BC again among top producers of student Fulbright winners
Boston College has once again been recognized as a top producer of student Fulbright Scholarship winners, according to data released by the United States Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
Founded in 1946, the Fulbright Program is the U.S. State Department’s flagship international academic exchange program. The Fulbright U.S. Student Program provides grants to recent college graduates, graduate students, and early-career professionals who participate in study and research programs or serve as English teaching assistants abroad.
Since its inception, the Fulbright Program has provided more than 400,000 talented and accomplished students, scholars, teachers, artists, and professionals of all backgrounds with the opportunity to study, teach, and conduct research abroad.
The Fulbright Program’s goal is to increase mutual understanding and support friendly and peaceful relations between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. The U.S. government oversees an extensive suite of fellowships and scholarships in partnership with more than 160 countries worldwide.
Twelve Boston College students were selected for Fulbrights for 2024-2025 out of 52 applications. This year, BC Fulbright recipients are studying or teaching in Australia, Austria, Germany, Italy, Kuwait, Netherlands, and South Korea.
“I was very pleased to learn that BC has once again been named as a Fulbright Top Producer institution,” said Paul Christensen, a professor of the practice in Political Science who is the Fulbright Program advisor for BC. “The most important reason for BC’s success in the Fulbright Program this year is that we had an amazing group of students who were willing to put themselves forward and apply for a very prestigious and competitive set of awards. Success in programs like this is, of course, also a team effort. We have a great set of advisors who work with our students on their applications, and our students also receive fantastic support from members of the faculty and the Boston College administration.”
However, Christensen added, the future for the Fulbright Program is uncertain because of the Trump administration’s decision to halt its funding until further notice. The freeze has had an effect on BC alumni currently abroad on Fulbright scholarships, he noted, “as well as our students who have been awarded grants for the coming Fulbright cycle and potentially the BC students who have been named semi-finalists for the next round of awards.”
See the complete list of top Fulbright-producing institutions at fulbrightprogram.org/tpi.