Carleton named top producer of Fulbright U.S. students for 20th consecutive year

Carleton is proud to be recognized once more as a top producer of Fulbright U.S. Students among higher education institutions. Each year, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs announces the top-producing institutions for the Fulbright Program, the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program. Carleton has had a place on this list for 20 years now, and almost 200 Carls have participated in the program since its inception.

Seven Carls received Fulbright awards for 2024, with five coming from the Class of 2024 and one each coming from the Classes of 2022 and 2023. This amount of Fulbright awardees places Carleton among the top fifteen institutions in the Baccalaureate Colleges classification for the 2024–25 academic year.

“It is a tremendous honor to receive this recognition every year, though it is especially significant this year as it marks two decades for Carleton in this top spot,” President Alison Byerly said. “The fact that so many of our students and alumni continue to receive these prestigious awards is a testament to their skills, dedication, and international curiosity, as well as to the breadth and depth of a Carleton liberal arts education.”

The Fulbright Program is among the largest and most diverse exchange programs in the world, and offers upcoming college graduates and recent alumni the opportunity to participate in advanced research, international graduate study, and teaching at primary and secondary schools in more than 160 countries worldwide. Approximately 2,000 students are awarded Fulbrights each year.

While in their host countries, Fulbright students spend a year living and learning “on a one-to-one basis in an atmosphere of openness, academic integrity and intellectual freedom, thereby promoting mutual understanding.” The factors considered in selecting Fulbright grantees include the quality and feasibility of their proposal, academic record, personal qualifications, language preparation, and an eagerness to promote mutual understanding among nations through active engagement with a host community.

“Carleton’s liberal arts education — which encourages students to make connections across a range of fields, engage with the world through curricular and co-curricular activities, and reflect on their position and role as global citizens — makes the Fulbright Program both an especially appealing opportunity for Carls and one to which they are well-suited,” Director of Student Fellowships Marynel Ryan Van Zee said. “Our consistent appearance in the top-producers list recognizes the valuable skills and perspectives our students offer to the world.”

The Fulbright Program is administered at Carleton through the Office of Student Fellowships.

About the Fulbright Program

The Fulbright Program was established over 75 years ago to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. The primary source of funding for the Fulbright Program is an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, with additional support coming from foreign partner governments, non-governmental organizations, private organizations, corporate partnerships, individual donors, and host institutions.

Since its inception in 1946, over 400,000 people from all backgrounds — recent university graduates, teachers, scientists and researchers, artists, and more — have participated in the Fulbright Program and returned to their home countries with an expanded worldview, a deep appreciation for their host country and its people, and a new network of colleagues and friends.

Fulbright alumni work to make a positive impact on their communities, sectors, and the world, and have included 44 heads of state or government, 62 Nobel Laureates, 90 Pulitzer Prize winners, 82 MacArthur Fellows, and countless leaders and changemakers who build mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.

Erica Helgerud ’20 is the news and social media manager for Carleton College.