Tips for Fulbright-mtvU Applicants

Biographical Data

• Complete all required fields: You should take care to accurately complete all of the required fields in this section.
• Use proper capitalization and punctuation: This is a formal grant application and you are advised to follow the English language rules on capitalization and punctuation.
• Provide an informative project title and abstract: These sections are a quick reference for screening committees and other reviewers. They should be able to determine the basic who, what, when, where, why and how of your project by reading this abstract. The project title should be informative, as well.

Statement of Grant Purpose

• Develop an intellectually-compelling and feasible project: This is the most important factor in presenting a successful application. The first step is to familiarize yourself with the summary for the program to which you are applying. Program design varies from country to country and while some countries encourage applicants to incorporate coursework into a project, others prefer independent research. You should ensure that your project design fits the program guidelines for the host country.
  
• Address the following points:

1. With whom do you propose to work?

2. What do you propose to do?

3. What is innovative about the research?

4. What are the specific research goals and methodologies?

5. What is important or significant about the project?

6. What contribution will the project make toward the Fulbright goal of promoting cultural exchange and mutual understanding?

7. When will you carry out the project? Include a rough timeline.

8. Where do you propose to conduct your study or research? Why was this location(s) chosen?

9. Why do you want to undertake this project?

10. Why does the project have to be conducted in the country of application?

11. How will your project help further your academic or professional development?

12. How will you engage with the host country community? Give specific ideas for civic engagement.

13. What are your qualifications for carrying out this project?
    
    

• Design a feasible project: You must demonstrate that project plan is viable, including its content, methodology, and time frame. Address the following:

1. How will the culture and politics of the host country impact the work?

2. Will the resources of the host country support the project?

3. 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?

4. Do you have the requisite academic/field-specific background to undertake the proposed research?

5. Do you have sufficient language skills for the project being proposed? If not, how will you accomplish your work?

6. What are your plans for improving your language skills, if they are not adequate at the time of application? Remember, 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.

7. Are there any possible feasibility concerns that the project could provoke?
   
   

• Candidates applying through U.S. institutions are urged to consult professors in their major fields or with experience in the host country, as well as their Fulbright Program Advisers, about the feasibility of their proposed projects. At-Large applicants should consult qualified persons in their fields.

• Be clear and concise: The individuals reading the proposal want applicants to get to the point about the "who, what, when, where, why and how" of the project. Avoid discipline-specific jargon.
  
• Organize the statement carefully: Don't make reviewers search for information. We urge you to have several people read and critique your Statement, including a faculty adviser, a faculty member outside your discipline, a fellow student, and/or a colleague.

• Adhere to the following format:

1. Length is limited to a maximum of two single-spaced pages. Longer statements will not be presented to screening committees.

2. Do not include any bibliographies, publications, citations, etc., except those that will fit in the two-page limit.

3. Use 1-inch margins and Times New Roman 12-point font.

At the top of each page include:

1. On line 1: Statement of Grant Purpose

2. On line 2: Your Name, Country of Application, and Field of Study

3. On line 3: Your Project Title as it appears in the Biographical Data section of the application

Affiliation Letter

• Understand the affiliation requirements for the country to which you are applying: Affiliation arrangements vary by country, so you should review carefully  the affiliation information provided in the country summary. All grantees must have an affiliation in the host country.
  
  

1. Countries differ in the kinds of host affiliations that are acceptable. Examples of affiliations include universities, laboratories, libraries, non-governmental organizations, music and art academies, museums and so on. Pay special attention to the requirement in some countries to attend classes and/or to affiliate with academic institutions.
   
   

• Identify an appropriate affiliation for your project: The affiliation is your proposed host in the country of application. Fulbrighters have used a number of methods to contact potential hosts and solicit support for their projects. One primary method is to use the contacts and advisers that you already have. Ask current or former professors to put you into contact with appropriate people in the host country.
  
  

1. If the proposal contains a strong research component, you must have host country contacts that can support the research, provide access to required resources, and/or advise you during the grant period. It is your responsibility to identify, contact, and secure an affiliation from a potential adviser.

 
Some potential avenues to help you identify an appropriate affiliation/host country adviser include:

1. Faculty at your home campus

2. International students

3. Visiting Fulbright Professors in the U.S. or U.S. Fulbright Scholars who had grants to your host country. Directories are available here

4. Internet searches of faculty at potential host institutions with your interests, or organizations in the host country that work with issues related to your topic

5. Other U.S. academics with expertise in the location/subject matter of the proposed project

6. Contacts from previous experience abroad

7. Educational Advising sections of Embassies or Consulates of your potential host country

Start early. Obtaining an affiliation letter from overseas can be a time-consuming process and sufficient lead time must be given to receive signed affiliation letters before the application deadline.

• Request the affiliation letter: After identifying the appropriate host institution and the individual at that institution best suited to serve as an adviser for the proposed project, make contact with the potential adviser to determine if he/she is willing to write an affiliation letter. Before requesting the letter, you should provide the author with a copy of your Statement of Grant Purpose. The affiliation letter should indicate the author’s willingness to work with you on the intended project and it should speak to the feasibility and validity of what is being proposed. The letter should also indicate any additional resources or contacts that the adviser can provide to support the work.

1. Affiliation letters must be printed on institutional letterhead and must be signed by the authors. Scanned versions of the original hard-copy letters with hand-written signatures should be uploaded into the application, and the letter writers can either send the original hard-copy letters or electronic copies to the applicants. IIE will not accept any affiliation letters via email or sent to our office. 

2. Since affiliation letters are not confidential, you will upload the letter yourself into the online application system. Affiliation letters written in a foreign language must be translated into English and both the original letters and the English-language translations must be uploaded into the application. 

3. Instructions on uploading letters of affiliation are available within the online application system.

Document and Outreach Plan

For the Document and Outreach Plan (DOC):

• Use the most recent version of Adobe Acrobat (note to Mac users: be sure to use Adobe Acrobat, not Mac Preview.)
• Do not exceed the space allotted in the form. As text is entered, the font size will shrink; be sure to maintain a minimum of 12 point font.
• Be realistic about your proposed goals, activities and access to resources.
• Keep in mind that you will be expected to submit at least one blog post a month to mtvU.
• Be flexible; remember that goals and results are subject to change during the course of your grant based on many factors.

Personal Statement

• Make it Personal: This statement provides you with an opportunity to introduce yourself to the screening committee members on a personal level. The style is up to you, but the content should convey your background and your motivation for applying to this specific Fulbright Program and how this background relates to the proposed project and your future goals.
• Do not repeat information from other parts of the application.
• Adhere to the following format:

1. Statement length is limited to a maximum of one single-spaced page. Longer statements will not be presented to screening committees.

2. Use 1-inch margins and Times New Roman 12-point font.

At the top of each page include:

1. On line 1: Personal Statement

2. On line 2: Your Name, Country of Application, and Field of Study

3. On line 3: Your Project Title as it appears in the Biographical Data section of the application

Foreign Language Evaluation (FLE)

For Commonly-Taught Languages: The Foreign Language Evaluation should be completed by a professional language teacher, preferably a university professor. The language evaluator cannot be related to the applicant.

For Less-Commonly-Taught Languages: If a professional language teacher is not readily available, a college-educated native-speaker of the language can be used. The language evaluator cannot be related to the applicant. Provide your evaluators with Instructions for Foreign Language Evaluators. You can print these out and discuss them with the person completing the form.

After starting the online application, you can register the language evaluator. You can register a person with the same email for only one type of online reference, that is, either a recommendation or Foreign Language Evaluation. If you wish the same person to complete both a recommendation and an FLE, then the person must have two different email addresses. You can then register them once for the recommendatin and once for the FLE.

In order to register your language evaluator and to have access to Form 7:  Language Self-Evaluation, you must respond appropriately to the Embark Online Application Preliminary Question 3.  If you did not request these forms, then click on the link in the upper right hand corner of the online application - Update my answers to preliminary questions, and change your response.

References

• When choosing reference writers, select the three individuals who can best speak to your ability to carry out the proposed project.
• Do not submit character references.
• Provide reference writers with copies of the Statement of Grant Purpose and the Personal Statement so that they can write well-informed recommendations.
• Give reference writers at least 3-4 weeks to complete their reference letters.
• You must register the reference writers in the online application system so that they can upload their recommendation letters directly into your application.
• References must remain confidential, so you cannot upload them.
• Reference letters should be printed on institutional letterhead, signed by the authors, and then uploaded into the online application system.
• Provide your recommenders with Instructions for Fulbright Reference Writers. You can print these out and discuss them with the person writing the letter of reference.

Transcripts

• You must upload one unofficial academic transcript from each post-secondary institution from which a degree was received. Additional transcripts should be uploaded for coursework and grades not reflected on degree-granting transcripts.
• Failure to provide a complete academic history of higher education will result in your being declared ineligible.
• Graduate-level students who do not include undergraduate transcripts will be considered ineligible.
• Candidates recommended for final consideration will be required to submit official copies of all college transcripts in March/April.
• Consult the Transcript and Upload Instructions page for more detailed information.

Supplementary Materials

• Carefully review and follow the instructions in Required Supplementary Materials for Arts Applicants
• You should assemble a portfolio that relates to the proposed project and demonstrates your artistic skills and growth in the field.
• Complete the Documentation and Outreach Plan (PDF).
• You should solicit critiques from professional artists on the portfolios before you upload them into Decision Desk.
• Work submissions need to be labeled in detailed fashion so that the National Screening Committee members are clear on the sizes of objects, the materials used, what your role in the production of the pieces was, etc.
  
  
  

Ethical Requirements

Applicants proposing research involving human beings or animals as research subjects who plan to formally publish the results or to use the results in a graduate program should have their projects vetted by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) at their home institutions. At-Large applicants should conduct an individual ethics review ensuring that their proposed projects are consistent with ethical standards for research involving humans as research participants as outlined in the National Guidelines for Human Subjects Research (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Extramural Research, National Institutes of Health), in the National Guidelines for Animal Welfare at the National Institutes of Health’s Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare or other applicable internationally recognized ethics guidance documents.

Human subjects research includes: clinical investigations (any experiment or study on one or more persons which involves a test product/article, whether a drug, treatment, procedure or device); social-behavioral studies which entail interaction with or observation of people, especially vulnerable populations (i.e., as minors, pregnant women, inmates, drug-users, the mentally impaired, displaced/refugee populations); and, basic scientific research to study the biology of animals, persons or organs and specimens thereof. The most fundamental issues in studies involving human research subjects include: valid scientific questions and approaches; potential social value; favorable risk-benefit ratio; fair selection of study participants and an adequately administered informed consent process.