and I would see each morning was dressed in dirty rags and pushed around a rusty and ancient wheelbarrow. He had all the "stuff" of a trash man, and seemed to be making the rounds, but he never actually collected any trash. I speculated that he used to be a trash man, and now enjoyed experiencing the memory of collecting trash. Part of his 8am morning ritual was to hang out at our closest "Miscelania" and down a few beers. Our neighbor Herman finally cleared up my confusion and told me that this guy is the supervisor of the trash men.

Max"s school was named after Vicente Ferrer who is the Patron Saint of Juchitán. According to local legend, God gave Vicente Ferrer a bag of queers. Everywhere he traveled he would plop down a gay person, however, we he got to Juchitán, he tripped, his bag came undone, and a whole bunch tumbled out. This explains why there are so many gay people in Juchitan, but I didn"t see it that way. Juchitán is like the San Francisco of México, because gay people are "out" rather than being the present but hidden ones. This model of tolerance was a wonderful example for my children.

We heard tear wrenching serenades for young lovers in the middle of the night, marching bands celebrating a neighbor"s birthday at 5 in the morning with a rousing and loud Las Mananitas, and learned some Zapotec, which is one Indigenous language of the region. We ate fried grasshoppers as snacks, the most luscious mangos and pineapple on the face of this earth, tantra chocolate bars, and drank booh-pooh, a wickedly delicious hand frothed concoction of cinnamon, corn, and hot chocolate. We worked hard, but it felt less like work than the experience of a life time. We ate iguana tamales with powerful women who run the whole town and dress like fairy princesses, complete with a fragrant profusion of flowers in their carefully braided hair. It was a magical Fulbright year when my filmmaking work and life with my children all blended together marvelously.