UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — On March 12, the U.S. Department of State temporarily paused International Exchange Programs to and from countries that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had highlighted, due to the spread of the novel coronavirus.
This temporary pause became a full suspension on March 19 after the U.S. Department of State issued a Global Level 4 Health Advisory, which instructed all U.S. citizens abroad to return home or shelter in place in the respective countries they were in. This program suspension applied only to American scholars abroad, while inbound scholars received their instructions from the Fulbright Commissions in their respective countries.
Although the current cohort of Fulbright candidates was withdrawn from their respective postings for safety reasons, planning for the next cohort is at full steam and the program is accepting applications for the 2021-22 academic year. The deadline to apply is Sept. 15, 2020.
“The mission of the Fulbright program is still vital in the present challenging times: fostering mutual understanding among nations,” said Sylvester Osagie, director of campus engagement in Penn State’s Global Programs office and director of Penn State’s Faculty Fulbright program.
Faculty members planning to apply for a Fulbright grant are encouraged to reach out to Osagie at soo1@psu.edu and Anne Stover, program assistant, at amc1@psu.edu.
Penn State has a group of dedicated past Fulbright recipients willing to support their colleagues in applying for Fulbrights. For information on these discipline-based faculty Fulbright panelists, click here.