A program that offers fellowships to graduating college seniors and graduate students named UT a top producer of recipients, according to a Feb. 4 University news release. 

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program is a federally funded initiative that provides grants to students for research, language teaching and seminars abroad, according to the program’s website. The initiative annually acknowledges institutions with the highest number of Fulbright scholars and students. The last time the University received recognition for its student grantees was during the 2023-2024 academic year. 

“It was very life-changing,” said Elizabeth Catlos, a Fulbright alumna and associate professor in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences. “You get to meet the other Fulbrighters, which are pretty much like the crème de la crème of these very creative, interesting thinkers … and you really don’t get that through some general study abroad.”

Fulbright began in 1946 as a way to maintain peaceful relations between the U.S. and other countries, according to the program’s website. In the past two decades alone, UT has produced over 260 U.S. Fulbright students, according to a Texas Global press release.  

“We are forwarding the Fulbright organization our strongest applicants to be able to be awarded Fulbrights because it’s a national competition across all of the states,” said Teri Albrecht, assistant vice provost for operations at Texas Global. “It’s important that we support our students to have the strongest applications they can possibly submit.”

Fulbright also offers the International Education Administrator award, which grants higher-education professionals the opportunity to attend a two-week seminar abroad, according to the program’s website. During the experience, awardees tour universities and exchange teaching strategies with their host countries. Albrecht said she received the award last fall and attended a seminar in France.

“Fulbright has always just been a beacon for me about what the mission is and what it supports,” Albrecht said. “(I) was just really honored to have been awarded the participation in that seminar.”

The University also hosts visiting Fulbright scholars through Texas Global. Texas Global is responsible for coordinating and promoting all of the University’s opportunities abroad. 

“It’s … about bringing students and other individuals here to the United States to get that same experience of learning a different perspective, learning about the United States and then taking that back to their countries,” Albrecht said. “It’s very reciprocal in my mind of how we provide both of those experiences to our U.S. students and faculty and staff that go abroad, but also bring people here.”

The U.S. Fulbright programs also award International Fulbright scholarships specifically to postdoctoral students, according to Texas Global.  

Dong-Yeob Han, a visiting Fulbright scholar from South Korea, researches lithium battery capacity at the Cockrell School of Engineering. He regularly meets with Fulbright scholars to catch up, Han said.

“It’s (a) really good opportunity to get to know (scholars) from other fields,” Han said. “All of the people have their own experiences.”