Fulbright Program

Since its inception in 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided more than 318,000 participants—chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential—with the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas, and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program offers fellowships for U.S graduating college seniors, graduate students, young professionals, and artists to study, conduct research, and/or teach English abroad. In addition, Critical Language Enhancement Awards are available to grantees for study of critical need foreign languages before or during their grant period.

During their grants, Fulbrighters will meet, work, live with and learn from the people of the host country, sharing daily experiences. The program facilitates cultural exchange through direct interaction on an individual basis in the classroom, field, home, and in routine tasks, allowing the grantee to gain an appreciation of others’ viewpoints and beliefs, the way they do things, and the way they think. Through engagement in the community, the individual will interact with their hosts on a one-to-one basis in an atmosphere of openness, academic integrity, and intellectual freedom, thereby promoting mutual understanding.

Grant lengths and dates vary by country. Please consult the specific country summary for details.

To participate in the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, the applicant must be a U.S. citizen and have:

• at least a Bachelor’s degree by the start of the grant. Applicants who hold a doctorate are ineligible.
• sufficient proficiency in the host country language to carry out the project.

Applicants should also keep in mind:

• Recent graduates: Graduating seniors and recent bachelor’s-degree recipients have some undergraduate preparation and/or direct work or internship experience related to the project.
• Master’s and doctoral candidates: Graduate-level candidates must demonstrate the capacity for independent study or research, together with a general knowledge of the history, culture, and current events of the countries to which they are applying.

Competitive applicants to the Fulbright U.S. Student Program will not have recent extensive experience abroad (excluding recent undergraduate study abroad), especially in the country of application.

How to apply

The CalArts submission deadline for the 2025-26 application cycle is Friday, Sept. 6, 2024 at 11:59 PM.

Currently enrolled students are required to participate in the Campus Review Committee meetings. Applications must be submitted for review by the committee by 11:59 pm PST Sept. 6, 2024. The Fulbright national submission deadline is 5 pm EST Oct. 8, 2024. 

Recent graduates and alumni may choose to submit their applications at large or by campus affiliation. If alumni choose the campus affiliation option, their application must also be ready to review by the Campus Review Committee on Sept. 6, 2024.

For questions, please contact the Provost’s Office at provost@calarts.edu.