Of the 28 Tufts applicants for the prestigious Fulbright scholarship, 14 students passed the first hurdle towards receiving the honor earlier this month when they were notified they had advanced to the second round of evaluations.
The successful candidates applied to study in an array of 13 countries, from France to Nigeria and South Korea to Australia. Students will be notified of their Fulbright status beginning in April.
The Fulbright grant is a US Department of State program, assisted by the Institute of International Education, which funds research and teaching opportunities overseas for post-baccalaureate graduates and post-doctoral and mid-career professionals. Around 30 Tufts students apply annually, though the number who receive grants varies from year to year, according to Joanne McPherson, an administrative assistant in the office of the Dean of the Colleges.
The University had a record of 13 Fulbright winners in 1999. Typically, half of the Tufts students who apply continue past the first round and between seven and nine receive Fulbrights.
The Fulbright program, Dean of the Colleges Charles Inouye said, facilitates the aspirations of many students. "It's a good fit for Tufts because of our international focus and the numbers of students doing various languages and international study," he said. "We're very good at getting these awards because of the kinds of students we have."
Prospective Fulbright applicants consult Inouye to develop their proposals and complete applications. Inouye meets with students, sometimes as early as their sophomore year, to begin the process.
Most Bachelor's degree applicants either propose research-oriented projects or apply for teaching assistantships to instruct students in English overseas. The state department received over 4,000 applications for Fulbright country grants last year and awarded 960.
Senior Seren Levinson, one of the 14 applicants now in the second round, applied to teach English as a Second Language in South Korea. Levinson is child development major interested in cross cultural and family relationships, and she said the structure of the program caters to her needs, since it provides teachers with homestays.
Living with a Korean family, Levinson said, "would help me learn the language and the culture, not just be a teacher in a foreign country."
Levinson became interested in teaching English as a Second Language (ESL) as a senior in high school, when she tutored a family from Colombia in English. "I have always had an interest in teaching ESL," she said. Tutoring the family was "rewarding to not only help them with language, but to share each other's cultures."
Senior Ehren Brav hopes to study the role that non-governmental organizations (NGOs) play in building democracy in Nigeria.
Brav has conducted on-site research in Sarajevo, Croatia, and Israel through Tufts' Education for Public Inquiry and International Citizenship (EPIIC) program. It is the roots of Nigeria's current political instability that Brav hopes to study next.
"Nigeria is a country with tremendous potential but a terrible legacy of ... oppression," Brav said. "For the first time in years, it went back to a democratic government, which was absolutely plagued by corruption. There's just so much to be done."
Brav also applied for Marshall and Rhodes grants but did not receive them.
