Brown among top schools for ’07 Fulbright awards

Brown University is among the nation’s top producers of Fulbright students, the Institute of International Education reports in the Oct. 26 edition of The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Brown had 69 applicants for the current round of grants. Among them were 25 Fulbright winners – 23 graduate students and two graduate students, who are currently studying, teaching or conducting research in 18 countries around the world – giving the university a success rate of 36.2 percent.
Only two colleges or universities had more 2007-08 U.S. Fulbright awards, according to the IIE, which administers the Fulbright Program. Both, like Brown, were categorized as doctoral and research institutions: the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, with 119 applicants and 37 awards; and Yale University, with 109 applicants and 27 awards.
Tied at sixth place among doctoral and research institutions – with 21 awards each – were Harvard University, with 96 applicants, and Cornell University, with 73.
Nearly 1,500 U.S. scholars are studying, teaching English and conducting research in more than 125 countries this fall under the Fulbright Program. Nineteen percent are at the doctoral level, 17 percent are at the master’s level, and 65 percent are at the bachelor’s degree level.
Rhode Island School of Design was No. 2 among specialized institutions, with two Fulbrights from 14 applicants, compared with five winners among 15 applicants from the No. 1 School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
Brown had more undergraduate Fulbright winners than any other Ivy League school.
“The Fulbright Program offers these students opportunities to make important contributions to their respective fields and to build international bridges between Brown and scholars around the world,” said Katherine Bergeron, dean of the college. “We are proud to have so many of our wonderful undergraduates representing Brown, Fulbright and the United States through their research abroad.”
Applicants at Brown are assisted by the university’s Graduate School and the dean of the college. Those offices recently submitted 2008-09 Fulbright applications from 59 undergraduate and 12 graduate students – the largest pool in the university’s history. •