"It
is a modest program with an
immodest
aim - the achievement in
international
affairs of a regime
more
civilized,
rational and
humane than the empty system
of power of the past."
- J. William Fulbright
Fulbright in Brief
The flagship
international educational program sponsored by the
United States Government, widely known as the Fulbright Program,
is designed to "increase mutual understanding between the people
of the
United States and the people of other countries..." With this
goal as a starting point, the Fulbright Program has provided
more than 230,000 participants - chosen for their leadership
potential - with the opportunity to observe each others' political,
economic and cultural institutions, exchange ideas, and embark
on joint ventures of importance to the general welfare of the
world's inhabitants.
Program History
The Fulbright
Program was established in 1946 under legislation introduced
by former Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas. Approximately
230,000 "Fulbrighters," 86,000 from the United States and 144,000
from other countries, have participated in the Program since
its inception more than fifty years ago. The Fulbright Program
awards approximately 4,500 new grants annually.
Fulbright Alumni include Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, governors
and senators, ambassadors and artists, prime ministers and heads
of state, professors and scientists, Supreme Court Justices,
and CEOs.
Funding
and Program Administration
The primary
source of funding for the Fulbright Program is an annual appropriation
by the United States Congress. Foreign governments and private
organizations contribute through cost-sharing and indirect support,
such as salary supplements, tuition waivers, university housing,
etc.
The Fulbright
Program is sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural
Affairs of the United States Department of State under policy
guidelines established by the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship
Board. The Board is a presidentially-appointed, independent
body that formulates the policies, procedures, and selection
criteria which govern the Fulbright Program. Currently, the
Program operates in 140 countries, including 51 countries with
binational Fulbright Commissions and Foundations. A number of
private, cooperating organizations also assist with the administration
of the Program.
For further information, contact:
Office
of Academic Exchange Programs
Bureau
of Educational and Cultural Affairs
U.S. Department of State, SA-44
301 4th Street, S.W., Room 234
Washington,
D.C. 20547
Phone: 202/619-4360
Fax: 202/401-5914
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