FulBright Scholarship: Synonym of Your Brightened Future

 Farhana Afroz

Whenever we talk about the US, we immediately think of its different culture specially music, movies and television, don’t we? Yes, that’s right. United States (US) is very well known for its versatile culture. But besides these, there is another reason why the US is so famous, which is its higher study opportunities. In the United States, there are various recognized universities, with many of them regularly ranked among the world’s top 100. The country’s reputation for world-class universities has led the US to become one of the most popular foreign student destinations in the world, with numbers consistently growing up every year.

If you are looking for higher study opportunities in the US, certain prerequisites need to be met. It is also a difficult task to manage a fully funded scholarship at the master’s level, and US universities do not make it easier. So for your convenience today we will discuss “The Fulbright scholarship” of the United States which is a fully-funded scholarship. We will discuss in detail all the information you need to get this scholarship and how you can apply with all that information.

The Fulbright Foreign Student Program enables graduate students, young professionals, and artists from abroad to study and conduct research in the United States. International students from 155 countries (Bangladesh is one of them!!) around the world apply for this scholarship every year. Approximately 4,000 foreign students receive Fulbright scholarships each year. The Fulbright Foreign Student Program is administered by binational Fulbright Commissions/Foundations or U.S. Embassies. All Foreign Student Program applications are processed by these offices. Fulbright encourages applications from all fields, including interdisciplinary ones.

For Bangladeshi students, the American Center at U.S. Embassy Dhaka is the announcer of this Full Bright Foreign Student Program, which provides several grants for a fully-funded master’s degree in the United States.  Every year the circular for Fulbright Scholarship is given on their website (Here is the website link-https://bd.usembassy.gov/application-…). Those who will be given more priority in this scholarship are younger faculty from Bangladeshi universities, junior to mid-level employees of research organizations, think tanks, NGOs, and professionals from the public and private sectors.

Under this scholarship you can apply for Business Studies, Core Sciences, Economics, Environmental Research and Disaster Management, Fashion and Textile Design, Education, Public Administration/Public Policy, Psychology-Clinical/Counseling, security Studies, Social Sciences and Humanities, Urban Planning, etc. That means you can apply for any of the subjects mentioned above. But you would have to select only 1 subject among all of them.

Let’s find out what qualifications we need to apply for this scholarship. As usual, you have to complete at least a four-year bachelor’s degree, with an outstanding academic record. You should have at least two years of full-time professional experience relevant to the proposed field of study. You have to be fluent in English with a minimum iBT TOEFL score of 80 or an IELTS score of 7.0. Along with that, you have to be in good health. Most importantly, you have to be a Bangladeshi citizen residing in Bangladesh at the time of application. And you have to be willing to refund the cost of a return ticket if you return home before completion of the degree.

Now let’s talk about the reasons why you won’t be eligible for this scholarship. You cannot apply for this scholarship if you already have a degree from a U.S. university, or be enrolled in a current degree program. And if you hold a master’s degree from any third country (those holding Bangladeshi master’s degrees are eligible) you won’t be eligible for this scholarship.

The application system of the Fulbright Scholarship Program is completely online-based. So you have to fill up the online application form and submit it online within the specified date. The application process for the Fulbright Scholarship begins about a year before the year of admission. For example, the application form for the 2021-2022 Scholarship Program was released in January/February 2020. And the last date to submit the application form and other required documents was May 31, 2020.

In addition to submitting the application form within this specific date, other important papers that need to be submitted are: Academic Transcripts and Certificates from each post-secondary institution attended (Bachelor’s and Master’s). Three Letters of Reference submitted by the referees directly to the online application portal (Prospective candidates must register his / her referees through the “Recommender Registration” button available on the online application site.), Academic Records Information Form (available on the online application site.), and TOEFL/IELTS score. A competitive GRE or GMAT score is also required for admission to a master’s program in the United States. If the applicant already has such a score, those scores should be uploaded with the online application.  If not available, the American Center can arrange a test for preliminarily selected candidates only. And the payment of the test will be carried by the American Center.  Prospective candidates must prepare well in advance for standardized tests (TOEFL/GRE/GMAT) since a competitive score is crucial for admission.

Now let’s see what opportunities you will get if you achieve this scholarship. Fulbright grant provisions include- round-trip airfare, tuition, and related academic fees, a monthly stipend for room, board, and incidental expenses, a book allowance, health and accident insurance, travel allowance, and excess baggage allowance. But the program is extremely selective. In previous years, about 7 to 8 grants have been made after hundreds of applications were received and reviewed. So those of you who will apply for this scholarship, I will suggest them to take this matter very seriously. And since there is no fee to apply for this scholarship, I would also suggest you all to take this opportunity to apply for the scholarship.

Well, that’s all for now. I have included all the important details about the Fulbright Scholarship through the Shabash Fakibaj ™ website. If you have any query about this scholarship, always feel free to contact us through Facebook or Email. You can also go through the scholarship link to clear your confusion. Finally, I would like to say that all those who want to complete Masters in the US with a full-free scholarship should apply for the Fulbright scholarship Program. And I think it will be one of the best opportunity of your life.  So, what are you waiting for?? Let’s give a shot to this program, and make a great achievement in your life!! A very big wishes for your bright future from the Shabash Fakibaj ™.