Fulbright: Apply

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Fulbright is the U.S. government’s flagship international exchange program and is supported by the people of the United States and partner countries around the world. Successful applicants for the Fulbright program are enthusiastic about the prospect of participating in an intensive, year-long cross-cultural exchange.

There is no GPA requirement for any of the Fulbright programs. Successful awardees, in general, have solid academic records at UMBC and at transfer institutions. However, do not let a challenging semester at UMBC prevent you from applying for an award. Fulbright recognizes that life happens while you are attending university – illnesses, work commitments, early academic challenges – and take those challenges into account in the evaluation process.

With its mission to promote cultural exchange, Fulbright appreciates applicants who have had either international experiences – research abroad, study overseas, or international volunteer experiences – or cross-cultural experiences within the U.S. context.

Fulbright appreciates applicants who show a variety of activities in addition to attending classes. Showing you are an active and engaged learner demonstrates your interest in taking the next steps to be an active campus citizen. Participating in volunteer opportunities, service-learning activities, affiliation with local faith-based activities, tutoring and teaching, student leadership, and other activities make you a competitive applicant.

Depending on where you decide to apply and what your project is, you may need to have language skills. Fulbright asks that applicants have language skills that are commensurate with the requirements of your project. If you plan to do interview studies or original document analysis in a language other than English, you will likely need advanced levels of a local language. STEM projects, however, frequently can be conducted in English.

Because the requirements of each Fulbright ETA, research or MA/MS program are so different, choosing the program for which you are best qualified may seem daunting. Scheduling an appointment with the Fulbright Program Advisor can help make this process easier.

Do you plan to enroll in a graduate program when you return to the United States? If so, perhaps a research award may be appropriate. If you are interested more in a year of intensive cultural engagement while serving as a native speaker of English – and frequently serving as the first American that learners of English may have met – then the English Teaching Assistant Program may be for you. The funded Master’s programs offer an excellent opportunity to learn about your field from a global perspective.

Each country’s site on the Fulbright U.S. Student Program site lists the qualifications for its awards. The closer the match of your qualifications and the preferred qualifications for each award, the more likely that you will find a site where you can thrive.

If a language is commonly taught in the United States, it is more likely that the host country will ask for you to have a greater level of proficiency in that country’s language – particularly for Spanish, French, German, Arabic and Russian. Many countries have no language requirement at all, simply because their languages are not commonly taught in the United States, or because English is widely understood in the host country.

Fulbright is primarily a cross-cultural exchange between the United States and the countries of the world. For you to be successful in any application, you need to be willing to interact with professors, teachers, students and local community members. That may mean learning a new language, living in conditions that may be less comfortable than those at home, and experiencing a new culture on a daily basis – while representing the United States as a cultural ambassador.