ABOUT FULBRIGHT

Fulbright Program: U.S. Applicant Podcast

Transcript For: Q&A with Tony and Valerie

Tony Claudino and Valerie Hymas answer questions about the US Student Fulbright Program submitted through the website. Topics include eligibility, medical students, and students with disabilities.

Tony:                Welcome back to the Fulbright U.S. Student Podcast!  I am your host, Tony Claudino, with

Valerie:             Valerie Hymas!

Tony:                And now we are going to go your questions.  And the first question comes from Courtney.  Courtney has the following question:  “I held a Fulbright English teaching assistant to Germany during 05-06.  I would like to apply for a short-term grant to India to study at a foundation.  This website says I cannot apply for two student grants, so my first question is: was the teaching assistantship a student grant?”  Well, thank you, Courtney, and Valerie is going to answer that one!

Valerie:             Yes, it was Courtney.  Since you were a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant to Germany, you have received your one and only lifetime U.S. Student Fulbright fellowship so unfortunately we cannot consider a second application from you.

                        So our second question is from Justin, and I am going to ask Tony, “Can students seeking an M.D. degree apply for Fulbright?”

Tony:                Justin, the answer is yes, they can apply for Fulbright.  The only restriction is they can’t work with patients, so they can’t apply for anything related to doing a residency.  In general, medical students can definitely apply.  They apply generally in the field of public health.

Valerie:             Correct, I have also had some apply to do MBA’s because they wanted to go into hospital administration later on, which I always found interesting.

Tony:                And usually they took a year off, a year or two off, right?

Valerie:             Right, yeah, I did that. A leave of absence [unintelligible].

Tony:                Great! So Justin we look forward to seeing your application.

Tony:                The next question comes from Catherine:  “I was wondering if my project is eligible for the Fulbright scholarship if it is connected to previous work. My project, a novel, is one I began for my senior thesis in college.

                        There are two stories, one taking place in America, and the other in Germany.  While I have already written the American portion - 200 pages (congrats) - in order to write the second half, I would need to do research in Germany.  Although it is connected to the previous work, because of the length and intensive research necessary would this project be eligible for a Fulbright?” Valerie?

Valerie:             Catherine, I think this is absolutely fine.  I mean, first of all, because this is a cultural exchange, your project may be ideal for cultural exchange between U.S. and Germany.  There is no requirement or hindrance for projects connected to previous work.  Actually, having previous work in the field or topic that you are going to be doing a Fulbright in shows that you have the experience and skills already to complete the project.  So as long as you create a compelling Fulbright project for creative writing to Germany, I think your project idea sounds fine.  I just want to point out to keep in mind that Germany does require academic institutional affiliations, so make sure you design your project so that you fulfill that requirement.

Tony:                The next question comes from Eric.  “As a general rule, are persons with a disability ever admitted to the Fulbright program, if the disability in question does not interfere with the individual’s ability to complete the program in a satisfactory manner?”  I will let you answer that one, Valerie.

Valerie:             Absolutely, Eric.  We encourage candidates of all shapes and sizes to apply for the Fulbright program.  So anyone with a disability is certainly welcome to apply.  As long as the disability in question does not interfere with the individual’s ability to complete the project, as you say in your question, then there really is not an issue.

                        I will just point out that Fulbright grantees are required to submit a medical document, we call it a medical clearance form, and they are required to receive medical clearance from the U.S. Department of State.  We do actually require that they show that they will have full access to all medical resources for their condition while in country.  That can be a challenge especially when students are on medication, and they cannot get full amount for the duration of the grant, and have to organize having some sent over to them, or returning to the U.S. to get the second portion of that medication.

                        Also, it can be difficult to arrange a consultation from the U.S. before they go, and because we require it before they actually start on their grant, there are some challenges that they may face, but…

Tony:                You’re talking about the medical clearance?

Valerie:             This is for the medical clearance. And we just want to make sure that people are safe and will be healthy and well while they are on their grant.  Students find the medical clearance tedious to complete, but it is a requirement of the program, so it is absolutely necessary.  So anyone is welcome to apply.  If you do have a disability we encourage you to look at the resources available in that country. For instance, if you’re in the wheel chair or if you’re blind, is it easy to navigate that country?  Do they have handicapped-accessible subways and buses?  Will you be able to travel? Will you be able to get around?  You should definitely look at these issues.  There is a wonderful resource called Mobility International, I am sure you could find them if you google them on the website, which is an organization focused upon international study abroad for students with disabilities, and they may have a wealth of resources for anyone.

Tony:                IIE has partnered with Mobility International.

Valerie:             Oh, have we? Wonderful.

Tony:                Yes, so we are pretty involved.

Valerie:             So again, it is Mobility International.

Tony:                Great, well, that is it for this podcast.