NYU is one of the top 10 Fulbright Program scholar-producing institutions in the country, according to a recent statement from the U.S. State Department. The university ranked No. 7 due to the number of scholars it produced in the program this year — the seventh consecutive year that it has placed in the top 10.

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program is an international academic exchange program that provides grants to students and professors which allow them to study and teach abroad. Out of 113 applications submitted by students and faculty, 25 of the former were chosen by the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, a 12-member committee appointed by the U.S. president. 

Around 2,000 students and 800 scholars from the United States are sent to any one of the country’s 160 partner nations in the Fulbright program each year. Across all participating countries, the highly competitive program grants around 8,000 Fulbright scholarships annually. 

Kurt Davies, the director of NYU’s Office of Global Awards, said the university’s placement in the ranking helps to boost its prestige. Davies added that since the 25 students selected were chosen from six NYU schools, as well as from the Abu Dhabi and Shanghai campuses, it bolsters the school’s image as a global university. 

Julianna Björkstén, an NYU graduate student and current Fulbright English teaching assistant in Florence, noted that NYU’s culture and study abroad opportunities are valuable for aspiring Fulbright scholars. 

“NYU prepared me for my Fulbright experience in part because of its diverse student body and location within New York City,” Björkstén said. “The experience was incredibly gratifying, and exposed me to a different side of Florentine culture than I would have seen just as an exchange student.”

Jeffrey Stanley, an adjunct professor at the Tisch School of the Arts and a Fulbright scholar, said that being a top scholar-producing institution increases the university’s status.

“International travel is very important and not everyone has that privilege, and Fulbright is one way that can happen for a student who might not otherwise have that opportunity,” Stanley said. 

Contact Graylin Lucas at [email protected].