Fulbright Institute of International Education
Fulbright Program For U.S. Students Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State
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Tips For Completing Reference Letters Printer-Friendly Version

U.S. STUDENT FULBRIGHT RESEARCH/STUDY GRANTS


Instructions for the Referee: Applicants for Research/Study Grants

Fulbright applicants register referees in the Embark Fulbright Online Application System allowing them to complete the reference online so that it can be submitted with the student's online application.

The Fulbright Program requires that references be submitted in the Online Application System.  Reviewers only have access to the online application and electronically submitted materials. 

If you are not familiar with the U.S. Student Fulbright Program, you may wish to visit our website.   The most useful pages for referees are the section on Thinking of Applying and the Country Summary for the applicant’s proposed host country.

In completing the reference, keep in mind that the applicant will be serving as a citizen representing the United States and that personal suitability, as well as academic excellence, is an important criterion to be considered. Applicants for study/research grants should provide you with a summary of their Fulbright project proposal.  In particular, please comment on any of the following that are appropriate:

  • Feasibility of the applicant's proposed project in terms of resources available overseas.
  • Ability of the applicant to carry out the project and in the allotted time.
  • Linguistic preparation for the proposed plan.
  • Candidate's ability to adapt to a different cultural environment.
  • In the arts, the candidate's talent and potential for growth.
  • Any other factors which you believe may have a bearing on the candidate's experience overseas.

Steps to submit your reference letter:
  1. Once the student has registered you, an email will be generated and sent to you, from the Embark Online Recommendation system with the student’s name in the subject line.  If you do not receive this email, please let the applicant know or email Embark Technical Support directly: support@embark.com and tell them the name and email address of the applicant and your name and email address.
  2. Prepare your letter of reference offline and save it as a Word document or scanned PDF document.
  3. Login to the system using the User ID and password sent to you in the email.
  4. You will see a page with the names of applicants who have listed you as a reference with this particular Online Application System.
  5. Click on the applicant’s name (corresponding to the program and year if there is more than one entry for the applicant).
  6. In Step 1, complete information to verify your status and respond to the questions.
  7. In Step 2, upload your reference letter into the application. Entering your letter via upload is the preferred method.  However, instructions are provide for directly typing in your reference.
  8. When the upload is complete or your letter is entered, you may Preview it.  The first page of your online reference will be FORM 9A. This is for online confirmation of the referee's identity.  
  9. If you are satisfied, the final step is to Submit the reference. Before you click Submit, be sure that this is the letter that you wish to have reviewed by screening committees in the U.S. and abroad.  Once you submit the reference, you will not have access to edit or change it.  

Only references submitted via the Embark Fulbright Online Application System will be accepted.

Please submit your reference by application deadline:

  • Fulbright-mtvU Award: March 1, 2012
  • Fulbright Public Policy Fellowship: February 1, 2012
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