Fulbright Awards Adorn Best Research Institutions
- Posted on
- byElise Rust
A track record of winning Fulbright Scholarships is a common metric of academic excellence and indicates the best opportunities for undergraduate research(1). On average, the top 10 doctoral institutions produced 29.9 Fulbright Students in 2019-20 while the top 10 small liberal arts colleges produced 13.7 students. Despite their small size, small liberal arts colleges had an acceptance rate of 39.80% compared to doctoral programs’ 27.49%. Both groups, however, produced scholars at a much higher rate than the national average thus demonstrating their excellence and focus on undergraduate research preparation.
2019-2020 Map of Fulbright Recipients:
[SUPER-INTERACTIVE-MAP ID=1]
Along with Fulbright Scholarships, access to funding and historical emphasis on undergraduate research are important metrics in determining the strength of a research institution. For example, Bowdoin College offers between $800 and 2,000 per student via grants whereas Bates College offers up to $300 per student per grant. Larger doctoral institutions have much larger budgets, with Harvard boasting $937 million for research and development in 2019, but this funding must be shared across faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates.
Table 1(Data)
| Institution | Awards | Applicants Accepted |
|---|---|---|
| Doctoral | ||
| Georgetown U. | 45 | 28% |
| Brown U. | 38 | 31% |
| Princeton U. | 31 | 32% |
| Villanova U. | 30 | 33% |
| Columbia U. | 29 | 22% |
| Harvard U. | 27 | 22% |
| Stanford U. | 27 | 36% |
| U. of Chicago | 27 | 22% |
| Northwestern U. | 23 | 24% |
| U. of Virginia | 22 | 26% |
| Average | 30 | 28% |
| Baccalaureate | ||
| Bates College | 24 | 33% |
| Bowdoin College | 17 | 39% |
| Middlebury College | 15 | 48% |
| Smith College | 15 | 63% |
| St. Olaf College | 13 | 39% |
| Dickinson College | 12 | 50% |
| Rhodes College | 11 | 48% |
| Williams College | 11 | 23% |
| Carleton College | 10 | 29% |
| Colgate U. | 9 | 26% |
| Average | 14 | 40% |
Note: “Net price” refers to the amount that first-time, full-time undergraduate students pay after aid, measured using IPEDS data. Complete Washington Weekly methodology can be found here.
Top Fullbright-Student Producing Doctoral and Baccalaureate · Institutions (2019-2020):
Source: The Chronicle of Higher Education (paywall)
(1) The US Fulbright Scholarship is a government-sponsored research program that sends US students and scholars abroad to live, work, and engage with people of their research’s host country. It is a highly competitive program, with most reports estimating an award rate of 20%, and selection indicates an impressive background in research, thus reflecting highly on a students’ college or university.
(1) The US Fulbright Scholarship is a government-sponsored research program that sends US students and scholars abroad to live, work, and engage with people of their research’s host country. It is a highly competitive program, with most reports estimating an award rate of 20%, and selection indicates an impressive background in research, thus reflecting highly on a students’ college or university.
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