Participant Support

“Public diplomacy is most effective when people of diverse backgrounds and perspectives participate in people-to-people exchanges and programs to promote mutual understanding.”

The Fulbright Program is for talented individuals who want to make positive change in the world.  

Since 1946, accomplished and committed students, scholars, artists, teachers, and professionals of all backgrounds have participated in the Fulbright Program, reflecting the full diversity of U.S. society and societies abroad. Living and learning alongside people of many cultures builds mutual understanding and positively shapes our communities. Fulbright creates a safe and supportive environment for all participants to have successful and rewarding exchange experiences. 

Fulbright U.S. Student to Malaysia Shondrea McCargo
Fulbright U.S. Scholar to Ghana Karl Jackson
Fulbright U.S. Student to Uruguay Carina Ho

Resources

The Fulbright Program supports Fulbrighters before and during their programs with resources designed to connect them with one another and with the Fulbright alum community. To ensure that all Fulbrighters are encouraged and supported, the program features Fulbrighters from a range of backgrounds and experiences in our videos, print materials, profiles and news stories.  

Members of the Fulbright community, including partner organizations, Fulbright Commissions abroad, and program alums, also contribute independent materials to support participants and provide unique on-the-ground perspectives that enrich the Fulbright experience. 

Two doctors standing in hospital corridor talking to patient

Safety & Health

Accident and Sickness Program for Exchanges (ASPE) and ASPE Assist for Mental Health and Crisis Support

Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program Safety, Health, and Security

Fulbright U.S. Student Program Staying Safe and Secure

 

One standing row and one sitting row of Alumni ambassadors

Participant & Alum Networks

Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program Alumni Ambassadors 

Fulbright U.S. Student Program Alumni Ambassadors

Fulbrighter Network: A platform for Fulbrighters to connect with each other and alumni from around the world. 

Fulbright Association: The largest independent association of Fulbright Alumni in the United States has regional and virtual chapters that support alums after their Fulbright exchanges. 

Fulbrighter and students sitting around table with recording equipment

Other Resources

Webinars feature Fulbrighters with disabilities, Fulbrighters with military backgrounds, and Fulbrighters representing different racial and ethnic groups 

Fulbright Regional Coordinators based at Fulbright Commissions abroad support Fulbrighters abroad through pre-departure, arrival, and on-program activities while assisting Fulbright Commissions and participants to help bridge communication gaps. Current Fulbrighters, alumni, and program partners have access to digital resources, podcasts, event announcements, and programming through the Regional Coordinator Instagram account. 

Mobility International USA (MIUSA) – Disability Resources for Americans Going Abroad 

Resources for Community Colleges 

Partners

The Program’s robust student support strategies and initiatives are supported through partnerships with international education and civil society organizations. Both the and draw on diverse networks of leadership organizations, professional institutions, and associations that support outreach to diverse communities. 

For example, the Fulbright Program has had a long-standing partnership with Mobility International USA (MIUSA) and the State Department-funded National Clearinghouse on Disability and Exchange (NCDE). Joint efforts include promoting Fulbright Program opportunities for people with disabilities, highlighting successful exchange experiences of Fulbright alumni with disabilities, and providing trainings to Fulbright Program staff to aid them in effectively managing and promoting disability and exchange programming.

Fulbright’s Commitments

The Fulbright Program is committed to ensuring that individuals from all backgrounds are encouraged and supported in their participation in Fulbright exchanges. 

  • The Office of Academic Exchange Programs at the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs holds regular meetings focused on student support to share best practices and to address and find solutions for issues in Fulbright and other academic exchange programs. 
  • In keeping with the Americans with Disabilities Act and federal and Program policy and practice, the Fulbright Program is committed to working with grantees with disabilities, on a case-by-case basis, as requested, to provide reasonable accommodations to help ensure the grantees have a successful and rewarding exchange experience. The Program has developed a Reasonable Accommodations protocol for use in assessing and funding accommodations. 
  • The Fulbright Program cultivates relationships with diverse educational institutions through partnerships with the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity through Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs); the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Hispanics; Diversity Abroad; the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU); and UNCF, among others. The annual Fulbright HBCU Institutional Leaders and Fulbright HSI Leaders initiatives are unique collaborations that celebrate Fulbright’s relationships with HBCUs and Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs).  Fulbright also engages community colleges, to support participation by faculty and administers in Fulbright exchanges, and as hosts of international scholars, who contribute valuable international perspectives to their communities. 
  • Fulbright alumni support each other throughout the exchange program cycle by organizing independent interest and affinity groups. These groups are not affiliated with the Fulbright Program, but provide networks with which Fulbright applicants, participants, and alumni may engage. 

One of the greatest things that the Fulbright experience has gifted me is this huge platform to talk to others about this lesson. . . . the importance of inclusivity in the design of educational facilities.

Fulbright Student Olivia Mae Asuncion to the Philippines

The Fulbright Experience from Application to Alumni 

Fulbright supports people from all backgrounds throughout their engagement with the Program, from learning about opportunities and applying, to participating in a Fulbright Program, and staying connected with Fulbright communities. 

Outreach/Recruitment

To ensure that it reflects the diversity of the United States, Fulbright actively recruits applicants from all U.S. regions, in all fields of study, from military backgrounds, and representing diverse racial and ethnic groups and all institutional types. The Fulbright Program works together with its outreach partners to develop and provide recruitment resources and training to support recruitment at institutions in all U.S. states including community colleges, rural institutions, military academies, and minority-serving institutions, such as HBCUs and HSIs.     

  • MSI and Community College Resources and Training. Fulbright Program implementing partners offer recruitment resources and training to community colleges and Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) to help ensure that the Fulbright applicant pool reflects the full diversity of the United States. For close to a decade, the Fulbright Program has facilitated workshops for Fulbright Program Advisers and Scholar Liaisons at MSIs and community colleges to provide training and support for their campus engagement efforts to increase representation in the Program. 
  • Conferences. Representatives from the Fulbright Program regularly participate in conferences across the United States to promote the program and offer support and engagement opportunities to international education and higher education professionals. Representatives of the Fulbright Program recruit at conferences and meetings for specific communities in high education, including annual conferences for Community Colleges for International Development (CCID), the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU), and the UNCF UNITE Summit for Black Higher Education. 
  • Classroom visits. The Fulbright Program’s collaborative activities with Reach the World and the Fulbright Association alumni organization’s Fulbright in the Classroom seek to bring Fulbrighters to U.S. classrooms either virtually or in person, especially in rural communities, to share the value of international exchange and mutual understanding with young students from a wide range of backgrounds. 
  • Recognizing HBCUs. The Fulbright HBCU Institutional Leaders Initiative recognizes HBCUs for their noteworthy engagement in the Fulbright Program and encourages all HBCUs and their students, faculty, and staff to engage with Fulbright.   
  • Recognizing HSIs. The Fulbright HSI Leaders Initiative recognizes HSIs for their noteworthy engagement in the Fulbright Program and to encourage all HSIs to participate in various components of the Fulbright Program.
  • Adviser Trainings. Fulbright Program Advisers and Fulbright Scholar Liaisons act as representatives for the program at over 1,600 campuses across the United States. They are the first source of information about the program for students and scholars at their institutions and support the program’s recruitment and selection. Each year, the Fulbright Program invites institutions without a representative to designate an advisor or liaison, and conducts comprehensive training for new advisers, through virtual engagements as well as special in-person training events aligned with the program’s recruitment priorities. In 2024, For example, Fulbright hosted a training workshop for Fulbright Program Advisers (FPAs) from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in collaboration with Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia, in the spring of 2024. The training provided FPAs and attendees with resources and best practices to recruit and support applicants to the Fulbright U.S. Student Program from their campuses and to further engage with the Fulbright Program.
Review and Selection

The Fulbright Program is committed to fairness in the review and selection process, establishing transparent, merit-based application and selection processes that incorporate bias-mitigation strategies and trainings for our independent reviewers. 

The Fulbright Program has engaged experts to assess the application and selection processes to ensure a fair competition. 

U.S. Student Program. 

  • Reviewers for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program  evaluate applications against established review criteria while adhering to the Program’s nondiscrimination and diversity policies. 
  • The Fulbright U.S. Student Program recruits National Screening Committee (NSC) reviewers to represent all U.S. higher education institutions and geographic regions of the United States, with a significant number of reviewers coming from MSIs, including HBCUs and HSIs, community colleges, and rural institutions. 

U.S. Scholar Program. 

  • Reviewers for the Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program  evaluate applications against established review criteria, through a discipline-based peer review process. 
  • The Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program recruits panels of peer reviewers to evaluate applications. Reviewers come from all institution types and include both academics and professionals representing the breadths of their disciplines. Every year the program recruits reviewers from all geographical regions of the United States.  

Fulbright Specialist Program. 

  • The Fulbright Specialist Program recruits a diverse panel of peer reviewers to evaluate and recommend applications for further consideration in the selection process. Reviewers come from all institution types and include both academics and professionals. 
Preparation and Orientation

The Fulbright Program conducts pre-departure activities with newly-selected participants, to prepare them for successful experiences in their host countries. The orientation programming and digital resources are continually updated to meet the needs of participants who come from all U.S. regions, backgrounds, and institutional types, and including those who have limited or no prior international experience. 

  • Country-specific guidance. To ensure the success of participants of all backgrounds in preparing for a successful Fulbright experience, Fulbright PDOs also include sessions on country-specific customs and regulations, health care, grant logistics, and support abroad for U.S. Students and Scholars. 
  • Pre-Departure resources. The Fulbright Program provides online Pre-Departure Resources, which include reference materials such as websites, podcasts, articles, books, and films to help grantees successfully navigate their time abroad. Many of the resources were recommended by Fulbright alumni. 
  • Alumni perspectives. The Fulbright Program recruits alumni from a variety of backgrounds to  discuss their country-specific experiences from their unique perspectives, including how to anticipate challenges and work with the Fulbright Program to address any experiences of discrimination or harassment while on the Program. 
  • Disability accommodations. As part of the pre-departure process, the Fulbright Program provides participants with disabilities, on a case-by-case basis as requested, with reasonable accommodations to facilitate their participation in the orientation experience. 
On-Grant Activities/Monitoring and Reentry

The Fulbright Program provides resources and opportunities for participants while they are on their Fulbright exchange programs to ensure that they have the support and assistance necessary for a successful exchange experience. 

  • Podcast interviews. Regional coordinators host a podcast called Fulbright Forward, which features interviews with program alumni on regional and local ramifications of global issues. 
  • Tailored webinars. Fulbright offers webinars on inclusive support for U.S. Fulbright students while they are abroad.  The webinars address different topics and are tailored to each phase of the grant experience (as participants begin their grants, mid-year, and prior to returning to the United States) and feature Fulbright U.S. Student alumni who have successfully navigated challenges during their Fulbright exchange experiences. 
  • Crisis and mental health support. The State Department provides ASPE Assist, a mental health and crisis support service, as a benefit for all exchange participants, including Fulbright U.S. Students and Scholars, while they are in their host countries.  Accessible 24 hours a day, it is a support option for participants in urgent and non-urgent situations.  ASPE Assist services include advice to grantees when they feel at risk or vulnerable, and support to those who have experienced a traumatic incident of discrimination or harassment, in addition to mental health crisis support. 
  • Health and safety information. Fulbright provides up-to-date safety, health, and security information for U.S. Scholars and U.S. Students, with links to helpful materials for participants from all backgrounds, and specifically highlights resources for women travelers, information on the legal environment in host countries, resources for mobility and accessibility, and advice for students from all ethnic and racial backgrounds  
  • Online network. To assist in building community and facilitating connections across borders, the Fulbrighter Network, created in 2019, provides opportunities to connect to participants with similar identities who are facing similar challenges. With over 45,000 users, the network allows individuals to interact through online community groups based on shared interests. 
  • Alumni groups. Volunteer-led alumni groups provide opportunities for Fulbright participants on grant to connect with others who share similar backgrounds and life experiences. 
Activities, Enrichment, and Events

The Fulbright Program works to ensure events, orientations, and enrichment activities reflect the diversity of the United States and of the program as a whole. Events include speakers from a wide range of backgrounds and hosted at institutions where Fulbright want to encourage further participation, such as HBCUs, HSIs, and community colleges.  Virtual and in-person activities are designed to be accessible to audience members with disabilities and employ learning management systems, websites, and other content that is ADA-compliant. 

Fulbright Visiting Scholar and Foreign Student Enrichment Seminars 

The Fulbright Program organizes enrichment seminars each year for international Fulbright students and scholars in the United States to learn about the variety of cultures and histories in the United States. Examples of recent seminar themes include: 

  • “Remote but Connected: Transformation of American Rural Communities Through Technology” (Lincoln, Nebraska) 
  • “From Then to Now: Exploring the Legacy of the Civil Rights Movement” (Atlanta, Georgia) 
  • “To Infinity and Beyond: The Evolution of Aviation and Space Exploration” (Houston, Texas) 
  • “Public Health in a Complex World: Translating Science, Building Trust” (Boston, Massachusetts) 
  • “Unlocking Opportunities: Exploring Entrepreneurship, Technological Innovations, and Sustainable Business Practices” (Salt Lake City, Utah) 

Seminar speakers, panelists, and alumni are invited and selected based on their expertise and on their ability to provide a wide range of perspectives on each seminar topic. 

Special Events 

The Fulbright Program holds events for the general public that address topics highlighting contributions of Fulbrighters across the United States.  Some examples include: 

Alumni

The Fulbright Program provides platforms and opportunities for alumni to engage with the broad and dynamic network of Fulbrighters, alumni, and stakeholders around the world, through alumni ambassador programs, in-person and online engagement, and storytelling.  Alumni are included in Fulbright’s efforts to recruit participants from every region, institutional type, and background at all stages of the exchange cycle. 

  • Alumni videos and stories. Fulbright creates and shares a curated selection of alumni videos and stories for its websites and social media to highlight the accomplishments of Fulbrighters from all backgrounds. Interviews with Fulbright Students and Scholars are used to produce videos compilations such as “I am Fulbright” and brief videos of interviews with individual alumni. 
  • Alumni Ambassadors. The Fulbright Alumni Ambassador Programs for U.S. Students and U.S. Scholars recruit recent Fulbrighters to assist with outreach and recruitment, and to expand the audience for Fulbright.  Each cohort of Fulbright Alumni Ambassadors is selected to represent different backgrounds, home states, fields of study, and institutions. Over 400 Alumni Ambassadors have participated since the programs’ inception.
  • Alumni with disabilities. The Fulbright Program regularly promotes stories of and events with alumni with disabilities to celebrate the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). For the 30th anniversary of the ADA in 2020, the Program created an online platform with monthly features of Fulbright alumni with disabilities as well as Fulbrighters who work with communities of people with disabilities. 
  • Alumni outreach. With support from ECA, the Fulbright Association (FA), the United States’ largest Fulbright alumni organization, reaches out to alumni of all backgrounds to encourage them to become active members. In 2012, the FA developed a Young Professionals Network (YPN), implemented by selected Fulbright Association chapters throughout the United States, to enable young U.S. Fulbright Student alumni to confer with industry specialists, participate in mentoring activities, and build professional networks.  More recently, the FA created Fulbright in the Classroom to bring Fulbrighters into primary and secondary school classrooms to foster the exchange of international and intercultural perspectives. 
  • Online community. The Fulbrighter Network connects alumni and current participants from all backgrounds to network, collaborate, and share opportunities.  With nearly 30,000 users globally, the network allows individuals and interest groups to interact through an array of user-developed online community groups based on shared interests and shared challenges.  This platform allows Fulbright alumni, participants, and selectees to connect with users to build their own unique and supportive community and strengthen professional and personal networks. 

Fulbright’s Engagement with U.S. Institutions  

A number of Fulbright components can be utilized to support the internationalization goals of all types of U.S. higher education institutions, across all regions of the United States.  

Programs for foreign Fulbrighters encourage U.S. Minority-Serving Institutions, community colleges, small liberal arts colleges, rural colleges and universities, and military academies to host foreign Fulbright participants as Fulbright Scholars-in-Residence, visiting lecturers and foreign language teaching assistants, to promote international experiences for their students and faculty. Collaborative research programs like the Fulbright Arctic Initiative and Fulbright Amazonia encourage individuals from all backgrounds, including Indigenous communities, to take part in collaborative research on issues that affect populations in these world regions. 

The Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence (S-I-R) Program enables U.S. colleges and universities to host scholars from abroad for a semester or an academic year.  Scholars teach courses and guest lecture, engage with students and faculty across campus, and interact with the community outside campus, all with the objective of promoting internationalization.  Diverse institutions, including Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs), community colleges, small liberal arts colleges, rural colleges and universities, and military academies are encouraged to apply to the Program.  In 2022, the Fulbright Program created a specialized group of Fulbright S-I-R alumni host mentors from diverse U.S. institutions to enhance outreach efforts and serve as resources to help orient and advise new S-I-R host campuses. 

The Fulbright Outreach Lecturing Fund (OLF) enables U.S. colleges and universities to host Fulbright Visiting Scholars already on exchange in the United States for short-term (two-day to five-day) campus visits to engage with students, faculty, and staff in support of campus internationalization.  Priority institutions include MSIs, community colleges, small liberal arts colleges, women’s colleges, arts colleges, rural institutions, and military academies.  OLF visits are designed to enable the host institutions to become more familiar with the Fulbright Program and the ways that institutions can participate. 

The Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant (FLTA) Program places FLTAs at HBCUs, MSIs, service academies, and other institutions that may not host large cohorts of Fulbright students and scholars. In addition, it facilitates engagement with community colleges through additional funding to support community colleges seeking to host FLTAs. 

The Fulbright Arctic Initiative brings together a network of scholars, professionals, and applied researchers from Arctic nations to address key research and policy questions related to creating a secure and sustainable Arctic. Using a collaborative, multidisciplinary approach, Fulbright Arctic Initiative scholars address public policy-related questions relevant to Arctic nations and communities’ shared challenges and opportunities.  The Fulbright Arctic Initiative engages with Arctic Indigenous communities in formulating policy recommendations and best practices as related to public health, Arctic security, and Arctic resources research. 

Fulbright Amazonia is a partnership between ECA, the Fulbright Commission in Brazil, which supports a platform for researchers from the U.S. and countries of the Amazon basin to conduct and support collaborative, action-oriented research to conserve the resources of the region as well as respect and promote the cultural and community traditions of the inhabitants of the region, including Indigenous populations. 

The Fulbright Specialist Program is a roster-based program whereby U.S. academics and professionals from a broad range of disciplines may apply to be a part of the Fulbright Specialist roster for a three-year period and be eligible to be matched to host institution-driven projects for a period of two-to-six-weeks in length. The Fulbright Specialist Program strives to ensure a roster of scholars from all institutional types, and works actively to promote collaborations between community and technical colleges in the United States and abroad.