Fulbright US Student Program English Teaching Assistantships Connect with the CCSA: Online at ccsa.uchicago.edu Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/UChicago_CCSA; Through Facebook: http://facebook.com/uchicagocollegescholarships With our Listserv: https://lists.uchicago.edu/web/info/fellowships_info

What is the Fulbright Program? In brief: The Fulbright Program was designed for the “promotion of international good will through the exchange of students in the fields of education, culture, and science” – Senator J. William Fulbright

…So what does that mean? To achieve their goals, the Fulbright Program grants awards: 2100 grants to US Students 2200 grants to international students The grants are overwhelmingly of two types: Study/Research English Teaching Assistantship

To the website! us.fulbrightonline.org

English Teaching Assistantship (ETA): The name is exceedingly accurate: Assistant Teach English ~20hrs per week acting as an in-class resource for English-language learning students (varies by country) ~20hrs per week dedicated to “Host Country Engagement” A way to formalize Fulbright’s mission to facilitate cross-cultural engagement Using an extracurricular passion of yours to provide a vehicle for exchange, often- times geared towards explaining parts of American culture

The Application: The main components you will be responsible for producing are: 1 page Statement of Grant Purpose 1 page Personal Statement Embark Online Application Language Self-Evaluation (if necessary)

Components: “Fit” – why this country? “Experience” Broadly defined Creativity/Resilience Short term/long term Goals Host Country Engagement

The Application: Additional Requirements: 3 Letters of Recommendation 1 Page ETA Recommendation Form Language Evaluation Form (if necessary) Transcripts

The Timeline: April 3; Fulbright “Primer”: Breaks SoGP into component building blocks Brainstorming activity – non-binding June 1; first “draft” of Embark Online Application July 11; rough drafts of essays A good time to formally ask for Letters of Recommendation August 29; Campus Interview Deadline October 1; Final Campus Deadline

The Timeline (after Submission): November/December: National Screening Committee TESOL/English as a New Language Professionals Forward 1.5 to 2 times the number of applications as there are grants to be awarded For example: (http://us.fulbrightonline.org/study- research-eta-statistics)

The Timeline (after Submission): Statistics:

The Timeline (after Submission): January 2018; first round notifications March through April 2018; Host Country Selection ~August 2018; grant begins March 2018 for some countries in Western Hemisphere

Crafting a Competitive Application: It takes time. It takes great letters of recommendation. It will not expound on a love of culture or an uncritical appreciation of the Fulbright mission.

Final Thoughts: Value of “the Process” UChicago has a strong history of producing outstanding Fulbright Grantees: Top Producing List