DENTON (UNT), Texas — The University of North Texas’ International office is helping students and alumni earn a spot in one of the world’s most prestigious cultural exchanges, the Fulbright U.S. Student Program.

Funded by the U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, the program offers research, study and English teaching opportunities in over 140 countries to recent college graduates or current graduate students. The goal is to improve relationships between Americans and other countries.

At UNT, students receive specialized assistance with their applications from UNT’s Fulbright Program Advisor Amanda White Bennett, who also serves as director of global partnerships and research engagement forUNT International. Bennett organizes information sessions, advises students on program options, assists students in the development of their applications and organizes UNT’s Fulbright campus committee interviews. The campus interviews include UNT faculty and staff who meet with each applicant to provide guidance and advise students on how to best showcase their talents and expertise.

“Students have a lot of support here at UNT,” said Bennett. “I know it can be challenging to figure out everything Fulbright is looking for in a successful application. UNT provides ongoing assistance to students to help them navigate the Fulbright process and submit competitive applications.”

UNT seniors, current graduate students and alumni who are interested in applying for the 2019-2020 cycle should contact Bennett atamanda.white@unt.edu by Sept. 5, and then apply by the national deadline on Oct. 9. An information session will be held from 11 a.m. to noon Aug. 29 (Wednesday) in Marquis Hall, room 107.

Bennett adds that her division hopes to build on this year’s success, in which four recent graduates were awarded. Each of the four received a teaching assistantship to help students in other countries study and practice English. This year’s winners are:

• Karina Barbosa of Houston, Texas: She graduated in May with a Bachelor of Science in ecology for environmental science from the College of Scienceand will travel to Taiwan.
• Gabriele Canavan of Carrollton, Texas: She graduated in May with a Bachelor of Arts in German and international studies from the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences and will travel to Hamburg, Germany.
• Phillip Carnell of Denton, Texas: He graduated in May with a Bachelor of Arts in German and international studies from the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences and will travel to Saxony, Germany.
• David Oostenbrug of Carrollton, Texas: He graduated in May with a Bachelor of Science in geography from the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences and will travel to Saratov State University in Russia.

Recipients of Fulbright awards are selected on the basis of academic and professional achievement, their record of service and leadership potential in their respective fields. Applicants must be citizens or nationals of the U.S. at the time of application, must have completed a bachelor’s degree before the start of the grant and may not hold a doctoral degree at the time of application. Grant benefits for all Fulbright U.S. Student grants include: round-trip transportation to the host country, funding to cover room, board, and incidental costs, and accident and sickness health benefits.

Faculty and staff with relevant global experiences are invited to serve on the committee to provide an additional layer of application support and to endorse students for the program. Last year’s team included Deborah Armintor, an associate professor in the Department of English; Colleen Conlon, a graduate academic counselor in the College of Music; Kate Imy, an assistant professor in the Department of History; Kelley King, an associate professor in the Department of Teacher Education and Administration; and Donna Obenda, an academic and special programs coordinator in UNT International. Students also receive feedback on their written application statements from James Duban, associate dean for research and national scholarships in the Honors College.

About the Fulbright Program

Since its inception in 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided more than 380,000 participants — chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential — with the opportunity to exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns. Over 1,900 U.S. students, artists and early career professionals in more than 100 different fields of study are offered Fulbright Program grants to study, teach English, and conduct research annually in over 140 countries throughout the world. The primary source of funding for the Fulbright Program is an annual appropriation by the United States Congress to the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations, and foundations in foreign countries and in the United States also provide direct and indirect support. In the United States, the Institute of International Education supports the implementation of the Fulbright U.S. Student Program on behalf of the U.S. Department of State, including conducting an annual competition for the scholarships. For more information about the Fulbright Program, visithttp://eca.state.gov/fulbright.

Media contact for the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Contact: ECA-Press@state.gov.