CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is among the U.S. colleges and universities that produced the most 2018-19 Fulbright U.S. Student Awards, as announced recently by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
The Fulbright Program is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program. Top-producing institutions are highlighted annually in The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Eleven students from the Urbana campus received Fulbright awards for the 2018-19 academic year, placing Illinois among the top 15 public institutions in terms of numbers of student grantees. David Schug, the director of the National and International Scholarships Program at Illinois, said the U. of I. has been a perennial leader in student Fulbright grantees, making the top-producing list for eight of the past nine years.
“We thank the colleges and universities across the United States that we are recognizing as Fulbright top-producing institutions for their role in increasing mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries,” said Marie Royce, the assistant secretary of state for educational and cultural affairs. “We are proud of all the Fulbright students and scholars from these institutions who represent America abroad, increasing and sharing their skills and knowledge on a global stage.”
The Fulbright competition is administered jointly at Illinois through the National and International Scholarships Program – which assists undergraduates and recent alumni – and the Office of External Fellowships, which focuses on graduate student applications. Both offices have begun working with future candidates, as applications will open April 1 for students and recent alumni interested in pursuing studies, fine arts, research or English teaching assistantships under the Fulbright for the 2020-21 academic year.
Since its inception in 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided more than 390,000 participants – chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential – an opportunity to exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns. Over 1,900 U.S. students, artists and young professionals in more than 100 fields of study are offered Fulbright grants to study, teach English and conduct research each year in more than 140 countries. The Fulbright Program also awards grants to U.S. scholars, teachers and faculty to conduct research and teach overseas. In addition, some 4,000 foreign Fulbright students and scholars come to the U.S. annually to study, lecture, conduct research and teach foreign lan gauges.
For more information about the program, contact David Schug, National and International Scholarships Program director, 217-333-4710; topscholars@illinois.edu.
