Press Releases

CalArts is a Top Producer of Fulbright U.S. Students And U.S. Scholars

CalArts is a Top Producer of Fulbright U.S. Students And U.S. Scholars

California Institute of the Arts is proud to be included on the list of U.S. colleges and universities that produced the most 2019-2020 Fulbright U.S. Students and Fulbright U.S. Scholars. Each year the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs announces the top producing institutions for the Fulbright Program, the U.S. government's flagship international educational exchange program. The Chronicle of Higher Education publishes the lists annually.

CalArts student Sean Hayward was awarded Fulbright awards for 2019-2020; his studies in Indonesia seek to increase the accessibility of Javanese music around the globe. CalArts is among 20 institutions in the country to be named a Top Producer for both the Fulbright U.S. Student and Scholar programs.

“We are delighted to see that the colleges and universities we are honoring as 2019-2020 Fulbright top producing institutions reflect the geographic and institutional diversity of higher education in the United States,” said Marie Royce, Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs. “We are committed to the Fulbright Program’s goals of creating lasting professional and personal connections by sending passionate and accomplished U.S. students, scholars, and professionals of all backgrounds to study, research, or teach in communities throughout the world. Fulbright alumni are leaders in business, government, and academia around the globe, advancing knowledge across communities, and improving lives around the world.”

"I congratulate this year's contingent of student and faculty applicants," said CalArts Provost Tracie Costantino. "Sixty-six percent of them are moving on to the semi-finals for awards this year. As a Top Producing institution, Fulbright awards allow 'CalArtians' to be cultural ambassadors on an international scale--developing innovative projects and connecting with artists and scholars in host countries. Opportunities for international exchange are essential for our students and faculty as we seek to develop cross-cultural understanding as an integral part of the CalArts education. The Fulbright program brings CalArts into a cultural dialog on the world stage."

The Fulbright competition is administered at CalArts by Bailey Cool, Director of the Patty Disney Center for Life and Work, in the Office of Student Experience. More information can be found here.

The Fulbright Program was created to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. The primary source of funding for the Fulbright Program is an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. More than than 2,200 U.S. Students and over 900 U.S. college and university faculty and administrators are awarded Fulbright grants annually. In addition, some 4,000 Fulbright Foreign Students and Visiting Scholars come to the United States annually to study, lecture, conduct research, or teach their native language. Past Calartian Fulbright scholars have traveled to a wide variety of locations around the globe including Indonesia, Namibia, Uganda, and the Canadian Arctic, among others.

Since its inception in 1946, the Fulbright Program has given over 390,000 passionate and accomplished students, scholars, teachers, artists, and professionals of all backgrounds and fields the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas, and contribute to finding solutions to important international problems. The global network of Fulbrighters fosters mutual understanding between the United States and partner nations, advances knowledge across communities, and improves lives around the globe.