Definition:

A Fulbright scholarship can refer to one of the many types of scholarships and grants given by the given to a variety of scholarships given by the Fulbright Progam. The Fulbright Program was signed into law by President Harry S Truman in 1946 based on a bill sponsored by Senator J. William Fulbright. Its purpose was and is to foster the exchange of students and scholars between the United States and other nations.

The United States Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) actually sponsors the Fulbright Program. Scholarships and grants through the Fulbright Program are highly competitive and greatly prized by recipients.

Types of Fulbright Scholarships and Grants

There are a number of different programs that exist as part of the Fulbright Program. These include:

• Fulbright Scholar Program - This is the core program. Around 1,100 individuals are given grants to lecture and research in foreign countries.
• Fulbright U.S. Student Program - With this program, graduating college seniors, graduate students, young professionals and artists are given scholarships to study abroad for a year.
• Fulbright English Teaching Assistantships (ETA) Program - Students who receive scholarships through this program are sent to be teaching assistants in foreign schools.
• Fulbright Foreign Student Program - Similar to the U.S. counterpart, graduate students, young professionals and artists from abroad are given scholarships to research and study in the United States for at least ie year.

• Fulbright-Hays Program - This program includes a number of ways that individual U.S. K-14 pre-teachers, teachers and administrators, predoctoral students and post-doctoral faculty can travel and live overseas to complete research and learn about other cultures.
• Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program - This program is for those in social and public policy fields and helps mid-career professionals from developing and emerging countries to come to the U.S. for a year of professional development.

The following two items are of special interest to teachers:

Fulbright Teacher Exchange Program - In this program, teachers from the U.S. and foreign countries exchange places and teach in each other's schools for one year. In many cases, the teachers even exchange their homes during the year's program.

Distinguished Fulbright Awards in Teaching Program - Open to highly distinguished educational professionals, U.S. educators are sent abroad for a semester to learn, research, take professional development courses, and lead master classes and seminars. Learn More about the Fulbright Scholar Program, theFulbright U.S. Scholar Program, and the Fulbright Teacher Exchange Program.