Nineteen graduating seniors and recent alumni have been offered Fulbright U.S. Student Program awards for the 2019-2020 academic year from the U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.
Thirteen graduating seniors and recent alumni have been offered Fulbright English Teaching Assistantships, and six more have been offered grants to support research or graduate study. Yalies will travel to 14 different countries with Fulbright awards this year, including English Teaching Assistants (ETA) in Cyprus (Adam Michalowski ’19 of Branford College) the Czech Republic (Olivia Noble ’19 of Grace Hopper College), and Macau (Emma Pred-Sosa ’19 of Silliman College).
Applicants also met with success in the study/research category with projects such as social housing in divided Berlin (Amy Xu ’19, of Ezra Stiles College, Germany), a master’s degree in Jewish Studies (Joe Blumberg ’19 of Silliman College, Israel), and screening for diabetic retinopathy (Joshua Mathew ’19 of Branford College, India).
Recipients of Fulbright awards are selected on the basis of academic and professional achievement, as well as their record of service and leadership potential in their respective fields. In addition to their research, study, or teaching responsibilities, grantees will connect with local communities. Raeven Grant, Pauli Murray College ’19, who will teach English in Brazil next year with a Fulbright ETA grant, plans to volunteer in local hospitals or health clinics when she is not in the classroom. She says that while the Fulbright application process is long — beginning the spring of junior year — she has found the introspection rewarding, giving her “a deeper understanding of [her] own interests and passions.”
“We are thrilled with the outstanding number of Fulbrights received by our current seniors and recent Yale College alumni,” says Rebekah Westphal, director of fellowship programs. “Nineteen is the second largest number of Fulbrights awarded to Yale College students since the 1980s! The Fulbright is an incredibly versatile award allowing scholars to travel to over 160 countries to study, do research, or teach English. Prospective applicants should work with the Office of Fellowships and Funding as they go through the process. For rising seniors, deadlines begin in early August.”
The Fulbright U.S. Student Program is administered at Yale College through the Office of Fellowship Programs in the Center for International and Professional Experience. Yale has long been a top producer of U.S. student Fulbright awardees, with more than 100 Yale students or alumni winning the prestigious honor in the past 10 years.
The Fulbright Program is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program and is designed to build lasting connections between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. The Fulbright Program is funded through an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations, and foundations around the world also provide direct and indirect support to the program, which operates in over 160 countries worldwide.
Since its establishment in 1946 under legislation introduced by the late U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas, the Fulbright Program has given more than 390,000 students, scholars, teachers, artists, and professionals of all backgrounds and fields the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas, and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.
Fulbright recipients address critical global challenges in all disciplines while building relationships, knowledge, and leadership in support of the long-term interests of the United States. Fulbright alumni have achieved distinction in many fields, including 59 who have been awarded the Nobel Prize, 84 who have received Pulitzer Prizes, and 37 who have served as a head of state or government.
In the United States, the Institute of International Education supports the implementation of the Fulbright U.S. Student Program on behalf of the U.S. Department of State, including conducting an annual competition for the scholarships.
For more information about the Fulbright Program, visit its website.