Fulbright Program

“It is a modest program with an immodest aim.”

The Fulbright Program was established in 1946 under legislation introduced by then Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas. The Fulbright Program is sponsored and administered 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 and in cooperation with a number of private organizations including the Council for International Exchange of Scholars (CIES) and the Institute of International Education (IIE).

The J. William Fulbright Scholarship Board is composed of twelve educational and public leaders appointed by the President of the United States to formulate the policies, procedures and selection criteria that govern the Fulbright Program. The Board also selects the grantees for Fulbright awards.

The primary source of funding for the Fulbright Program is an annual appropriation by the United States Congress to the Department of State. Participating governments and host institutions in foreign countries and in the United States also contribute financially through cost-sharing and indirect support, such as salary supplements, tuition waivers, university housing, etc.

Binational commissions and foundations abroad propose the annual country programs, which establish the numbers and categories of grants based on requests from local institutions. In a country without a commission or foundation, the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy develops and supervises the Fulbright Program. Currently, 50 commissions are active, 48 of which are funded jointly by the United States and respective governments. Each commission or foundation has a board, which is composed of an equal number of Americans and citizens of the participating nation.