Program Funding

The primary source of funding for the Fulbright Program is an annual appropriation by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA). Participating governments and host institutions, corporations and foundations in foreign countries and in the United States also provide direct and indirect support.

More funding data for the Fulbright Program are available in the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board (FFSB) Annual Reports.

Program Administration

ECA administers the Program under policy guidelines established by the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board (FFSB) with the assistance of binational commissions and foundations in 49 countries, U.S. embassies in more than 100 other countries and cooperating agencies in the United States.

ECA is responsible for the U.S. government's overseas educational, cultural and informational programs.

The FFSB, composed of 12 educational and public leaders appointed by the President of the United States, formulates policies for the administration of the Program, establishes criteria for the selection of candidates and selects candidates nominated for awards.

Binational commissions and foundations develop priorities for the program, including the numbers and categories of grants. In a country without a commission or foundation, the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy develops and supervises the Fulbright Program. Currently, 49 commissions are active, most of which are funded jointly by the United States and the respective government. Each commission or foundation has a board, composed of Americans and citizens of the participating nations.

Fulbright programs are administered with the assistance of cooperating agencies. U.S. citizens interested in the Fulbright Program should contact the cooperating agency that administers the grant program in which they are interested. Foreign citizens interested in the Fulbright Program should contact the Fulbright commission in their home country or, where no commission exists, the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy.

Fulbright Fact Sheet

Learn more about the Fulbright Program.

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Foreign Scholarship Board

Appointed by the President of the United States, the 12-member Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board was established by Congress to supervise the global Fulbright Program

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