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Fulbright Program: U.S. Applicant Podcast

Transcript For: Questions on Europe

Valerie answers questions on Fulbrights in Europe from students at the July 18, 2007 Information Session.

Valerie:       Hi, this is Valerie Hymas

Tony:          And Tony Claudino

Valerie:       And we’re here, and we want to announce the questions and answer session for the most recent U.S. student guidance session

Tony:          And so, if you couldn’t make it to any of the six locations that were having these info sessions, here’s a chance to listen to some of the Q & A we have for these sessions.

Question:    Hi, I’m applying to the Netherlands. I’m interested in affiliating with, and doing full time study—graduate study—at an architecture institute and its specific research direction changes every year. How specific or general can my project proposal be? They have a general theme of, let’s say, environmental architecture. But every year, they have a specific research idea that the institute does, so should I appeal to that specific yearly theme, or an overall one ‘cause I can’t determine how specific or general for my project proposal.

Answer:      It’s an unusual situation and I might want to get the feedback from the Dutch Fulbright commission on that. I think you should send me an email. But ultimately I think that you’re mostly going to be wanting to focus on why you want to apply to that institution. Also, you’d be applying in architecture, so it’d be mostly technique building, am I correct in saying that you’d be learning techniques of architecture regardless of the project that they focus on?

Question:    Yes.

Answer:      OK. Ideally you’re going to say why they’re an exceptional institution to teach you techniques in architecture and obviously they teach you through a differing kind of project every year, but still the techniques that you’re going to learn remain the same. So, if you focus on that, it’s not going to change. But, again, send me an email, and I’d like to get their feedback just so you have appropriate advice.

Question:    I’m applying to Germany for architecture. Would you suggest as with the Netherlands, that the proposal be focused more on why their techniques are ideal for studying?

Answer:      Well, that’s up to you. If you’re going there specifically because of the practical training, the technique that you would gain from that institution, then yes focus on that. But, if you also had in mind some kind of research project that you also wanted to work on, then you might want to talk about that, providing some balance between the two. But if you just wanted to do a research project in architecture, then you might want to consider if that’s an architecture project at all. So, think about what your goals for the project are and move forward then. That’s another question “is it architecture or is it more of an academic project?” that you might want to contact us to get a little more feedback on.

Question:    I’m considering submitting an application for a research grant in the United Kingdom, and I was wondering if it is possible to have a successful application and apply primarily to do independent research and not, not be pursuing a Masters degree.

Answer:      Yes, that is absolutely fine, however you do have to have an academic institutional affiliation, even if you’re just affiliated as a visiting research student or if you’re just working with a faculty member at a British university. You don’t have to be on a degree program.

Question:    It doesn’t necessarily improve your chances if you indicate in the application that you are pursuing a degree?

Answer:      I find that it is their preference in the U.K., yes, for their candidates and their Fulbrighters to actually propose degree programs. Again, you can get degree programs in one year there, they’re paying for the tuition, and they just feel that it adds the structure that they would like to see Fulbrighters have in the U.K.

Question:    I’m considering applying to the United Kingdom, and I just wanted to clarify—I have an undergraduate degree—you don’t need to get a masters while you’re there, you just need to be affiliated with a university, accepted to study there, but you don’t need to achieve a masters degree by the time you’ve left, correct?

Answer:      That’s not a requirement; you don’t have to, although most of the Fulbrighters who go to the United Kingdom do actually matriculate on degree programs and earn degrees at British institutions. And since the U.K. Fulbright Commission does provide a lot of tuition money to earn a degree, and many, many British universities offer a one year degree program and those degree programs tend to be very independent research based, why wouldn’t you earn one if you could. But you certainly don’t have to, and that is an option.

Question:    I have a position in the U.K. that I am going to take up next year, and I’d like to be flexible to work with the different professors that are there. There is one that I’ve identified. When outlining my project, to be more competitive, since it is a competitive country, is it better to be more specific and hope that that will be more successful or to leave myself more open to the needs that the professors may have? How connected is the commission to the actual… cause it is the University College London grant and there’s only one and it is environmental. So I’m just wondering how open I should leave that project. I’ve been accepted with a project, but that would be for my thesis, but there will be opportunities to work while I am there with professors on their projects, but not necessarily through my course of study.

Answer:      Oh, ok. Now I understand you. I think that would be fine. I don’t see a problem with that. As long as you’re applying for Fulbright to do your project and not their project, certainly you can work with them to assist them because again you might be learning from them, some certain technique or other kind of practical training that could benefit you in your project as well as in your professional development. So, that’s certainly fine, as long as the focus of your project is on the work that you will do and your project.

Question:    I’m applying for a post-graduate masters program in the United Kingdom and I’m wondering what the project proposal would look like. It’s a taught degree, so it would be coursework and most of that is already kind of specified by the degree that I would be doing. So I’m not really sure what I would need to elaborate on.

Answer:      The thing is the U.K. is the most competitive program within the Fulbright program, and I think you’ll find that even though it’s a taught masters degree, most British masters programs, including the top programs, do require you to complete a thesis at the end and also are very independent research based when you compare them to American masters programs.

Question:    I’m thinking of applying to a program either in Sweden or in Germany. And one of these projects would be more research based, an affiliation with a university, whereas the other in Sweden would be actually enrolling in an international masters program. Would it be more difficult to get an award to actually enroll in a two year program than it would be to do the research in Germany that would just be affiliated with ongoing research going on there?

Answer:      The competition statistics between Sweden and Germany are pretty similar. If anything, I would say Sweden was a slightly more competitive country than Germany. In terms of doing a two year program at Sweden, you’d have to pretty much show that you have an actual project for the first year because the first year would be the only portion that Fulbright would be funding, and you’d also have to show that you’d have a away to support yourself for the second year of that program because they want to see if that’s your commitment, that you are going to be able to do it. I don’t see a problem with applying to do a two year program at Sweden. We’ve certainly had other candidates apply to do it as well. So it’s a difficult choice, but you just need to decide if you want to go to Sweden or Germany.

Question:    Then, there would have to be some sort of determined goal of that first year of study in the two year program?

Answer:      That would be preferable, yes. Yes. Because you would be competing with other candidates for Sweden that definitely have a project that could be done in a year and they can actually clarify what it is they’re going to do during the Fulbright. It could be that you take nothing but classes during the first year of that program and your research doesn’t come out until the second year. Well, that wouldn’t necessarily be a very compelling Fulbright project if we’re just sending you to take classes. So, it would be to your advantage to have some kind of research component of that first year of that program in Sweden.

Question:    I am applying for a program in the Netherlands and my question is concerning whether or not a person can apply for a grant through the destination country as well as for the European Union grant.

Answer:      You may apply for only one country, so you either apply for a Fulbright to the Netherlands or you apply for an E.U. Fulbright based in the Netherlands. Only one. Because technically we consider that two different programs, because actually the Belgian Fulbright commission administers the E.U. Fulbright.

Question:    I have a question, general question about performing arts applications. You already stated that applications whose project proposal is to pursue a degree program are unlikely to be successful because it’s not an interesting proposal, but for performing arts, and specifically music, it says that most proposals will focus on professional study and attaining skills. What are they looking for, in terms of specific proposals for studying music, for example.

Answer:      I just want to clarify, we didn’t say that a proposal to earn a degree would be an uninteresting project proposal, we said that a proposal only to take courses, and not to have any kind of project would be uncompetitive in certain countries.

Question:    Right.

Answer:      OK? ‘Cause that’s a distinction.

                  What country was it that you are applying to?

Question:    The U.K.

Answer:      Creative and performing arts candidates tend to do a lot of practical training on the Fulbright grant to the U.K. They still have to have a host institutional affiliation. That doesn’t necessarily have to be with a British university, it can be with an arts school. They just do want you to shy away from working with just a private tutor. But, practical training, because music candidates and arts candidates sometimes don’t have time when they’re so focused on practical training for that art, that is perfectly understandable and would be fine. You just have to justify why the U.K. I would recommend anybody who’s interested in applying to the U.K. to look at the U.K. Fulbright Commission’s website, because they go into great detail about the kind of candidate that they would like to attract to their country.

Question:    It’s a performing arts application. Is it required to have an affiliation with an educational institution?

Answer:      No, Spain is completely open to any type of institutional affiliation, whether it be an academic institution or an art school.

Question:    I’m applying to Germany. I wanted to know if there’s any advantage or requirement to apply, to submit an application to a university at which I would hope to study, or whether a letter of affiliation is sufficient to ensure matriculation if I receive a Fulbright?

Answer:      Germany is one of the rare countries within the Fulbright program that actually places their Fulbrighters at German universities. So you actually don’t need to make any application on your own to a German university. Now, you may do that, especially if you intend to earn a degree from a German institution. Most Fulbrighters to Germany do not actually earn a degree, they simply are affiliated and taking classes, and have access to university resources. But if your plan is to earn a degree, then yes, you should gain your own admission. Alternatively, having a letter of support from a faculty member at a German university would improve your chances of being placed where you would most like to be placed because the German Fulbright Commission does reserve the right to place you wherever they feel it is appropriate.

Question:    I’ll be applying for a photography project in Turkey, and I noticed that, in the country summary, affiliation is arranged by the Turkish Ministry of Education and it looked like it was usually at universities. But, I was wondering if primary affiliation could be made with a museum or gallery.

Answer:      The Turkish Ministry of Education, they tend to formalize the affiliation arrangement. The most competitive candidates to Turkey will come with their affiliations already determined and have letters of support. Those that are general, or could go anywhere, that still have really strong projects, yes the Turkish Fulbright Commission can step in and aid that formalization process, but ultimately you would be a better candidate if you had done all the legwork.

                  Most candidates in Turkey do have academic institutions and a lot of that has to do with some visa requirements. You might want to email me about this because I might want to get their feedback. I think, ultimately, what could happen is you could take a course or two at a university and then also work with a museum or other non-academic institution. But only have a non-academic institution? I’m not 100% sure that would work for Turkey, but I can get you an answer, no problem.

Question:    Hi, my question is about Greece, and in the country description it says that you can have an affiliation with an educational, cultural, or governmental institution. I was wondering if you could speak a bit about if there’s a preference?

Answer:      I don’t think they have a preference. I think they tend to be very open, and ideally, they just want you to have a very strong reason as to why one particular institution is the best for your project and you should have a letter of support in your application.

Question:    If you’re applying to a specific program such as the Spain M.B.A., so you have to provide additional affiliation documentation, or is that basically taken care of because you’re applying to the specific M.B.A. program?

Answer:      No. You have to apply to the Instituto de Empresa separately.

Question:    Right, it says commensurate, but I didn’t know if you had to supply additional documentation to Fulbright since you have to turn in both applications at basically the same time.

Answer:      No, you don’t.

Question:    In the section on the U.K. in the booklet, it says that you can apply to multiple universities. Does that mean that you have to secure multiple letters of affiliation to do that, or… how does that work?

Answer:      No. No, you don’t have to secure multiple letters of affiliation. Ideally, you would get a letter of affiliation from your top choice university, but, keep in mind that, unless you receive admission into a U.K. university by the time you apply for a Fulbright, the letter writer is not going to be able to confirm that you would be admitted into the program, so it would be to your advantage to apply to more than one British university. I have had Fulbrighters to the U.K. receive Fulbright grants and not get into their school of choice. I’ve had them scramble up until as late as August to try to find another university in the U.K. because they didn’t apply to more than one and I’ve also had them have to withdraw because they couldn’t get a British university. So, just like you, when you applied for school here in the U.S., you applied to more then one, you didn’t put all your eggs in one basket, don’t do it when you apply for the U.K.

Question:    I’m considering applying to Germany or the Netherlands. I wanted to know specifically because it’s performing arts idea, do I have to be affiliated with a conservatory if I’m doing field research, or would a choreographer or company or dancer suffice?

Answer:      For the Netherlands, any type of affiliation would be fine, whether it be a conservatory, or professor, private tutor, anything. For Germany, unfortunately, they’re not that flexible. They do require you to have an official institutional affiliation, so in that case you would need to apply to a music, arts school or conservatory.

Question:    I’m applying to France, and the country summary states that grant periods vary for independent research projects. If that’s what I’m applying to, do I need to tell them how much time I will need for this project, or do they assign it based on the nature of the project?

Answer:      What is your academic level?

Question:    I have a masters degree, but I’m a performing artist so I’m applying for a grant in that area.

Answer:      OK. You can state a timeline, that’s perfectly acceptable. France, the commission there, if they accept you, they can either choose to offer you the timeframe that you requested or they can offer you less time. I’ve seen them come back with award offers of six months for creative and performing artists. I’ve seen them offer people nine months. So, state a preference, but, you know, be prepared to be disappointed.

Question:    I’m applying to Latvia in the area of musicology. My project does involve some academic study at a university during the academic year, however it also has an independent study component that would involve a major cultural event in the summer. However in the country description, the duration of the project is listed as September to June. I was wondering if that part of the project would be supported, or if I should take that on as something independent.

Answer:      They do list general grant dates for Latvia in the brochure, but really they tend to be very open to when the candidate, or the grantee, actually wants to pursue the project. So if you wanted to propose an alternative grant start date, the grant length is nine months so if you began in November you could actually bring yourself through to the summer. However if you were affiliated with an academic institution and you were tied to an academic calendar and that began in September, then it’s possible that over the summer you would either have to fund that extended activity from personal funds or alternative funds, or you can apply for an extension which would be available for up to three months. But, again that would be a competition and it would be subject to funds, but it’s something that as a Fulbrighter you’d be able to at least consider. That’s country specific, just so everyone knows. Not every country has that extension option.

Question:    Does the full grant to Latvia include any tuition support?

Answer:      I’m afraid that it does not.

Question:    Since Germany reserves the right to place Fulbright Scholars in any institution, would it hurt an application to have research that specifically needs to be done under a certain professor in a certain university?

Answer:      No, it will not hurt your application to have a preference for an institutional placement and to work specifically with a professor if that’s the project that you want to work on. It would help your chances of being placed at that institution if that professor wrote you a letter that you could include with your application. So, like I said, Germany is a huge program. They have over… they have about 80 Fulbright grants to offer in the general award category so they’d like to get a spread, get a presence throughout the country, but they do understand that some candidates come through with very specific needs and goals and need to work with specific institutions and those candidates tend to have that honored if they’re successful. It’s the candidates that are a little bit more open, that don’t have those specific needs, that tend to be placed and could go anywhere.

Question:    I’m applying to Turkey. Is there tuition assistance for Turkey and can you get a degree at an academic institution there while doing research? Is there a way of structuring it and how would you go about that?

Answer:      Yes. Yes, you could do that. That would be your choice. The Turkish Fulbright Commission does provide some tuition assistance. It would be limited and it’s unlikely that it would be enough to cover the costs of actually earning a degree at a Turkish university so you would have to supplement that. But they do have a small tuition allowance that they sometimes offer depending upon the situation of the candidate.

Question:    How would you structure it? Would you apply for the academic program saying that you want additionally to do research, or you’d apply for a research program at a university and you’d be allowed to…

Answer:      That would really be your call, either would work, so whatever your preference was.

Question:    And if you wanted to get a degree, would you have to make your project the getting of the degree and then say do a little research on the side?

Answer      OK, if you wanted to earn a degree at a Turkish institution then you would obviously talk about the merits of that institution, why that degree and show how you’re going to benefit from it. But again, Turkey is a very competitive country and so having a research component that you work on simultaneously, or if again like the example of the U.K., there is some kind of research component to that degree course, you can kind of add that in to the overall project.

Question:    OK. Otherwise, if you had a research project, you would be allowed to take classes being affiliated with a university?

Answer:      Yes. If it’s just a non-degree earning program and it’s just a research, yes, you can still take classes. That’s what most Fulbrighters to Turkey do.

Question:    I’m applying to Croatia and was wondering if there’s tuition assistance.

Answer:      No, I’m afraid there is not.

Question:    Event though an affiliation is required?

Answer:      Well, there’s an affiliation required but that doesn’t mean that that affiliation is going to charge you tuition. And, in fact, I’ve never had a Fulbrighter to Croatia charged tuition. So, when we say that an affiliation is required that just means you have supervision. It doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re going to be attending classes, earning a degree, and being charged tuition. And if that’s your choice in your project, then you will have to fund that form an alternative source.

Question:    I’m thinking about applying to Ireland, and I was wondering if they have any tuition assistance.

Answer:      No, they do not and usually you will be charged tuition and in that case you will have to pay for it from an alternative source.

                  There are very, very few countries within the Fulbright program that actually do offer tuition assistance. Within my world region, it’s only a handful: the U.K., Russia, Turkey, Czech Republic, Hungary. Like I said, just a handful. It is a very country specific question, but also I find it very unusual for Fulbrighters to even be charged tuition as well.

Question:    I am applying to Italy, and it states in the book that provision will not be made for Italian language instruction, but I’m wondering if funding might be available for other types of study at the affiliate.

Answer:      You mean tuition, is tuition covered?

Question:    Yeah, or auditing fees or anything?

Answer:      No. Tuition is not provided by the grant to Italy. It is a travel and maintenance allowance only I’m afraid.

Question:    I’m applying to the European Union grant to work in both the U.K. and France. You mentioned earlier that the language requirements are generally determined by the country in which you are going to live. Are there other requirements that are going to be determined by those countries, or is the rest determined by the Belgium commission?

Answer:      For the E.U. grant, the only other requirement is that your project actually be appropriate to the E.U. Fulbright award. So, I assume that you have read the summary for the E.U Fulbright and you understand that your project has to be focused on the European Union. Aside from that, you need the language skills to conduct it, so obviously, in the U.K. I can tell you have the language skills to conduct that part, but if you’re in France, make sure that the resources that you use are in English or that you speak French sufficiently to carry out that side of the project.

Question:    I’d be filing for a research project in Turkey. I only have very basic language skills in Turkish at the moment, but I know that—I think it’s one of the languages covered by the Language Enhancement program. So, I haven’t looked at the country statement yet, so I don’t know whether they require Turkish or if you can do a research project in English. And how does that relate to the Language Enhancement program?

Answer:      Well, I’ll answer part of your question and Joe can take over the Critical Language Enhancement Part. But as far as the requirements for Turkish language facility for Turkey, really you only need the level of Turkish that is required by the project that you design because there are lots of universities in Turkey that teach in English. And so if you were to design a project where you were studying at a school where you were taught in English, you would really only need survival hospitality level of Turkish. So keep the design of your project in mind, and make sure that it’s feasible given the language skills you’ll have.

                  Another thing you might want to consider is that your intention to take the Critical Language Enhancement Award, if you’re awarded that as well, certainly adds to the feasibility of doing your project if there’s a certain requisite amount of Turkish that you need. So it could certainly build on whatever foundation you already have. You certainly must have a minimum of one year or its equivalent at the point that you are actually going for the award, not necessarily at the point that you’re applying. Which means that you could, in the application for the language award, state that you are going to be enrolled in two semesters of Turkish or summer intensive in Turkish prior to leaving. For the award in Turkey you can do anywhere between 90 days and 6 months and the Turkish Fulbright Commission has been very flexible in allowing people to begin their Fulbright grants later. So certainly take advantage of that if you’re able to.

Question:    Is that a special program or something that you have to apply to, to have that delay?

Answer:      If you’re accepted for the language award for whatever duration of time, we’ll work with you to allow your Fulbright to start at the point that the language award ends. Now, that can be difficult for people who are strictly tied to an academic institution. But if you’re not then we can be very flexible in allowing you to do, let’s say, a six month award beginning in July and then followed by the beginning of your Fulbright award for its normal duration. So it just pushes the entire award forward

Question:    OK, and the funding would start only after the language?

Answer:      Exactly.

Question:    Hi, I’m applying to Spain for the English Teaching Assistantship and I was wondering if there is a preference when you’re talking about your out-of-class and teaching time for community based projects or if research is acceptable.

Answer:      Yeah, you can do research, you can study, you can do a community based volunteer project. Actually anything that you feel compelled to do. They do prefer that the activity, whatever it be, complement education or the English Teaching Assistant assignment, but really they’re very open.

Question:    Hi, I’d like to apply for a teaching assistantship in Germany, and I was wondering, if I wanted to take a course in second language acquisition while I was there, would that be an affiliation I would form after I was placed? Because I know you can’t choose where you get placed in the country, so would you seek that afterward and then in your proposal just say generally that you’d like to take a class?

Answer:      I think that sounds reasonable because you do want to try to stay flexible as to where you can do it, so I’m sure you could arrange for language instruction as an ancillary activity pretty much anywhere, even if it was just a private tutor. They will give you the opportunity, there’s going to be a second application that you will complete if you are recommended for the ETA program to Germany and that application does allow you to state, I think, up to three placement preferences. And so you then can list a preference that’s close to a university. I would avoid Berlin, Munich because they tend not to like to place too many ETAs in the places where the traditional Fulbright students go because they want to spread out and get a Fulbright presence throughout Germany. But some of the smaller universities or universities in East Germany, for example, you might want to list placements near them.

Question:    I’m applying for Spain. A current Fulbrighter, she just finished her Fulbright in Spain, and I talked to her about my project, which revolves around immigration. She said it’s smart to frame my research question in a manner that is not antagonistic to immigration laws in Spain. I was just wondering what your thoughts are on that piece of advice from that Fulbrighter.

Answer:      Lots of candidates ask the question about political or cultural sensitive projects and I think really this is what you’re asking, how to present a project that could be construed as politically or culturally sensitive to the host country. Basically we would recommend that you keep your research proposal, your methodology, your research questions, keep them as objective as possible and certainly not being antagonistic to immigration law in Spain would be an example of being sensitive to the issue. Go in as an objective observer, wanting to learn something, rather than going in accusatory and saying, “This is what you’re doing wrong. This is how you do it right,” because they’re going to be asking what your qualifications are to make that determination. So, keep in mind that this is a bi-national selection process and obviously you want to go in with a solid project that you have the skills to do, so I think her advice was sound, but it’s a bigger issue as well. And that’s pretty true for any country, and any issue that could be politically or culturally sensitive.

Valerie:       And that’s it for the questions that some candidates have asked us during one of our guidance sessions. Please remember that if you have a question, feel free to email us, or contact us. Our information is all online.

Tony:          And, look for the next podcast. Thanks.