Writing a Winning Fulbright Proposal
Writing a Standout Application
Your application will shine if you display an excellent understanding of the broader implications of your project along with a level of specificity that demonstrates that you have thought through the way in which you will carry out the project.
Setting the Appropriate Tone
Successful Fulbright applications will demonstrate your passion for the subject you are addressing—just be sure to use a more scholarly voice that can acknowledge emotion without dwelling on it. For example, in a description of an event that prompted your project, rather than focusing on the on the understandable feelings you experienced when facing something like injustice or inequality, use a slightly less personal tone to focus on the objectives you formulated out of that experience, and on steps you will take to reach those objectives.
Letters of Recommendation
When asking for a letter of recommendation, give your professors plenty of notice. Ask if the professor feels he or she can write a strong letter of recommendation for you. Consider asking if the professor would prefer to look over your materials before deciding. If s/he feels that s/he cannot write a strong recommendation, ask him/her to return the materials in the postage paid envelope you provide with your materials. This is one strategy to ensure you receive excellent letters from professors who are very comfortable writing them.
Remember Your Audience, part 1
After leaving ECU, your application goes first to an American screening committee. Performing artists are judged by their discipline (a committee of musicians look at all the music applications, regardless of where they are going). Other applications go to a national or screening committee (e.g., all the Sri Lankan applications to the Sri Lanka committee). These committees consist primarily of academics, many from research institutions who are likely to be more drawn to the applications of dissertation writers. In your application you must show that you are driven and focused, just like those dissertation writers. This is primarily an academic grant and you need to show you have the academic stuff. You can also play up your advantages—you may be looking at things from a broader perspective with some fresh liberal arts insights. You may be headed out of the ivory tower, which can make you very appealing—but you don’t want to sound disrespectful of academics, either. You may have to rewrite your proposal frequently to get just the right tone.
Remember Your Audience, part 2
If your application passes the American screening committee, it is sent to the host country. Keep in mind what the host country is interested in. Take a look at some of the recently approved grants to that country—their titles are usually available online. It’s not wise to imply that you, as a recent graduate of a public university, know more about the country than the residents or are going to bring a certain type of analysis (feminist, Marxist, poststructuralist, etc.) to the benighted universities of that country. Remember, these are intergovernmental grants, so generally it is not a good strategy to imply that your research is going to lead to the demolition of existing power structures and the overthrow of the country’s corrupt elites.
Speaking of which…
Given the governmental nature of this project, think about how you would represent the United States abroad. Don’t necessarily put this in your application, but it is a good thing to think about, both in terms of your interview and in terms of what you will actually do when you get out of this country.
A Bit of Corniness
The original mission of the program was in part to promote understanding between the peoples of the world. It is entirely advisable to include a sentence or two in your proposal about how your project may in fact lead to better understanding between the peoples of the world.
The Personal Statement
The personal statement should bring out quirky memorable aspects of your life and intellectual biography that point to why you should be the person to do this project. Fulbright used to interview candidates, but now they rely exclusively on the campus interviews. The personal statement is the only chance you have to send an unmediated version of yourself directly to the Fulbright decision makers.
Contacts Abroad
Generally, most successful applicants have had a contact abroad at an academic institution who is interested in their project. Just go on line and track down people you think would be interested in supporting you. Don’t be shy about writing to them out of the blue. Every academic in the world has heard of Fulbright and for the most part they would be honored to have students write them from America saying they want to study with them. It is good if these people have permanent positions in their home institutions. You need to know if someone is not going to be there during your Fulbright tenure, in which case you can’t expect him or her to be your sponsor.
Be Open-Minded About Your Discipline
Looking for faculty to sponsor you can be useful for re-conceptualizing your project. You may find that the best contact for your project turns out to be in a different discipline or department than you had expected. Finding out this kind of fact could make your project more solid and help you sound better informed.
The Interview
Practice answering potential interview questions with relatively short and specific answers. You can always offer to expand upon a concise answer. Avoid rambling, and make sure you actually answer the question. Practice answering questions orally to be prepared for putting your answers into clear wording.
If Things Don’t Work Out, Try Again
One of the nice things about Fulbright is it doesn’t have an age limitation. You can keep submitting the same application, if you really believe in it. Or if you aren’t selected for the award, you can always apply later. Sometimes a “non-selection” now turns out to be a blessing in disguise. Many graduate students receive Fulbright awards for their dissertation research, which they wouldn’t have been eligible for had they already received a Fulbright student grant.
Teaching Assistantship or Research Fulbright?
You can only receive one Fulbright before you complete your dissertation. (Then you can start applying for the ones for professors!) However, the teaching assistantships don’t count toward this guideline. So it may make sense to do the teaching assistantship now, to get the year abroad and work on your language skills, and then be able to apply for a research Fulbright later.
On Teaching Assistantships
It does not work to say, “I really, really want to go to this country, and I’m even willing to teach in order to do so.” Instead say, “I really, really want to teach and I love teaching people from other countries about my culture, and I would be particularly good at teaching people from such-and-such country.”
Five Pieces of a Winning Fulbright Proposal
1. Start with a bang. The first sentences of your application are your “marquee space”. Don’t waste it! Use these first sentences to lay out your question, capture the reader’s attention, and convince him or her of the larger significance of your project. This is not a moment to waffle. You should start strongly and clearly and perhaps even overstate your case (you can add nuances and caveats later in the proposal).
2. Start with a surprising question, puzzle, paradox, or unexpected turn of events. This will grab the reader’s attention. Keep this part clear, specific, and jargon-free. Avoid overly abstract questions -- keep it grounded in the place where you want to do your project.
3. What’s the payoff? What will we learn from your project that we don’t already know? Why is it timely and relevant? Show how your project will be relevant to society and the goals of the funding agency.
4. Fill in a gap. If you are applying for a research Fulbright at the graduate level, make an argument about how your project fits into larger theoretical debates about the topic. Your proposal should very clearly point to something that is missing from that literature: a gap that your research will fill. How is your research going to fill in an important piece of these debates? This will help you establish both your expertise in the field and the relevance of your project to the larger community of researchers.
5. Why you? You’ve established that this is a project of the utmost importance, but why should you be the person to do it? Make a case for yourself. This is not supposed to be a biography or a place for you to talk about why you would really really like to get the grant. It is a place for you to lay out an argument about why you are the perfect person to carry out this important project. Address the following questions concretely (i.e. with examples and images rather than dull clichés and broad generalizations):
· What life experiences led you to this project?
· What previous experiences gave you skills and knowledge that you will be able to use to carry out this project?
· Do you have a reasonably strong grasp of the social, political, and historical context of the place?
· Is this project actually doable? Have you considered the practical implications and logistics of the proposal? Do you have appropriately concrete objectives, or only a vague idea of what you will do if you were to get the grant?
Adapted with permission from the now defunct link at: http://www.whitman.edu/content/fellowships/tips-and-tricks/fulbright
