Tips for Writing A Strong
Project Essay for the
Fulbright Scholar Program
Myron O. Stachiw
Director, Fulbright Program in Ukraine mstachiw@fulbright.com.ua
myron.stachiw@gmail.com

What is a Fulbright Grant?

An opportunity to live and study in a foreign land and culture (U.S.)

What is a Fulbright Grant?

An opportunity to live and study in a foreign land and culture (U.S.)

An opportunity to represent your country of origin and its educational and scientific system to others

What is a Fulbright Grant?

An opportunity to live and study in a foreign land and culture (U.S.)

An opportunity to represent your country of origin and its educational and scientific system to others

An opportunity to study and/or conduct deep research on a subject or topic

What is a Fulbright Grant?

An opportunity to live and study in a foreign land and culture (U.S.)

An opportunity to represent your country of origin and its educational and scientific system to others

An opportunity to study and/or conduct deep research on a subject or topic

An opportunity to collaborate with U.S. scholars and a
U.S. institution of higher education

What is a Fulbright Grant?

An opportunity to live and study in a foreign land and culture (U.S.)

An opportunity to represent your country of origin and its educational and scientific system to others

An opportunity to study and/or conduct deep research on a subject or topic

An opportunity to collaborate with U.S. scholars and a
U.S. institution of higher education

An opportunity to create long-term contacts with U.S. scholars and institutions

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The Application
The act of entering into the competition for a Fulbright
Scholar grant

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The Application
The act of entering into the competition for a Fulbright
Scholar grant
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A formal statement and presentation of:
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Personal data home and current address, date of birth, current status as employee; major accomplishments, publications, fellowships; family information; past experiences overseas, etc.

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The Application
The act of entering into the competition for a Fulbright
Scholar grant

A formal statement and presentation of:

Personal data home and current address, date of birth, current status as employee; major accomplishments; family information; past experiences overseas, etc.
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Academic/professional qualifications
Education; professional activities; publications, fellowships, patents, etc.; three letters of support from your selected referees (colleagues, employers, academic administrators, etc.) translated into English; language proficiency, etc.

The Application
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Detailed Curriculum Vitae
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Education (universities, degrees, dates)
Positions held
Courses taught and other services provided to students and the home institutions
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Publications (full citations, starting with most recent)
Other professional activities (workshops, seminars, consultations)
Membership and activities in professional associations
Professional honors, awards and fellowships
Community service

The Application
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Institutional Affiliation Preferences
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The program is intended to support deep, directed, and advanced research/study, not initial explorations of new topics.
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List up to three institutions with which you would like to be affiliated, together with the reasons for these potential affiliations. You are
advised to make contact with one or more of these institutions before submitting your application, and to have a letter of invitation and offer of collaboration in hand when you apply from the scholar or department head with whom you wish to collaborate most closely (especially if you will need to work in a laboratory or with special equipment).

The Application
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Institutional Affiliation Preferences
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The identification of a scholar or groups of scholars at specific institutions with whom you would like to collaborate indicates that you have given considerable thought to the realization of your project. A letter of invitation from these scholars and institutions reflects their interest in your project and their willingness to collaborate with you. As a major goal of the Fulbright
Program is mutual enrichment of all of the participants (grantees and hosts), it is important that you have such evidence of potential collaboration. Your application will be much stronger with such a potential connection to a US institution.

The Application
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Course Syllabi
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While few Ukrainian scholars are invited to teach entire courses, several scholars in the past few years have received such invitations.
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If you are asked to teach a course, provide up to
10 pages of sample syllabi you will teach or have taught.
You may also choose to provide a list of individual lectures in your field of specialization and about your research that you could share with students, faculty, and other scholars. This will allow your host institution to consider the option of having you deliver one or more lectures during your stay.

The Detailed Project Statement
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The project statement is the most important component of the Fulbright application. Those scholars with the most compelling, theoretically-sound, well-written, and feasible proposal are generally recommended for awards.

The Detailed Project Statement

The project statement is the most important component of the Fulbright application. Those scholars with the most compelling, theoretically-sound, well-written, feasible proposal are generally recommended for awards.

Explain your proposed project, and the strategy for completing it, in a statement of three to five singlespaced pages (maximum 3,500 words).
Do not exceed the page limit (5) of the proposal.

The Detailed Project Statement

The project statement is the most important component of the Fulbright application. Those scholars with the most compelling, theoretically-sound, well-written, feasible proposal are generally recommended for awards.

Explain your proposed project, and the strategy for completing it, in a statement of three to five singlespaced pages (maximum 3,500 words).
Do not exceed the page limit (5) of the proposal.
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Attach a select bibliography of no more than three pages (2,100 words), to your proposed research.

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The Detailed Project Statement
Content
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The project statement should introduce you professionally to your colleagues in the U.S.

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The Detailed Project Statement
Content
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The project statement should introduce you professionally to your colleagues in the U.S.
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Make sure your qualifications and expertise match the objectives in your project statement. Show that you are qualified to accomplish what you propose to do.

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The Detailed Project Statement
Content
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The project statement should introduce you professionally to your colleagues in the U.S.
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Make sure your qualifications and expertise match the objectives in your project statement. Show that you are qualified to accomplish what you propose to do.
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Emphasize how your project will benefit the host institution or other scholars in your country and in the U.S. What is the likely impact of your experience abroad? To whom? How will you use this experience upon your return, professionally and personally?

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The Detailed Project Statement
Content
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The project statement should introduce you professionally to your colleagues in the U.S.
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Make sure your qualifications and expertise match the objectives in your project statement. Show that you are qualified to accomplish what you propose to do.
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Emphasize how your project will benefit the host institution or other scholars in your country and in the U.S. What is the likely impact of your experience abroad? To whom? How will you use this experience upon your return, professionally and personally?
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Focus on what can be reasonably accomplished during the period of the grant.

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The Detailed Project Statement
Content
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Explain the project’s significance and its importance to the field . Use language that will be understood by
ALL reviewers, as some will be outside your field.

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The Detailed Project Statement
Content
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Explain the project’s significance and its importance to the field . Use language that will be understood by
ALL reviewers, as some will be outside your field.
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Connect your past experience to what you are proposing to do if you receive the award. Make a clear case for yourself based on your past experience and current scholarly endeavors.

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The Detailed Project Statement
Content
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Explain the project’s significance and its importance to the field . Use language that will be understood by
ALL reviewers, not just specialists, as some members of the review and selection committee will be outside your field.
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Connect your past experience to what you are proposing to do if you receive the award. Make a clear case for yourself based on your past experience and current scholarly endeavors.
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Do not stress how a Fulbright grant will benefit only you or your career. Remember the program’s primary goal is to foster mutual understanding between cultures and nations.

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The Detailed Project Statement
Content
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Discuss any preparatory steps you have taken or will take before starting your grant. For example, if you plan to bring to the U.S. samples such as tissue, plants, chemicals, etc., indicate that you have addressed this with the Fulbright Office or with the
U.S. Embassy and with your prospective host, if known, in order to determine what clearance and approval processes are needed.

The Detailed Project Statement
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Content
Organize your proposal in order of the following points, and use them as headings for sections of text in your statement.
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Background – Introduce the research topic. Place the project in academic or professional context by referring to major works by others on the subject
(with proper citations).

The Detailed Project Statement

Content
Organize your proposal in order of the following points, and use them as headings for sections of text in your statement.
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Background – Introduce the research topic. Place the project in academic or professional context by referring to major works by others on the subject
(with proper citations).
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Objectives – Clearly define the aims of the project.

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The Detailed Project Statement
Content
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Methodology – Describe the project and explain the approach, methods, and plan you will use (for example, interviews, library or archival research, or laboratory experiments). Indicate whether the research will be qualitative or quantitative (or both).
Be prepared to answer detailed questions about your research plan and the methodology you propose to use in the U.S to accomplish your goals.

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The Detailed Project Statement
Content
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Methodology – Describe the project and explain the approach, methods, and plan you will use (for example, interviews, library or archival research, or laboratory experiments). Indicate whether the research will be qualitative or quantitative (or both).
Be prepared to answer detailed questions about your research plan and the methods you propose to use in the U.S to accomplish your goals.
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Significance - Explain the importance of the project for the field, Ukraine, and your own professional development. Indicate what effect you expect the opportunity to have on your teaching or professional work in Ukraine. Describe briefly the expected impact of your participation on your home institution, community, or professional field.

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The Detailed Project Statement
Content
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Evaluation and Dissemination – Describe plans for assessment and distribution of research results in
Ukraine and elsewhere.

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The Detailed Project Statement
Content
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Evaluation and Dissemination – Describe plans for assessment and distribution of research results in
Ukraine and elsewhere.
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Justification for Residence in the U.S. for the
Proposed Project - Indicate very specifically why it is necessary for the accomplishment of the project to conduct research in the U.S. Do you need to access specific archives? To laboratory equipment? To a group of scholars?

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The Detailed Project Statement
Content
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Evaluation and Dissemination – Describe plans for assessment and distribution of research results in
Ukraine and elsewhere.

Justification for Residence in the U.S. for the
Proposed Project - Indicate very specifically why it is necessary for the accomplishment of the project to conduct research in the U.S. Do you need to access specific archives? To laboratory equipment? To a group of scholars?
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Duration - Explain how the project can be completed within the time period proposed. It might be useful to break down the tasks in terms of weeks or months (not specific dates, but duration).

The Detailed Project Statement
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Content
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English Proficiency - Describe your schooling in
English, use of English and level of competence in speaking, writing, and reading.

The Detailed Project Statement

Content
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English Proficiency - Describe your schooling in
English, use of English and level of competence in speaking, writing, and reading.
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Other - If applicable, indicate the quantity, format, and transportation requirements for any botanical, zoological, or mineral samples that you will need to bring to the U.S. for analysis.

The Detailed Project Statement
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Express what you can bring to the program clearly and succinctly:
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Why should I apply for a Fulbright award to come to the U.S.?
If selected, what will I do and how will I do it?
What preparations have I made?
What can I contribute to the Fulbright Program?
What will be the results of my participation?

The Detailed Project Statement
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Style
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Express what you can bring to the program clearly and succinctly:
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Why should I apply for a Fulbright award to come to the U.S.?
If selected, what will I do and how will I do it?
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
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What preparations have I made?
What can I contribute to the Fulbright Program?
What will be the results of my participation?
Include only the most pertinent information; do not exceed the five page limit. On the other hand, do not be so brief that your intentions are not understandable.

The Detailed Project Statement
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Style
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Grab the reader’s attention quickly and state clearly what you want to do, why it is important, and how you will do it.

The Detailed Project Statement

Style
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Grab the reader’s attention quickly and state clearly what you want to do, why it is important, and how you will do it.
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Emphasize key points in the first paragraph of the proposal. It is not helpful if reviewers have to search through the project statement to find the main points quickly. Remember, they often read many applications.

The Detailed Project Statement

Style

Grab the reader’s attention quickly and state clearly what you want to do, why it is important, and how you will do it.

Emphasize key points in the first paragraph of the proposal. It is not helpful if reviewers have to search through the project statement to find the main points quickly. Remember, they often read many applications.
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Use the rest of your proposal to support your statements made in the opening paragraphs.

The Detailed Project Statement
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Style
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Keep your proposal simple and straightforward so that an educated reader from another discipline can understand it.
.

The Detailed Project Statement

Style
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Keep your proposal simple and straightforward so that an educated reader from another discipline can understand it.
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Pay attention to style in your proposal. You may want to use the first person, but you should avoid flooding your proposal with “I’s” or referring to yourself in the third person (she/he).

GOOD LUCK !
If you have questions about the application, the on-line procedure for completing and submitting the application, university affiliations, or on any other issues, please contact
Fulbright Scholar Program Officer
Natalia Zalutska
(044)-287-0777 nzalutska@fulbright.com.ua

телефон: (044) 280-0777; факс: (044) 230-2060 office@fulbright.com.ua