Maryland Students, Alumni Win a Record 19 Fulbright Grants for 2011-12

College Park, Md. -- University of Maryland students and alumni have won a record 19 Fulbright awards to study, conduct research, or teach English around the globe during the 2011-12 academic year. The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government -- providing more than 1,500 awards annually for international experiences. Maryland's Fulbright recipients will travel to 14 different countries on five continents to carry out projects in fields ranging from neurobiology and environmental conservation to journalism, history and piano performance. Others will teach English at elementary schools and on university campuses.

"This truly exceptional harvest of Fulbright awards places Maryland in the top tier of recipient institutions in the nation and highlights the great diversity of our students' global interests," said Jonathan Auerbach, professor and Maryland's Fulbright program advisor. "Maryland will have Fulbright students studying education policy in El Salvador, the biology of addiction in the Netherlands, natural resources management in Mali, women's rights in Armenia, and community radio in Laos. Others will be teaching English at the University of Bergen in Norway, in a South Korean high school, and elementary schools in Madrid."

This year's total of 19 Maryland Fulbright award recipients eclipses the record of 13 set last year, and contributes to a total of 39 Fulbright awards earned by Maryland students and alumni in the past three years. This year's recipients include six graduating seniors, 10 graduate students, and three alumni; three awardees are Peace Corps veterans. Two recipients declined the Fulbright award in favor of other opportunities. An additional three students are alternates for Fulbright awards and one candidate has not yet been notified of a result. A total of 41 Maryland students applied for 2011-12 Fulbright grants.

Since its establishment in 1946 under legislation introduced by the late U.S. Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas, the Fulbright Program has given approximately 300,000 students, scholars, teachers, artists, and scientists the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns. Recipients of Fulbright grants are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields. The Program operates in over 155 countries worldwide. More than 8,600 applicants competed for these awards in 2010.

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