Writing a Fulbright Proposal and Navigating the Application Process Peter Clericuzio Department of the History of Art
Parts of the Application + Three main parts: project proposal, personal statement, interviews + Need to keep in mind that you will be talking to educated people, but that they won’t necessarily be in your field -- avoid jargon and too much specialized language (fairly broad reading audience) + Reviewers at three stages: University, US Fulbright Commission, Host country -- must appeal to all three + Remember that the Fulbright program is about building relationships between the USA and host country -- think about how your project is beneficial for this mission + Also make sure you have a project that fits into the parameters of the grant (time frame, funding constraints, and geographic limitations)
Project Proposal + Two pages single-spaced: not much room -- be concise! + Start with something that will catch reader’s attention quickly: anecdote, quotation, etc. -- but something you can easily relate to the rest of your project. + Explain the question/problems you’re investigating, and why you must go to the host country to answer/solve them + Be specific about the archives/institutions/sites/labs you will need to access. This may involve a bit of speculation, but you need to have a reasonable idea about what institutions hold valuable materials for you + Also good to explain briefly how your work fits into related scholarly work already published/completed + Good idea to mention what conclusions you expect to draw
Making Contact with a Host Institution + Probably the key to getting a Fulbright + Means you have support from someone in your host country + Also means you have someone who will technically “supervise” what you’re doing, but this is very loose + These people can be: + Professors at a local university in your field + Curators at museums + Archivists + The closer they are to what you are doing, the better + Can be as simple as sending a letter explaining what you’re doing and receiving confirmation that they will be your contact person, but a more extensive relationship is generally better
Personal Statement + View this as an “intellectual autobiography” + Explains why you specifically are the person to undertake this project + Need to essentially show why what your interests/scholarly training/ personality have been leading up to this + Beyond just training: what personal experiences have inspired you to work in your field and on your project? Anything in this particular country you’ve done before/experienced/been fascinated by? + Do include how you’ve been prepared in your training to do this research, but don’t dwell on it unless there is something unusual or special in it (particular program in host country, for example) + Again, need to be specific and concise
Interviews + A person or full committee at Penn who have read your project proposal and want to find out more about what you want to do + You need to be very familiar with the scholarly background with your project -- relevant literature/work that has been done, and how you fit into it, and ready to talk about it + Want to be enthusiastic and serious about what you want to do, but be conversational and personable + Think of it as a combination of your personal statement and proposal, but being able to talk about it face-to-face + Make sure you answer the questions the interviewer asks -- don’t ramble, don’t dodge the question, and stay on point
Be Prepared To Wait + Interviewers’ recommendation (i.e., from Penn) will be passed on to US Committee that reviews applications before they decide which ones to send on to host country + Receive notification of US Committee’s decision a few months (January or February) after interview + If sent on to host country, usually receive decision about their committee’s decision sometime in the spring