The Three Boxes
Abstract/Summary of Proposal*
1750 character limit.
Prepare an executive summary detailing the what, where, and why of
your proposed project․ If you are proposing the pursuit of a graduate
degree program, summarize the program and relevance to your
career/education plans․
Host Country Engagement*
1750 character limit.
A key purpose of the Fulbright program is to be a cultural ambassador
while living abroad. How will you engage outside of the workplace to
fulfill this mission? In what ways do you plan to share your culture and
values in your host community? Provide specific ideas.
Plans Upon Return to the U.S.*
850 character limit.
Describe your career and/or educational plans after completing a
Fulbright grant.
To answer this question I suggest you NOT focus
on jobs you hope hold. Instead focus on how the
Fulbright will help you make the contributions you
intend to author. What will you do in 10 years that
will repay Fulbright's investment now?
Statement of Grant Purpose*
This 2-page document outlines the Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How of what you are proposing
for your Fulbright year. If you are pursuing a research project, developing a strong, feasible and
compelling project is the most important aspect of a successful Fulbright application.
The first step is to familiarize yourself with the award summary for your host country and selected
award in order to verify the type of grant you can propose. Depending on the country and award,
applicants may also propose to complete a graduate degree program. Some countries have specific
arrangements or named awards for graduate study and applicants may propose to complete a graduate
degree program. In this case, applicants should focus on demonstrating the reasons for pursuing the
proposed program at a particular institution in the host country.
Whether you are applying for a research project or a degree program, the proposal should indicate a
clear commitment to the host country community and a description of how you will engage with it.
Develop an intellectually-compelling and feasible project or justification for pursuing a graduate
degree program: This is the most important factor in presenting a successful application. The first step is
to familiarize yourself with the award summary for the country and program to which you are applying.
You should ensure that your Statement of Grant Purpose fits the program guidelines for the host
country and award.
For applicants proposing independent study/research projects, address the following points:
• With whom do you propose to work?
• What do you propose to do?
• What is innovative about the research?
• What are the specific research goals and methodologies?
• What is important or significant about the project?
• What contribution will the project make toward the Fulbright goal of promoting cultural
exchange and mutual understanding?
• When will you carry out the project? Include a feasible timeline.
• Where do you propose to conduct your study or research? Why was this location(s) chosen?
• Why do you want to undertake this project?
• What are your qualifications for carrying out this project?
• Why does the project have to be conducted in the country of application?
• How will your project help further your academic or professional development?
• How will you engage with the host country community? Give specific ideas for civic
engagement.
Design a feasible project: You must demonstrate that your research strategy is viable, including its
content, methodology, and time frame.
Address the following points:
• How will the culture and politics of the host country impact the work?
• Will the resources of the host country support the project?
• Have you developed a connection with a potential adviser in the host country who has
knowledge of the research topic and access to other appropriate contacts in the field?
• Do you have the requisite academic/field-specific background to undertake the proposed
research?
• Do you have sufficient language skills for the project being proposed and to serve the basic
purposes of the Fulbright Program? If not, how will you accomplish these goals? You should
consider that, even if a country indicates that English will be sufficient for carrying out the
proposed project, for purposes of Community Engagement, at least a basic level of language
skill should be obtained prior to leaving the United States for the host country.
• What are your plans for improving your language skills, if they are not adequate at the time of
application?
• Are there any possible feasibility concerns that the project could provoke?
For applicants proposing to enroll in graduate degree programs, address the following points:
• Why do you want to pursue the proposed program in the country to which you are applying?
• What are your reasons for selecting a particular institution?
• Do you have the requisite academic/field-specific background to undertake the proposed
program?
• Why do you want to gain a better understanding of the peoples and cultures of your host
country? Please demonstrate a commitment to the community through volunteer and extra-
curricular activity.
• Do you have sufficient language skills to successfully complete the program?
• Do you have the flexibility and dynamism necessary for active involvement in the host country?
Candidates applying through U.S. institutions are urged to consult professors in their major fields or
faculty members with experience in the host country, as well as their Fulbright Program Advisers,
about the feasibility of their proposed projects. At-Large applicants should consult qualified persons in
their fields.
• Be clear and concise. The individuals reading the proposal want applicants to get to the point
about the 'who, what, when, where, why and how' of the project. Avoid discipline-specific
jargon.
• Organize the statement carefully.
• Don't make reviewers search for information. We urge you to have several people read and
critique the Statement of Grant Purpose, including a faculty adviser, a faculty member
outside your discipline, a fellow student, and/or a colleague.
1. Length is limited to a maximum of two single-spaced pages․ Longer statements will not be
presented to screening committees․
2. Do not include any bibliographies, publications, citations, etc․, except those that will fit in the
two-page limit․
3. At the top of the first page, please include the following information:
Line 1: STATEMENT OF GRANT PURPOSE
Line 2: Your Name, Country of Application, Field of Study
Line 3: Project Title as it appears on the Program Information section
Example:
STATEMENT OF GRANT PURPOSE
Jane Smith, Country, Field of Study
Project Title
4. On the second page of the Statement, enter the same information or just Last Name, Grant
Purpose, Page 2
5. Before uploading, convert all documents to PDF.
Pay attention to the instructions for headers. The
SGP and Personal Statement have different
headers.
Personal Statement*
The statement should be a 1 page narrative that provides a picture of yourself as an individual․ It should deal
with your personal history, family background, influences on your intellectual development, the educational,
professional, and cultural opportunities (or lack of them) to which you have been exposed, and the ways in
which these experiences have affected you․ Also include your special interests and abilities, career plans, and
life goals, etc․ It should not be a recording of facts already listed on the application or an elaboration of your
Statement of Grant Purpose․ Rather, it should be specifically related to you and your aspirations
relative to the specific Fulbright Program to which you have applied․
PLEASE ADHERE TO THE FOLLOWING FORMAT INSTRUCTIONS
1. Length is limited to a maximum of one single-spaced page․ Longer statements will not be presented to
screening committees․
2. Use 1-inch margins and Times New Roman 12-point font․
3. See the host country Program Summary for translation instructions, if required․
4. Before uploading, convert all documents to PDF.
5. At the top of the page, please include the following information:
Line 1: PERSONAL STATEMENT
Line 2: Your Name, Country of Application, Field of Study or ETA
You should also provide more information on your planned
Host Country Engagement(s). Providing details on why you
pursue the freetime activities you list can help the selectors
see you as a three-dimensional person.
General Comments from Prior Application Cycles
Following the Fulbright application review panels, I asked all interviewers to relate the most commonly
observed problems on their panel. The following digest enumerates those comments. Curiously, this list is
strikingly similar to lists from past years. Your awareness of these pitfalls at the beginning of your
application will help you avoid them.
_______________________________________________!
1. Clarify your research question or agenda. Many, many applicants articulated their projects
and presented themselves more effectively orally than in writing. Read your proposal aloud.
This will help you identify the sections that don’t work. (This was the number one
comment!!)
2. Urgency --
Why do YOU need to go to this COUNTRY at this TIME?
3. Weak writing in general, but particularly in the introduction. Be succinct and use
transparent organization to present your ideas clearly. Rid your writing of the passive voice.
Also examine all words ending in “-in
g” and “-tion” to see whether they can be turned into
active verbs. Have agents accomplish actions in your proposal. Identify the problem that
needs your attenti
on.
4. All research must answer a simple, two-word
question, “So what?” (Alt. “Who cares?”) Dig
to the heart of your project to discover what your research will contribute to your field,
knowledge, and/or the world. Why do we need you to carry out this work? Most appl
icants
were good and articulating “WHAT”, moderately good and clarifying “HOW
”, but poor at
saying “WHY”.
5. Fix poorly developed me
t
hodology/research plan/timeline (this is a killer!).
6. Scope of project: overly ambitious or (less frequently) ridiculously narrow. Projects must be
feasible (in a general sense) and achievable (in the time you have and with your ski
l
l
s and
resources.) One interviewer seeks “a more simplified, focused, and detailed version of their
vision.” (Hint: A timeline often helps you trim/expand your project to a feasible size.)
7. Poorly
developed link between your interests (who you are) and the project. (Hint: Fulbright
funds not only good research, they fund good researchers. It is very important that you
come through in the materials.) And so …….
8. DO NOT reiterate y
our project proposal in your personal statement!! The personal statement
is your chance to tell them what makes you tick, not plow the project field again.
9. Organization: Specifics over details; show don’t tell; move from the general to the focused;
introduction must captivate reader and give them reason to read on.
10. Lack of seriousness regarding foreign language. NB – Language is a key washout point in
Fulbright. On every panel sits someone extremely proud of his/her language abilities and
unimpressed with yours. You must get this person in your camp before you move forward.
11. Abstracts: DO NOT cut and paste from your first paragraph. Seek guidance is uncertain how
to write a good abstract.
12. Avoid colloquial or overly flowery language in your proposal. You do not want to appear
blasé, or “silly and pretentious.”
U.S.
STUDENT FULBRIGHT PROGRAM
Foreign Language Evaluation Form
Applicant Last Name First Name Grant Field
For St
udy in (country):
Language Evaluated:
Please comment on the applicant's present language ability in relation to the proposed project in each of the following categories.
Based on ACTFL Proficiency Guidelines 2012.
ACTFL
LEVEL
SPEAKIN
G
READING
WRITI
NG
None
o None
o None
o None
Novice
o Communicates short
messages on highly
predictable, everyday
topics
o Understands key words
and cognates from highly
predictable texts
o Writes in lists and
notes, primarily by
using words and
phrases.
Intermediate
o Uses sentence-level
language, typically in
present time and on
familiar topics related to
daily life.
o Understands information
conveyed in simple,
predictable, loosely
connected texts.
o Writes using basic
vocabulary and
structures to meet
practical writing needs
Advanced
o Engages in conversation
in a clearly participatory
manner, in the major
time frames of past,
present, and future.
o Understands the main
idea and supporting
details of authentic
narrative and descriptive
texts.
o Writes in narrative
format, using major
time frames of past,
present, and future
Superior/
Distinguished
o Communicates with
accuracy and fluency in
order to participate fully
and effectively in
conversations on a
variety of topics.
o Understands structurally
complex texts from many
genres dealing with a
wide range of subjects.
o Writes analytically on
professional,
academic and societal
issues, moving toward
the abstract.
Please indicate your general opinion of this applicant's ability in the language evaluated relative to the language level needed to
carry out the proposed study or research project OR for English Teaching Assistantship applicants to engage in a local community
where English is rarely spoken.
o Will require considerable training before necessary competence can be obtained
o Should be able to manage adequately after some additional formal language raining
o Should be able to manage adequately after a short period of adjustment abroad
o Should have no difficulty
Indicate briefly how the evaluation was determined. As space allows, also feel free to comment on applicant’s language skills relative to the
proposed project
Evaluator Name Posit
ion or title Date
Institutio
n/Organization City State /Country
Campus Committee Evaluation (CCE) Form
STUDY/RESEARCH
A Campus Committee Evaluation Form is required of all applicants applying through a U.S. institution. Consult the
“Manual for Fulbright Program Advisers” for additional instructions. Use the TAB key to move between fields.
Name of Applicant:
Host Country:
Field of Study:
1. In what ways will the applicant’s qualifications and experiences contribute to their success in carrying out or
conducting the proposed project? Provide specific examples, if appropriate.
(800 characters including spaces)
2. In what ways will the characteristics and personal attributes of the applicant enable them to be a positive
representative of the United States and the Fulbright Program in their host community? Provide specific examples, if
appropriate.
(800 characters including spaces)
3. Describe the applicant’s knowledge of the host country and ways the applicant has learned or is learning about the
host country or region’s culture, society, current events, and/or history. Provide specific examples, if appropriate.
(800 characters including spaces)
4. Provide general comments regarding the applicant’s suitability for the proposed grant (additional comments
regarding academic and/or personal experience, maturity, adaptability, and flexibility welcome):
(800 characters including
spaces)
5. Does the Campus Committee endorse this candidate for a Fulbright grant? (Yes or No)
Individual Completing Form:
Position:
College/University:
Please limit each response to the character limits noted above. This document may not exceed 2 pages in total length.
2024