U.S. Fulbright Program
Adviser Newsletter

Focus on: European Region

Western Europe remains the most popular region for applicants for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. All participating countries in Western Europe, except Switzerland have bi-national Fulbright Commissions and are the longest established programs worldwide. Consequently, many of the countries within Western Europe are among the most competitive. However, there are still a few hidden gems offering opportunities for candidates with no foreign language skills who seek rewarding and challenging intercultural opportunities.

The Queen's English...

The most competitive country to apply to in Western Europe (and in the world for that matter) is the United Kingdom. However, with no more than 12 grants to offer, the United Kingdom is often not the best choice for some of the almost 500 applicants who apply each year. The primary attractions of the United Kingdom are the lack of a need to speak a foreign language and the outstanding quality of the British education system. Alternatively, there are several opportunities throughout Europe where language is not a barrier, and where the quality of postgraduate education is on par with the resources available in the United Kingdom.

Scandinavia offers excellent opportunities for candidates who only speak English, and has a great variety of academic/professional/arts programs providing alternative options for many projects in the United Kingdom. None of the five countries within the Nordic region (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden) require a candidate to speak the local language fluently unless it is required for the project (or for projects in the Humanities to Iceland and Sweden). Nevertheless , applicants should obtain the recommended hospitality level of the host language in the year between applying and starting the grant.

What are the odds?

Belgium/Luxembourg, the European Union, France, Ireland, Italy and Spain are also very competitive programs receiving many more outstanding applications than can be funded. The majority of the Fulbrighters sent to these countries are not only proficient in the host language, but show a real need for study in the specific country. For these countries, the competitive candidate’s project is so specific to the country’s resources/academic programs, that there is no other choice as to where to base the project. Candidates whose project goals can be achieved elsewhere are encouraged to consider opportunities in alternate countries/regions if they hope to improve their chances of receiving an award.

Germany offers by far the most awards annually with 80 Fulbright Full grants and 140 Fulbright English Teaching Assistantships (ETAs). It provides the largest and most diverse number of placement opportunities with extremely high quality resources, including a post-grant internship program to enhance the academic component of the award. With so many grants, the statistical chance of receiving a grant to Germany is actually higher than to most of its Western European neighbors. Attracted by the many opportunities in Germany, Austria and Switzerland are often overlooked by German speakers; both countries consequently receive fewer applications than one would expect for the grants they have available.

Greece, Portugal, Italy and Cyprus offer very diverse and intriguing environments for a Fulbright project. The majority of applications put forward for these countries are either in the classics or involve some kind of historical research. However, all of these countries have shown an interest in more contemporary projects. Candidates in professional fields of study and the social and hard sciences are encouraged to look to these countries for unexpected Fulbright opportunities.

The ETA grants to Andorra and Spain are some of the most highly sought ETA grants in Western Europe. Competitive candidates for these teaching assistantships will have compelling, but flexible, side research/study/community outreach projects that will help them to stand out in the applicant pool. They will also have strong language skills in Spanish or Catalan.

Focus on Turkey

Turkey is fast becoming one of the hottest and most exciting venues for a Fulbright project. With 12 Fulbright Full grants and 10 ETA placements, the country where East meets West has everything needed to offer an outstanding Fulbright experience. Even foreign language facility is not necessarily an obstacle for applications to Turkey. Many of Turkey’s best universities teach entirely in English, thus providing the opportunity for candidates to design feasible projects with only limited Turkish language skills upon arrival. Furthermore, the Fulbright Critical Language Enhancement Awards, part of the National Security Language Initiative (NSLI), offer language training in Turkish for selected applicants with some previous Turkish language skills. This pre-grant enhancement, available to both those applying for Full study/research awards and those applying for ETA grants, can enable candidates to achieve both their project goals, and gain knowledge of an important critical language. Given the language enhancement awards and the multiple opportunities for study in English, Turkey will only continue to grow in popularity.

Eastern Europe

The countries of Eastern Europe offer some of the most exciting opportunities for Fulbright applicants. Many applicants have an interest in the region due to their family heritage. However, every country in Eastern Europe would like to attract Americans who have little prior experience or no family ties to their country.

Designing projects that can be completed in English is much more of a challenge in this region due to fewer in-country residents who speak English. But this does not mean that determined applicants should look elsewhere. Instead, applicants must commit more energy to achieving a higher level of language proficiency before the start of a possible grant to remain competitive. There are also a growing number of Fulbright programs to the region for those who do not speak one of the local languages. For example, the English Teaching Assistantships in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and the Slovak Republic offer good alternatives for those with weaker language skills. Also, several countries (for example: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Slovenia) require only a working knowledge of the host country language by the beginning date of the grant for those not needing to take university courses.

Hungary, the Czech Republic and Poland tend to be the most competitive countries in Eastern Europe. Romania, Bulgaria and the Slovak Republic statistically are not as competitive and offer a good number of opportunities. Slovenia is the most competitive program in Southeastern Europe while Latvia, Albania and Lithuania attract a small number of applications each year.

Focus on Poland

The Fulbright Program to Poland has more than doubled the number of ETA award opportunities for 2009-10. In addition to 10 Full Fulbright grants, Poland will offer 10 ETA grants for 2009-10, up from four the previous year. For 2007-08, Poland received only 20 applications for the 12 awards that were available, and so Poland is keen to attract candidates whose first instinct might be to apply elsewhere to consider the many educational opportunities that Poland has to offer. The 10 ETA placements will all be based at universities throughout Poland, allowing candidates to easily develop side research or a study project to complement their teaching duties. Knowledge of the Polish language is an advantage, but any motivated candidate can obtain solid basic language skills in the year between applying and the grant start date.

Eurasia

The countries within the Eurasian region continue to attract outstanding candidates with intriguing project ideas. All of the countries within this region are experiencing exciting changes and developments that attract U.S. students who want to witness a society in transition.

Russia is the most competitive country within Eurasia, and has the most stringent foreign language proficiency requirements. Russia also requires all candidates to affiliate with academic institutions, and to begin their projects in September 2009. However, with 20 study/research Fulbright grants and 20 ETA grants, it is easy to understand why so many applicants try their luck each year for an award to this challenging country. And for those who might need some language training, the Fulbright Critical Language Enhancement Award is available to students in both categories.

Candidates searching for more flexibility in terms of language requirements, and grant start dates should consider the programs in Ukraine, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Moldova as possible alternatives to Russia. Ukraine has 10 Fulbright Full research/study grants to offer, but receives only about 20 candidates each year. Given that Ukraine’s language guidelines state that the skill level need only be commensurate with the project’s needs, Ukraine should not be overlooked in favor of its larger neighbor.

Georgia, Armenia, and especially Moldova and Azerbaijan receive relatively few applications, but those they do receive include project ideas that are well grounded in the issues specific to these countries. All four countries offer fascinating opportunities for U.S. students to pursue independent study/travel in an increasingly important region.

The U.S. Student Program in Central Asia

The countries within the Central Asia region (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan) continue to attract outstanding candidates with intriguing project ideas. All countries within this region are experiencing exciting changes and developments attracting candidates in a variety of fields from horticulture to women’s studies to public health. Competitive candidates include project ideas that are based in the issues specific to the region. Contrary to the general guideline favoring candidates without prior overseas experience, regional prior experience within Central Asia is seen as an advantage. Candidates are still recommended to select a country within Central Asia different from that in which they previously studied or lived, but any prior experience in one of the four countries can be beneficial to an application.

A specific note of caution for applications to Uzbekistan: over the last couple years, the country has not selected any students for grants. Any projects involving extensive in-country travel and/or interviews as a component of research will not be given serious consideration.

The Fulbright Critical Language Enhancement Awards can also benefit proposed projects to Central Asia as Russian, Tajik and Uzbek are all languages used in the region and offered as part of this unique pre-grant opportunity.

PowerPoint Presentation: How to Enter Your Campus Deadline Dates on Fulbrightonline.org

How to Enter your Campus Deadline Dates on fulbrightonline.org

Overview of Trends For Students Interested in Applying to Asia

Fulbright Critical Language Enhancement Awards

Fulbright Critical Language Enhancement Awards for the Asia/Pacific region are available to candidates who wish to study Mandarin or Korean prior to beginning their Fulbright projects. Before beginning the Fulbright grant, students will train for up to six months in the host country of the Fulbright project. The requirements of the grant include pre- and post-testing of the prospective Fulbrighter's knowledge of the language, as well as a clearly defined commitment to continuing the language study after the initial training period. There is the potential for additional languages to be added, so consult the website frequently for updates.

Australia:

The Fulbright CSIRO Grant opportunity is now available for Ph.D. students in the sciences. The Fulbright CSIRO Postgraduate Scholarship provides the opportunity for American citizens to undertake 8-12 months postgraduate research with Australia’s leading and largest science research organization, CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation), working on Australia’s most ambitious scientific research program, the National Research Flagships.

China:

The Fulbright Program in China has been expanding over the past five years. China now offers the second most Fulbright Full grants in the U.S. Student Program after Germany and we expect to offer 60-70 grants there each year. Awards to China are available in all fields of study; projects in the arts and humanities are particularly encouraged. The program looks for geographic diversity in terms of where Fulbrighters are placed in China, so candidates are encouraged to base their projects outside of Beijing and Shanghai. Some additional changes that have been made to the program are:

1) Grant Period: Fulbrighters going to China must begin their grants in September 2009 or in early March 2010, immediately following the Chinese New Year holiday period.

2) Affiliation: The information on affiliating with Chinese institutions has been changed so that the guidelines differ for Graduating Seniors and Graduate Students. The China Affiliation Guide has been updated and divided into two sections: one for Graduating Seniors and one for Graduate Students.

All applicants to China should carefully review the information on the Country Summary page.

Macau:

In 2008, the Fulbright U.S. Student Program will send its first English Teaching Assistants to Macau.

Vietnam:

In 2008, the Fulbright U.S. Student Program will send its first English Teaching Assistants to Vietnam.

Fulbright in the Asia-Pacific Region

Fulbright U.S. Student applications to the Asia-Pacific region increased by more than 123% between the 2000 and 2008 competitions. During this time, the number of English Teaching Assistantship (ETA) programs in the region increased from one to eight and the proportion of applicants applying for ETA grants increased substantially. In 2000, ETA applicants represented approximately 11% of the applicant pool to Asia. By 2008, the share of ETA applications had increased to over 42%.

One of the most pervasive myths about the Fulbright Program in Asia is that an applicant must have prior knowledge of the host country language in order to be competitive for a Fulbright grant there. In fact, this is only true for the Fulbright study/research grants in China and Japan. Since Mandarin Chinese and Japanese are the most commonly taught Asian languages in the United States, it is reasonable to assume that many candidates would have the chance to study the languages through undergraduate coursework or study abroad experiences. However, courses in Bahasa Indonesia, Khmer, Mongolian, Tagalog, Thai, and Vietnamese are not readily available to most Americans. Applicants to countries where the local language is not commonly taught in the U.S., while not required to speak the language at the time of application, should include plans to study the language in the host country concurrent with their Fulbright research, and should attain a basic, hospitality level of language competence before departure from the U.S.

Another barrier to attracting students to design Fulbright proposals for programs in the Asia-Pacific region lies in the fact that the vast majority of Americans who study abroad choose to do so in Western Europe, while a paltry six percent study abroad in Asia. Not surprisingly, four of the top study abroad destinations in Western Europe (Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain, and France) also receive the greatest numbers of Fulbright applications.

While the proliferation of ETA program opportunities in Asia has likely contributed to the decline in the relative number of Fulbright study/research applications to the region, the number of full grant applications to many Asian programs has been noticeably stagnant. Most of America's interest tends to center on the regional heavyweights, China and Japan. In addition, there are relatively few Southeast Asian Studies Programs at U.S. colleges and universities, even at campuses that have strong Chinese or Japanese studies programs. As a result, Fulbright application levels for Full grants in countries like Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand significantly lag behind those of China and Japan. Korea, Macau, and Mongolia also tend to receive very few Full grant applications.

English Teaching Assistantship (ETA) Programs in Asia

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program currently offers eight ETA programs in Asia: Hong Kong, Indonesia, Korea, Macau, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. A common feature of these ETA programs is that none of them require any prior experience with the host country or knowledge of the local languages. In addition, ETA Fulbrighters are typically placed in schools outside of the major cities where there are fewer chances for students to interact with native English speakers. ETA candidates need to convey a strong commitment to the intensive cultural immersion inherent to a program that places its grantees in teaching roles abroad. Interest in the local culture, along with the pedagogical strategies that the applicants will bring to their classrooms, needs to come through in the Fulbright project proposal. Plans for community involvement and/or small side projects can be helpful, but they cannot be location specific and must be feasible given the time constraints that teaching responsibilities will impose.

Asia and the Arts

As with many other programs in the non-Western world, the Fulbright Programs in Asia do not receive a high proportion of applications in the creative and performing arts (4.7% in 2008). This is in spite of the fact that all of the programs in the region are open to projects in the arts and that Asian cultures have innumerable artistic traditions, many of which are little known or completely unknown in the West. Candidates in the arts should be encouraged to consider applying for Fulbright opportunities in Asia since they often design projects that can be very individualized and more unique than some of those in the traditional academic fields. This appeals to many of the Fulbright Commissions and Posts overseas.

Final Notes

The Fulbright U.S. Student program to China received 152 applications in 2008 and the number of applications to Japan rose to 114, which was the highest number since the 2003 competition. Application numbers for China will hopefully increase in order to keep up with the rising number of available grants. Application levels to Australia remain strong (115 applications received in 2008 for 12 awards) and this is expected to continue.

Overall, interest in the Asia-Pacific region has grown substantially since 2000 because of the expansions of the ETA programs and the study/research grant program in China. Opportunities within the region should continue to grow and the demand for applicants for Fulbright Full grants remains high.

Fulbright in the South Asia Region

New English Teaching Assistantship Program in Nepal

The 2009-2010 competition marks the first year that Fulbright ETA grants will be offered in South Asia. The program in Nepal is planning to host 2 Fulbright English Teaching Assistants to teach students at the secondary school or early-university level.

Candidates applying to South Asia are eligible to apply for the Fulbright Critical Language Enhancement Awards to study South Asian languages. This is a particularly important benefit for applicants to this region since South Asian languages are taught at relatively few U.S. colleges and universities.

Application numbers to the South Asia region have been holding steady over the past five program years. The program in India received the largest number of applications in the region, totaling 157 in 2008, making India one of the top countries worldwide in terms of applications. An addition of $2.5 million has been authorized by the Government of India and the U.S. for scholarships to India. Please visit the Fulbright websites for more details.

Unfortunately, many candidates considering applications to South Asia overlook the excellent possibilities available in Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. While India alone attracted 157, the rest of the South Asian programs combined received a total of only 58 applications for 2008.

Given the unrest in some parts of South Asia, questions frequently come in from applicants and advisers who are wondering if Fulbright Programs are still operating there. The answer at the moment is that the programs in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka are all up and running. Should this change in the future, an announcement will appear on the Fulbright websites. At this time, the program in Pakistan is suspended and it is unlikely to reopen at any point in the near future; there are no Fulbright U.S. Student Programs in Afghanistan or Bhutan.