On Friday, February 10, Barnard was recognized as one of the institutions that received the greatest number of offers for the 2022-2023 Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program.

Barnard College will be recognized as a “Fulbright Top Producing Institution” for the sixth year and stands among the top liberal arts institutions with 11 Fulbright offers received by Barnard students. Among known data, Fulbright was the top destination for the Barnard class of 2022, with seven students heading onto Fulbright after graduating. More students from the graduating class joined Fulbright than any corporate or non-profit employer, and Fulbright recipients were second only to students who went to Columbia graduate schools. Combined with four Barnard alumni from previous graduating classes, these 11 students broke Barnard’s record for most participants in the Fulbright program. 

Founded in 1946, Fulbright is an international educational exchange program that operates through the US Government with the mission of enhancing mutual understanding between people of different countries. The program offers nearly 9,000 merit-based scholarships in over 160 countries every year. Recipients may come from all fields of study and include both current students and alumni who are interested in studying, researching, and finding solutions to rising global challenges.

Fulbright encompasses two programs: Fulbright US Students and Fulbright US Scholars. Under the former, nearly 2,000 recent undergraduates, graduate students, and early-career professionals are selected annually for graduate-level study, research, or English education around the world. In the latter program, 900 professionals are selected to lecture or research abroad in their respective fields.

Over 400,000 individuals have been a part of Fulbright, returning to make an impact in their communities with a new appreciation for new perspectives and a larger network of connections. Fulbright alumni include 62 Nobel Laureates, 89 Pulitzer Prize winners, 78 MacArthur Fellows, 41 heads of state or government, and more leaders around the world.

Assistant Vice President of Lifelong Success and Senior Advisor to the Provost A-J Aronstein credits Barnard’s success with Fulbright to exceptional students and professors, as well as to the initiatives at Beyond Barnard. In addition to the academic and professional advising the office provides to students, Beyond Barnard, which celebrates five years of operation this week, elected to take on advising for competitive fellowships. In an interview with Bwog, Aronstein explained that this decision permits students to explore their ambitions for graduate school and fellowships. Beyond Barnard also provides more opportunities for students to become involved with Fulbright by putting them into contact with recent Barnard and Fulbright alumni, which Aronstein says has been essential to engagement.

Aronstein also emphasized how much of Barnard’s success with Fulbright was a result of the relationships between the college’s students and faculty, saying that the quality of these relationships contributes to exemplary applications for research and study abroad. He emphasized that “Barnard students are singularly engaged in community work and activism…bringing a distinctively polished set of qualifications,” which sets them apart in the Fulbright application process. “Ultimately it comes down to the caliber of the academic experience at Barnard,” Aronstein added.

Aronstein highlighted that Fulbright is “a real opportunity for Barnard students [and that] Barnard students are exceptionally competitive in the selection process.” He encouraged all students to apply and emphasized that regardless of whether every student is awarded the fellowship, they will build amazing relationships with their faculty advisor and be given the chance to reflect on what they want to do with their work, noting that the Fulbright fellowships are “amazing opportunities. They could be life-changing.”

Deputy News Editor Emma Burris also contributed to reporting.

Barnard Gates via Bwog Archives