Tufts ranked as one of the top producers of Fulbright students among research institutions nationwide this year, reflecting a larger trend of increased interest in the selective international exchange program as students react to an uncertain job market and increased interest in international issues.
The Fulbright Program awarded scholarships to eight Tufts students from 47 applications, ranking Tufts as No. 35 among national research institutions, according to an October report in The Chronicle of Higher Education.
This year's numbers reveal a growing interest among Tufts students in the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program, which offers funding for American graduating college seniors, graduate students and young professionals to teach or conduct research abroad for up to a year. It is one category of the Fulbright Program, an international exchange program sponsored by the U.S. State Department. Approximately 1,500 American students receive Fulbright awards each year.
"Our applicant pool has increased dramatically in the last three years," said Laura Doane, Tufts' program director of advising and scholarship.
The official number of recipients does not include two students who applied through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program and were denied grants but received funding from the governments of their countries of interest, according to Doane.
Tufts has consistently maintained a "per capita success rate [that] is relatively high" for a school of its size and applicant rate, Doane said, which she attributed to the university's internationally focused student body.
Patrick Roath (LA '09) received a Fulbright grant to travel to Malaysia this January to teach English and do research. He explained that the uncertainty in the job market and the instability of the economic climate have contributed to an increased interest among undergraduate students in applying for grants to travel abroad.
"The market for ‘real' jobs has not been ideal," Roath said. "The lack of job opportunities after graduation has cast a wide net for people looking for other options."
David Comp, senior advisor for international initiatives at the University of Chicago, agreed that the tight economy may have prompted some to seek out the Fulbright Program.
"[Students] have a concern for the unknown and what the economy and job market will be like when they get out [of school]," Comp told the Daily.
The University of Chicago came in as the second-highest producer of Fulbright students, with 31 scholarships awarded from a pool of 128 applicants. Northwestern University took the top spot, with 32 of its 109 applicants receiving scholarships.
Comp cited growing international awareness as a reason for the mounting interest in international study grants.
"In the last four or five years, there has been more interest in international [study]," Comp said, noting a "nationwide trend to … be globally competent."
Brooke Noonan, the University of Chicago's director of the Office of Graduate Affairs and the Fulbright Program adviser for graduate students, credited the university's high numbers of Fulbright applicants and award recipients to its refined advising system.
"What makes us unique is our pretty intensive one-on-one sessions. When advising students who want to apply, we spend time with them going over the ins and outs of the application process," Noonan told the Daily.
As Tufts reaches an unprecedented number of Fulbright applicants, the university is undertaking similar efforts to provide help in the application process for interested students.
"The process that worked for 36 people last year works well, but not as well, for 47 [this year]," Doane said. "We want to make sure that as soon as people want to get into the [application] process, they have support and receive comprehensive feedback," she said.
Doane said that the administration plans to revise its approach to answer the increase in interest in international study grants. "We haven't had time to realign and reassess [yet]," she said, but added that Tufts is hoping to bolster its advising strategies for students.
"We are looking at ways to have other people be involved in addition, so that [the applicants] have more than one person looking at their application and the support system is even more comprehensive," she said.
Roath was happy with the support system he encountered as an applicant. "They put us through a rigorous application process and my application was stronger as a result," he said.
According to Doane, students who wish to apply for a Fulbright grant are provided with an interview with faculty members as a preliminary assessment of their application and have access to a writing consultant through the Academic Resource Center for the duration of the process.
