CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is among the U.S. colleges and universities that produced the most 2017-18 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.
Thirteen students from the Urbana campus received Fulbright awards for academic year 2017-18, placing Illinois among the top 25 universities (and top 10 public institutions) in terms of numbers of student grantees. David Schug, the director of the National and International Scholarships Program at Illinois, said the University of Illinois has been a perennial leader in student Fulbright grantees, making the top-producing list for seven of the past eight years.
The Fulbright competition is administered jointly at the University of 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 2 for students and recent alumni interested in pursuing studies, fine arts, research or English teaching assistantships under the Fulbright for the 2019-20 academic year.
Since its inception in 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided more than 380,000 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 different 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 United States annually to study, lecture, conduct research and teach foreign languages.
For more information, contact David Schug, National and International Scholarships Program director, 217-333-4710; topscholars@illinois.edu
