Program Funding

The primary source of funding for the Fulbright Program is an annual appropriation by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA). Participating governments and host institutions, corporations and foundations in foreign countries and in the United States also provide direct and indirect support.

The Congressional appropriation for the Fulbright Program in fiscal year 2011 was $237.6 million. Foreign governments, through binational commissions or foundations abroad, contributed approximately $89.2 million directly to the Program in fiscal year 2010.

More funding data for the Fulbright Program are available in the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board (FSB) Annual Reports.

Program Administration

ECA administers the Program under policy guidelines established by the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board (FSB) with the assistance of binational commissions and foundations in 50 countries, U.S. embassies in more than 100 other countries and cooperating agencies in the United States.

ECA is responsible for the U.S. government's overseas educational, cultural and informational programs.

The FSB, composed of 12 educational and public leaders appointed by the President of the United States, formulates policies for the administration of the Program, establishes criteria for the selection of candidates and selects candidates nominated for awards.

Binational commissions and foundations develop priorities for the program, including the numbers and categories of grants. In a country without a commission or foundation, the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassydevelops and supervises the Fulbright Program. Currently, 50 commissions are active, most of which are funded jointly by the United States and the respective government. Each commission or foundation has a board, composed of Americans and citizens of the participating nation.

Fulbright programs are administered with the assistance of cooperating agencies. U.S. citizens interested in the Fulbright Program should contact the cooperating agency that administers the grant program in which they are interested. Foreign citizens interested in the Fulbright Program should contact the Fulbright commission in their home country or, where no commission exists, the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy. Contact information by country is available in Participating Countries.