The Fulbright Program: The Components of the International Education Act

The Components of the Fulbright Program

This video introduces the overview of the Fulbright Program 

The History of the Fulbright Program

     In 1945, freshman Senator J. William Fulbright from Arkansas introduced legislation to amend the Surplus Property Act of 1944. The amendment Mr. Fulbright developed, "allowed the use of foreign credits accruing to the United States from the sale of the idle surplus war property overseas for the financing of educational exchange." In other words, the bill introduced the use of excess war property within the government to fund promotion of internationalism through the exchange of students in the fields such as education. Senator Fulbright, "choose not to invite attention to the larger purposes of the legislation, emphasized instead its modest scope and cost so as not to invite opposition." With the use of his tactful skill making, the bill passed Congress and was signed by President Harry Truman on August 1st, 1946. With the J. William Fulbright's bill signed into law, Congress established and created the Fulbright Program, a top international education exchange program which is sponsored by the U.S. government. 

    Through the establishment of the Fulbright program, an overarching goal of the program since its founding is to, "increase mutual understanding between the peoples of the United States and other countries through the exchange of persons, knowledge, and skill." To achieve this mission statement, the Fulbright program provides funds and grants for scholars and professionals to undertake university teaching, and to conduct advanced research abroad. From the Fulbright program's foundation, bilateral partnerships with both citizens and governments of foreign countries has worked with the United States to establish joint priorities and form the program to meet mutual needs. Thus, the principle of international relations and partnership in the primary aspect of the Fulbright program. 

Pictured is J. William Fulbright, founder of the Fulbright Program

Political Involvement in the Development of the Fulbright Program

The United States government involvement in Fulbright has promoted international education by awarding grants to applicants throughout the past decades. "Fulbright is mandated and overseen by the U.S. government, as well as sponsored by the Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs of the United States Department of State, governments in other countries, and the private sector."

When Fulbright was legislated, The State Department and a few private organizations were called upon to develop a mechanism to transform the Fulbright Act into a reality. The launch of the program led to the development of the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. Twelve individuals are appointed by the President of the United States to the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, created and run by Congress, to establish guidelines and standards in promoting international education opportunities provided by the program. As a result, "an academic exchange program recognized throughout the world for quality and merit selection, peer review, open competition, public-private cooperation, and bi-national administration was established by the United States government." Moreover, the Fulbright Scholarship Board created by U.S. Congress works in collaboration with the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State, and other government and other organizations, to administer the Fulbright program. The components of the development of the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board include, "to set procedures and policies for administering the Fulbright program, select the amount of grantees, and oversee the program both in the United States and abroad in foreign countries."

The creation of the Fulbright Act began the United States government involvement regarding to the topic of international education. "the scholarship program bill J. William Fulbright formulated would lead to being the first-large scale effort by the U.S. government in the field of international education." Prior to the introduction of Fulbright, American activities in the area of international relations pertained to private groups and individuals, and not through the government. "Traditional isolationism, the belief in limited government, was present and education was believed to remain a local concern, and have a certain distance from the State Department." With legislation of Fulbright however, government involvement pertaining to the area of internationalization of education has increased steadily. This has led to the people of the United States gaining more appreciation of the idea of government involvement toward the concern of sharing and learning through the international education program.

Furthermore, the inclusion of the United States government through congress and additional government based organizations are prevalent in the establishment and continuation of the Fulbright Act. Today, "the U.S. Scholar program of Fulbright is administered by the Council for International Exchange of Scholars, a division of the Institute of International Education, under the direction of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State. Also, the involvement of bi-national Fulbright Commissions and Foundations, or the Public Affairs Sections of the U.S embassies, contributes to the political components of the Fulbright Act."

 

Pictured is the current members of the Foreign Scholarship Board

The Benefits of the Fulbright Program

The Fulbright Program has earned a solid reputation for excellence, "providing funds or scholars and professionals to undertake university teaching, and conduct advanced research abroad." The statistics regarding the participation in Fulbright demonstrates since legislation, this international education program has given opportunities to individuals globally. "Approximately 300,000 participants around the world have supported the Fulbright programs since its inception; 111,000 have been U.S. scholars going abroad, other participants have been foreign scholars and students coming to the United States. On average, over 1,000 grants are awarded to U.S. scholars to go as many as 150 countries annually." Moreover, providing grantees of the Fulbright program the opportunity to form connections through exchange of people of foreign countries, as well as collaborating academics and sharing knowledge and skills, strengthens international education relations globally through this government program.

J. William Fulbright once stated, "The more the people of the world know one another, the less discord and distrust there will be among them" In other words, when individuals make connections and build networks across nations, exchanging and learning from one another, trust is built and thoughts of conflict and hostility vanishes. For example, " while visiting scholars, teachers, and students are learning about their host nations through academics, as well as nonacademic activities, the local citizens are learning firsthand about their guests' and about their home country." Thus, this leads to Fulbright grantees and homeland natives communicating and exchanging mutual understanding for each other's values and beliefs, internationalizing on another. Furthermore, forming connections with peoples globally, and building cross-cultural mutual understanding with others in foreign countries, is a benefit of the Fulbright program for it emphasizes internationalizing education as well as individuals' views.

Fulbright has consisted of many gifted and talented grantees within their program. "Fulbright alumni are the recipients of 39 Nobel Prizes, 65 Pulitzer Prizes, 23 MacArthur Foundation Genius Awards, and include 15 U.S. presidential candidates. In fact, more Fulbright alumni have received and won Nobel Prizes than those of any other academic program."Moreover, becoming a Fulbright Scholar places individuals into a unique class of achievers and represents individuals as highly intelligent people worldwide, and selection as a Fulbright Scholar allows you to stand out among you faculty at your institution. Additionally, schools and universities greatly value having a Fulbright Scholar that presently attends their institution, as well as their alumni. "For the grantee, selection as a Fulbright Scholar allows the individual to stand out among the faculty at his or her home institution. For the school, much appreciation is toward faculty and alumni with the abilities to be named a Fulbright Scholar, for it helps the school's own rankings and prestige as an institution of learning." Furthermore, schools take pride in having talented Fulbright Scholars who are individuals from their own institution. Institutions value developing individuals who are well-known globally for their academic successes from their own school, making the institution recognized for high academic standards.

Peter A. Diamond:

U.S.A. Nobel Laureate in Economics 2010

Fulbright Scholar in Italy 1999-2000

Shortfalls of the Fulbright Program

     Although the Fulbright program is highlighted as a main success in government involvement pertaining to strengthening international education, not well-known shorts falls of the Fulbright program can also be shown. From the inception of the Fulbright program, Fulbright Scholars are shown to be dominantly white, not showing race equity to African Americans who wish to be Fulbright Scholars. "Statstics shows over the past 10 years, 274 of the 9,579 Fulbright scholarships have gone to African Americans. Thus, during this period blacks have won sightly less than 3 percent of all Fulbright awards." Over the past decade, the black percentage of Fulbright winners have been lower than the percentage of the Fulbright applicants. For example, "blacks made up an average of 4.1 percents of Fulbright applicants, but only 2.9 percent of all African American people win awards who have applied These statistics lead to the question, is racial discrimination a factor in the Fulbright decisions?"
     A reason that pertains to African Americans less likely receiving the Fulbright opportunity may be due to host countries involved in Fulbright. Host committees in certain countries, which have a role in the selection process, may be reluctant to receive a black American scholar under a Fulbright grant. Also, probably a major reason for smaller percentage of black award winners is that black scholars have less experience in applying for research grants than their white colleagues. "It is reported that blacks have fewer mentors who have been through the Fulbright process who can offer them advice on how to craft their proposals for their selection committees." Furthermore, with African Americans not capable of receiving  an abundant amount of peer advice from their same race, blacks are viewed as not having the same credentials and capabilities as their white colleagues.

     However, it must be kept in mind that the low percentage of African Americans who are awarded Fulbright scholarships is influenced by the fact that blacks make up a small percentage of  the pool of scholars who are eligible to receive awards. In most cases, "to be granted a Fulbright grant, recipients must obtain a Ph.D. or other terminal degree, as well as have had a teaching experience at a college or university in the United States." "African Americans are often a small percentage of the doctoral students or faculty members at the prestigious colleges and universities from which many Fulbright scholars are selected." Although inequity is presented with statistics in the discussion of African American small amount in receiving Fulbright Awards, other factors besides race, such as education experience, is taken into account of distributing African Americans Fulbright grants.

     Another shortfall in the controversy in the Fulbright program is that the section for a Fulbright position is highly competitive. Although Fulbright is a prestigious program emphasizing the sending of individuals abroad to strengthen the ties that unite the Untied States with other nations, it is limited to the number of applicants they can approve, due to grant amounts and the numerous impressive applications received. In past years, "the United States sent 711 scholars abroad from 441 schools and received 589 scholars from other countries to 241 schools in the U.S. Of these, 294 schools had one faculty member chosen, 79 had two." These statistics display that with thousands of applicants, only a handful are granted to pursue the experience of going abroad, and continue to strengthen international education and the mutual understandings of people worldwide. Overall, since Fulbright is a highly competitive international education program, it is shown that many individuals who desire to study, perform research and gain and share knowledge abroad, do not receive the grant and opportunity for a Fulbright award

Glenn A. Chambers- A 2004 Fulbright Fellowship Award Recipient, doesn't let statistics of African Americans receiving Fulbright grants stop him. "He had the honor of representing Howard University as a Fulbright grantee to the Central American Republic of Honduras." 

Eligibility for the Fulbright Program

     Although many individuals want to receive a grant to conduct research and teach abroad, many credentials in the field of education are needed to be eligible to apply for the Fulbright program. The Fulbright Scholar program has three main eligibility requirements that include “US citizenship, a PHD or equivalent professional or terminal degree, as well as teaching experience if required by the award received.”

     First and foremost, “applicants must be U.S. citizens at the time of the application, and permanent residents are not eligible to apply for Fulbright.” An individual that is not registered as an American citizen will not receive the opportunity to complete an application for the American Fulbright, until that individual gains U.S. citizenship. For academic credentials, "before the start of the grant, applicants must also have a conferred bachelor’s degree or the equivalent." It is essential that applicants have a Ph.D. or an equivalent degree, which can include a master’s degree depending on the field, showing they have much knowledge, and are certified in their area of study. Not only do applicants need exceptional knowledge and high credentials, they must also have a "sufficient  proficiency in the written and spoken language of the host country they wish to pursue a Fulbright grant on, to sufficiently communicate with the people and to carry out the proposed study and research." Although it is required that Fulbright applicants must have former teaching experience prior to applying, they do not necessarily need to have been university faculty members.

Even though the majority of recipients of Fulbright grants tend to be given to prestigious university or college faculty, "some scholars have other affiliations such as with community colleges, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies." Fulbright Scholar Program grants also have different credentials and criteria designated for certain areas of study. For example, “in the creative and performing arts, four years of professional training, and or experience meets the basic eligibility requirement.” For individuals in the field of medicine, “applicants who are doctors may only receive grants for advanced academic study, but not for internships or residencies.” Lastly, a credential in receiving a grant from the Fulbright program is that “applicants must be in good physical and mental health. Applicants will be required to submit a satisfactory Medical Certificate from a physician”, in order to be accepted into the application process of The Fulbright program.

     Although there are requirements set for the areas of study for applicants applying to receive Fulbright scholarships, there are also preferred qualifications the Foreign Scholarship Board of the Fulbright Program looks for future grantees. For example, “there is a strong preference in the U.S. Fulbright program for those who have not previously received and held a Fulbright grant.” This can be shown for that “about 9 out of 10 Scholars are first-time awardees, and the lifetime limit is two awards.” There is an exception however, “for those who may have held an English Teaching Assistant Program may apply for a study and research grant, provided that at least 2 years have elapsed from the end of their ETA period, and they continue to meet all eligibility requirements.” Another factor dominantly present in the preferred qualifications in the Fulbright program is that, "preference will be given to applicants whose higher education was undertaken in primarily at educational institutes in the United States."

       However, “foreign study during the junior year or other periods of undergraduate study, that are integral parts of the curricula of American institutions, will not be considered a disadvantage.”  In other words, studying abroad while being an undergraduate at an American university will not have a negative impact on an individual in consideration for a Fulbright grant. It is also preferred that candidates "have not resided or studied in the country to which they are applying for, more than six months ago, not counting undergraduate study."Moreover, applicants who have a desire to further their knowledge in a specific country, cannot have resided or studied in that specific country in under six months, not considering undergraduate abroad. "Duty abroad regarding the Armed Forces of the United States is not considered a disqualifying aspect in the terms of being priory aboard less than six months in a foreign country." In addition to not residing or studying in a desired country within the last six months, the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board prefers applicants "who have not had extensive previous foreign experience in a host country, due to believing this is a serious disadvantage." However, applicants are still eligible in applying to study and research in a country they preciously have had a foreign experience in, they are just at a competitive disadvantage when the board reviews his or her application.