National Fellowships Academic Deans Office - Mount Holyoke College

Fulbright Independent Research Grant Essay Guidelines

Statement of Grant Purpose (project proposal)

This 2-page document outlines the Who, What, When, Where, Why, and How of what you are proposing for your Fulbright year. If you are pursuing a research project, developing a strong, feasible, and compelling project is the most important aspect of a successful Fulbright application. When considering feasibility, think about content, methodology, and time frame. Familiarize yourself with the program summary for your host country in order to verify the type of project you can propose. Some countries have restrictions or preferences about certain topics or locations. Applicants should demonstrate the reasons for pursuing the project in the country, indicating a clear commitment to the host country community and a description of how you will engage with it.

Format: Two pages, single spaced, 12 point Times New Roman, 1 inch margins. Heading: Do not use the Header tool in Word. Simply create a heading by listing this information line by line Line 1: Statement of Grant Purpose Line 2: Your Name, Country of Application, and Field of Study Line 3: Your Project Title as it appears in the Biographical Data section of the application. On page 2, enter the same information or just: Grant Purpose, page 2. Citations: Keep these to a minimum, if needed at all, and only include what will fit in the 2-page limit without using a smaller font.

Aim to address the following questions in your Statement of Grant Purpose. Some will warrant more attention than others, depending on your project.

 What do you propose to do?  What are the specific research goals and methodologies?  When will you carry out the project? Include a rough timeline.  Where do you propose to conduct your study or research? Why was this location(s) chosen?  With whom do you propose to work?  Have you developed a connection with a potential adviser in the host country who has knowledge of the research topic and access to other appropriate contacts in the field?  Why does the project have to be conducted in the country of application?  What are your qualifications for carrying out this project?  How will the culture and politics of the host country impact the work?  Will the resources of the host country support the project?  Do you have the requisite academic/field-specific background to undertake the proposed research?  Do you have sufficient language skills for the project being proposed and to serve the basic purposes of the Fulbright Program? If not, how will you accomplish these goals? You should consider that, even if a country indicates that English will be sufficient for carrying out the proposed project, for purposes of community engagement, at least a basic level of language skill should be obtained prior to leaving the United States for the host country.  What are your plans for improving your language skills, if they are not adequate at the time of application?  Are there any possible feasibility concerns that the project could provoke?  What is important or significant about the project?  What is innovative about the research?  What contribution will the project make toward the Fulbright goal of promoting cultural exchange and mutual understanding?  Why do you want to undertake this project?  How will your project help further your academic or professional development?  How will you engage with the host country community apart from the project? Give specific ideas for civic engagement. Candidates are urged to consult professors in their major fields or faculty members with experience in the host country, as well as their fellowship advisors, about the feasibility of their proposed projects, and about how their project fits in relation to other research of that kind in the field.

Personal Statement

This 1-page narrative is designed to give the reviewers a picture of you as an individual – to introduce yourself to the screening committee members on a personal level. It is an opportunity to tell the committee more about the trajectory that you have followed and what plans you have for the future. Whereas the Statement of Grant Purpose focuses on what you will be doing in the host country, the Personal Statement concentrates on how your background has influenced your development and how that relates to the Fulbright opportunity.

The style is up to you, but the content should convey your background and your motivation for applying to the specific Fulbright Program in question and how this background relates to the proposed project and your future goals. This essay can deal with your personal history, family background, intellectual development, and the educational, professional, or cultural opportunities to which you have or have not been exposed; explain their impact. This should not be a reiteration of facts already listed in the Biographical Data sections of the application, or an elaboration of the Statement of Grant Purpose. It should not be your resume in narrative form. Do not repeat information from other parts of the application. It should not match, but rather complement, other parts of the application.

Format: One page, single spaced, 12 point Times New Roman, 1 inch margins. Heading: Do not use the Header tool in Word. Simply create a heading by listing this information line by line: Line 1: Personal Statement Line 2: Your Name, Country of Application, and Field of Study Line 3: Project Title as it appears in the Biographical Data section of the application Citations: You should not need to use any citations for this essay.

Fulbright does not provide specific questions that should be answered in the Personal Statement. You may, however, find the handout on Brainstorming Personal Statements helpful for generating ideas.