Fulbright Program

FIU is a Top Producer of Fulbright U.S. Scholars

February 13, 2024 - Building on the success from previous years, FIU is among the Top 5 U.S. doctoral institutions that produced the most Fulbright U.S. Scholars in 2023-2024, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs announced in the Chronicle of Higher Education.

Six scholars from FIU were awarded Fulbright grants for work in the fields of biology, epidemiology, math/statistics, modern languages, jazz music and musicology. Additionally, a seventh scholar, representing criminology and criminal justice, earned a “triple Fulbright,” a rare award that involves a multi-country project to be conducted over a two-year period. (Two other scholars were also named, but were ultimately unable to represent FIU overseas.)

The Fulbright program is the U.S. government’s competitive flagship international educational exchange program. It awards grants to U.S. faculty and administrators to conduct research, teach or conduct professional projects. It also offers exchanges for U.S. students to study or teach English abroad.

In recognition of FIU's extensive partnership in promoting and facilitating Fulbright exchanges, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) recognizes FIU as one of a small select group of Hispanic Serving Institution Leaders.

FIU Fulbrighters Abroad

FIU Fulbrighters have worked in host communities across the globe since 1975. In alignment with our insitution's mission, they have promoted greater international understanding through collaborative research, teaching, and community engagement.

Concert stage with five jazz musicians — Michael Eckroth (seated at the piano) performing with local musicians and a Swiss guitarist during Tabuleiro jazz festival in Minas Gerais state; a formal recording by this group was planned for Summer 2024.

Lecture room with students and professor — Abdelhamid Meziani (front row, 2nd from right) giving a math seminar at the University of Science and Technology Houari Boumediene in Algiers, Algeria (2023-2024)

Group of people — Ligia Collado-Vides (2nd from right) with her host, collaborators and students following the team's farewell luncheon at the University of the Algarve, Portugal (2023-2024)

Special guest Nasar Ahmed at the seminar on ‘’Empowering working mothers: Promoting breastfeeding for a safer world for a healthier world ’’ at Daffodil University, Bangladesh (2023-2024)

Man and boy in a historic cathedral inf front of ornate altar — Javier Mendoza (with son) at Catedral de Jaen for the Festival de Música Antigua Andrés Vandelvira after a concert with a local youth orchestra in Madrid, Spain (2023-2024)

Allison Matulli (first from the right) speaking at a radio broadcast about her Fulbright project at Universidad del Norte, Barranquilla, Colombia, together with her faculty host Maria González-Malabet (center), professor in the Department of Political Science and International Relations and director of the Instituto de Desarrollo Político y Institucional (IDEPI) and the radio show host.

Angela Salmon (standing, center) observing children together with her collaborators from Universidad de la Sabana and Aeiotu in Colombia. As a Fulbright Global Scholar 2024-2026, professor Salmon will continue her action project at University of Warsaw, Poland; and National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece.

Ileana Ortegon-Aznar, Ph.D., 2024-2025 Fulbright Visiting Scholar from Mexico, is hosted by Alain Duran, Assistant Teaching Professor, Department of Biology, to jointly conduct a comparative analysis of coral reef dynamics between Yucatán and Florida. Their collaboration includes the creation of an LSAT monitoring protocol that can be applied Caribbean-wide. Along with Ligia-Collado Vides, Teaching Professor, they also mentor students, revamp classes, and study local macroalgal-related issues such as the *Caulerpa* bloom in Miami’s coral reefs.

The FIU Libraries host Tomasz Zawadzki, Ph.D., from Poland in the 2024-2025 year as Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence. His academic background includes gaming and extended realities such as augmented (AR), virtual (VR) and mixed (MR) realities. Facilitated by Bryan Cooper, Associate Dean for Engagement and Innovation, Zawadzki is helping introduce students to the creation of AR applications and 360-degree video; creating virtual 3D mangrove flowers and sharks in collaboration with science education faculty; collaborating with the North Miami Chamber of Commerce on sessions for business owners on 3D modeling for marketing; and he is supporting Miami-Dade County high school teachers and students, and the Everglades Foundation, with interactive AR for education productions. Zawadzki also will be collaborating with the Libraries’ 3D sound artist-in-residence on upcoming 360-degree production workshops for faculty and students. And, in Spring 2025, he will support local Public Television’s plans to engage the public through 360-degree immersive video, and FIU Journalism students using AR within immersive media storytelling.

Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program

The Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program is administered by the Institute of International Education (IIE) and offers over 400 awards for teaching, research or to carry out a professional project in 135 countries. Opportunities are available for faculty and administrators as well as for professionals, artists, journalists, scientists, lawyers, independent scholars and others. In addition to several new program models designed to meet the changing needs of U.S. academics and professionals, Fulbright offers flexible awards including multi-country opportunities.

The Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program online program overview, catalog of awards, the Fulbright scholar directory and upcoming and archived webinars offer a good starting point for faculty and international education administrators to gain insights into the many exciting opportunities for engagement across the world.

Since the program is highly competitive, we recommend that you reach out to one of FIU's Fulbright Program Campus Liaisons (see below) for additional guidance.

ligia-collado-vides_farewell-lunch-with-collaborators-at-u-of-algarve_2023-2024.jpg

Faculty and students at University of Algarve, Portugal with FIU professor Ligia Collado-Vides (second from right)

Fulbright Specialist Program

The Fulbright Specialist Program is a unique opportunity for U.S. academics and established professionals to engage in two- to six-weeks, project-based exchanges at host institutions in 160 countries across the globe. It is designed to bring specialized expertise to the host institution abroad.

The Fulbright Specialist Program online program overview and the eligibility and award description offer a good starting point for interested faculty and senior administrators.

Meet FIU's Fulbright Specialists!

On the left: Rob Guerrette, Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice, with the National Police Commissioner of Iceland’s Center for Police Training and Professional Development

Hosting a Visiting (non-U.S.) Fulbright Scholar

Under the Visiting Fulbright Scholar Program, non-U.S. scholars apply in their home country for a Fulbright grant to carry out advanced research or lecturing at U.S. institutions. Or, where FIU is interested in the academic expertise of a scholar abroad, FIU submits an application for a Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence. A short-term hosting opportunity offers the Fulbright Outreach Lecturing Fund (OLF) program. The OLF program sponsors visiting scholars who are already at a U.S. institution to travel within the U.S. and give a guest lecture at another institution, generally over 2-3 days.

Interested in hosting a Fulbright Visiting Scholar? Contact your Fulbright Program Campus Liaisons (see below) to get started.

Meet FIU's Fulbright Visiting Scholars.

First from the right: Dr. Amit Ranjan, Scholar-in-Residence from India 2020-2021 celebrating FIU Language Day with Fulbright Language Teaching Assistants and FIU students.

FIU Fulbright Alumni

FIU's count of Fulbright alumni continues to grow annually. A comprehensive list of Fulbright U.S. Scholars can be found here.

Once a Fulbrighter, always a Fulbrighter! These articles highlight some of the most recent Fulbright grantees and their inspirational work abroad as well as on our campus.

FIU's most active program alumnus is Dr. Emmanuel Roussakis, Professor Emeritus of Finance, who has been abroad as a Fulbright Scholar in Romania and as a Fulbright Specialist in Russia, Indonesia, Morocco, Kuwait and Tunis between the years 2010 and 2020.

Meet FIU's Fulbright Program Champion: Iqbal Akthar, Associate Professor of Religious Studies and International Relations, who not only traveled to Pakistan to collaborate with faculty and mentor students there, he also hosted two Fulbright Scholars in Residence and four Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistants at FIU.

They say "there is a Fulbright for everyone." Learn about FIU Fulbright Specialist awardees and the Fulbright International Education Administrator awardee who work on short-term projects with or visit partner institutions to advance the field of international eduation.

"Fulbright has allowed me to supercharge my global citizenship. The relationships you form and contributions you make are truly life changing. Especially in these times of a global crisis, programs like these remind us that we are all connected and solutions are always global. While my time in Brazil was cut short due to the Coronavirus pandemic, Fulbright has been amazing at giving us support along the way, and online collaboration has allowed me to keep working with my colleagues in Brazil."
Associate Professor Carolin Lusby, Fulbright Scholar to Brazil in 2020-2021