The Fulbright mission is to facilitate cultural exchange through direct interaction with people around the globe, which promotes mutual understanding across cultural boundaries. In order to do this, Fulbright supports three different programs:
- The Fulbright U.S. Student Program, which provides grants for students who have completed their bachelor’s degree but have not yet completed a doctoral degree. Our office supports this program (see below for more information).
- The Fulbright Scholar Program, which provides grants for faculty and young professionals who have completed a doctoral or other terminal degree. Our office does not support this program. If you are a faculty member interested in this program, please contact Allison Casaly in Global Affairs.
- The Fulbright UK Summer Institutes, which are for undergraduates with a particular interest in British history and culture. Our office supports this program (please contact Michael Cunningham for more information).
Fulbright US Student Program
The information below is specific to the Fulbright US Student program. Please see the list above for more information about the Fulbright Scholar Program or the Fulbright UK Summer Institutes.
Eligibility
If you are one of the following, and do not have recent extensive experience abroad (aside from undergraduate study abroad), you may be eligible for the Fulbright:
- Graduating senior
- Recent graduate
- Graduate student
- Young professional, writer, creative or performing artist
Types of Grants
There are three types of grants available:
- English Teaching Assistantships place grantees in schools overseas to supplement local English language instruction and to provide a native speaker presence in the classrooms.
- Research awards are for students pursuing projects of their own design who typically work with advisers at foreign universities or other institutes of higher education.
- Study awards are for students who wish to pursue a graduate program at a foreign university. These programs are usually arrangements between a specific university and the Fulbright commission in that country.
Application Information
If you are enrolled at UConn when you apply, or are a UConn alum, we strongly recommend that you to go through the campus review process before officially submitting your application. We provide support, advice, and feedback for all applicants who work with us. For more information, please contact Michael Cunningham (michael.cunningham@uconn.edu) or make an appointment with him via Nexus. Here are the important dates for the Fulbright application:
- The online portal for the 2027-28 application cycle opened on March 31, 2026.
- The campus deadline is August 31, 2026. Please have your application completed (with letters of recommendation and affiliation, language evaluation, the essays, and all sections of the application complete) by the campus deadline. On the deadline, please check the “Ready for Campus Review” box in the application, which will indicate to us that you are ready for the interview process.
- Interviews with the campus Fulbright committee will be held during the week of September 14 to 18.
- The final deadline is October 6, 2026. The application must be complete and submitted by 5:00 pm EDT on that day. Please submit earlier, though; there will be close to 14,000 people submitting applications and the system gets slower and slower as the day goes on.