<p>Hello, everyone.
I will start a PhD program this fall, and I want to begin applying for a Fulbright immediately. Maybe it's jumping the gun, but if I apply first off then get rejected...I'll have at least 3 years to revise & resubmit.</p>
<p>So just wondering if anyone has any advice ?
If you've gotten a Fulbright, I would love to hear about it.
Also if you have gotten rejected for a Fulbright, I would really like to hear your story.</p>
<p>Thanks !</p>
<p>dfh932, what's your field?
is it normal (or even making any sense) for science graduate students to go on researching in other country for a year?? id like to hear your experience!</p>
<p>The best thing to do is immediately meet with your advisor at the beginning of the year and voice your intentions. They will help you craft a Fulbright grant that has the potential for winning. If you know who your advisor might be, you can e-mail them now and tell them your intentions. Be sure to have a concrete idea for a full grant and a viable reason about why you want to do your research abroad.</p>
<p>Also, most universities have a grant office that will have Fulbright advice. You can search your intended school's website to find this and their contact information.</p>
<p>It is common for science grad students to do research in other countries, especially in some fields. In public health, one of my concentrations, it is very common. A friend of mine who studies environmental health (she has a background in engineering and specializes in toxicology) is doing her dissertation on arsenic poisoning in Bangladeshi wells, and there are many environmental health scientists and epidemiologists doing large-scale investigations abroad, especially in West Africa, Latin America, and Central and South Asia.</p>
<p>In other fields, not so much. No one in my psychology department does research abroad.</p>
<p>I have known a bunch of linguistics and art history Fulbrights.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone, for the great information and advice...I am going to be funded while in grad school by a T32 NIH grant for a Biomedical-Behavioral Interface program. This program is intended to give behaviorists a biological and medical background so that we may bring this level of experience to solve public health-related programs.
I'll be taking genetics & epidemiology courses, and rotating between several different labs in different departments.
So based on what you said, juillet, I think i might have a decent shot.
Thank you!</p>
<p>bump! </p>
<p>Curious about getting fulbrights- how difficult is it? What is the criteria? I know it is generally very competitive, but is GPA important (and if so- what is the range) or is it primarily about your experience and proposal?</p>
<p>also curious…</p>
<p>i know there are fulbrights available for canadian citizens (me) studying in the US, but those require students to return to their home countries for a minimum of two years at the end of the study, they have different visa requirements (J instead of F), and it’s a big hassle when i’ve already got full funding.</p>
<p>BUT i was wondering if it’s possible for a canadian citizen at an american school to win a fulbright to teach abroad? i’ll be spending my 4th year abroad doing research anyway, but in my 5th year i’m required to teach unless i get other sources of funding. i’d really like to be able to teach where i’m researching (the caribbean) so that i can continue field research while i write my dissertation. is this possible with a fulbright?</p>
<p>There are about 1200 Fulbright grants total awarded every year, so yeah, it’s pretty competitive. I’m applying for a Fulbright ETA (English Teaching Assistantship) Grant to Spain. 6 students were awarded grants from my school (University of Maryland) this year, which is the most ever for my university.</p>
<p>I may be mistaken, but the difficulty of Fulbrights varies wildly. Getting a Fulbirhgt in the humanities is way more difficult than getting one in law, for instance.</p>
<p>Look at your school’s track record for Fulbright grants. You SHOULD speak with your advisor in the career office about this- s/he should know the process in and out. If the track record is very high, chances are that the advisor is excellent and knows what a winning application looks like. If very low, you’re on your own basically.</p>
<p>Fulbright grants do look at the GPA. My advisor asked me point-blank what was my cumulative GPA when I said that I wanted a Fulbright grant. I’m pretty sure if I had said 3.1 instead of 3.3, she would’ve said no.</p>
<p>Next is your research proposal. It should show originality. It should be compelling. It should demonstrate some form of cultural exchange- what are you going to bring to the country of your choice and from that country back to the US?</p>
<p>What I’ve seen from past winning Fulbright essays at my school, clear network connections are important. So if you need to be affiliated with an institution or an university, be sure that the sponsor is totally on board with your research proposal and LORs should reflect some of that.</p>
<p>Competition varies. You should also read the qualifications for each country. Some countries are more lenient than others. I know of some students who will purposely apply to random country just for the sake of getting a Fulbright grant. Others will explicitly state their preferences for people who have never been to that country for a long period of time (say, no more than a month). ETA grants are actually easier to get than independent ones.</p>
<p>BUMP</p>
<p>I just submitted my final application online for a Spain ETA grant (my campus’ deadline is tomorrow). Good luck to everyone who applied this year!</p>