About the program
The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government
The Fulbright Schuman Program provides opportunities for Europeans and Americans to study or conduct research on the transatlantic relationship by awarding scholarships for projects that have a strong focus on US-EU relations, EU affairs/policy, or the US-EU transatlantic agenda.
The program is administered by the Fulbright Commission in Brussels, and jointly financed by the U.S. Department of State and the Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture (DG.EAC) of the European Commission.
From the inception of the program in 1946…
The Fulbright Program was created in 1946 in the aftermath of World War II through legislation introduced by the late Senator J. William Fulbright of Arkansas, passed by the U.S. Congress, and signed into law by President Harry Truman. Since its inception, over 400,000 Fulbrighters from the United States and 165 countries, supported by the American people and partner governments around the world, have studied, taught, and conducted research in each other’s countries while promoting international understanding and collaboration as participants and alumni. The creation of, and sustained support for, the Fulbright Program reflects a shared global vision for peaceful relations among nations.
Today, the Fulbright Program remains the flagship international academic exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to foster mutual understanding between the United States and other countries.
… To the creation of the Fulbright Schuman Program in 1990
The Fulbright Schuman Program traces its roots back to February 1990 when Dr. William Glade, then Associate Director for Educational and Cultural Affairs at the United States Information Agency, travelled to Belgium to meet with the Fulbright Commission in Brussels and representatives of the European Communities. These discussions marked the first steps toward the creation of a new exchange initiative focused on transatlantic cooperation. Later that year, the initiative was further developed at a symposium on “EC/US Cooperation in Education” held at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. The meeting brought together U.S. and European officials alongside academic experts to shape the emerging framework for collaboration.
It was one year later, during the academic year of 1991-92, when the first pilot exchanges were implemented. Due to its location, the Fulbright Schuman Program was administered by the Fulbright Commission in Brussels, with the support of the U.S. Mission to the European Communities, the Task Force on Human Resources, Education and Youth (now the Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture) and the U.S. FIPSE program. In its first year, the program provided approximately $130,000 in funding, enabling four American participants—two scholars and two graduate students—to study the structure of the European Commission, while two European Commission officials served as Scholars in Residence at U.S. universities.
Our history
Thirty years of transatlantic exchanges
