CSB is a top producing school for Fulbright awards for third consecutive year

The College of Saint Benedict has been named one of the top producers of 2016-17 Fulbright U.S. students for the third consecutive year by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

CSB is tied for 25th among bachelor’s institutions with four women who won Fulbright awards for 2016-17. They are:

• Jillian Andresen ’15 received a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant (ETA) award to Malaysia;
• Gretchen Hughes ’14 received a Fulbright ETA award to Taiwan;
• Melissa Vang ’16 received a Fulbright ETA award to Thailand;
• Mai Tong Yang ’16 received a Fulbright ETA award to South Korea.

Smith College, a women’s college in Northampton, Massachusetts, led the list, with 17 awardees. St. Olaf College was tied for sixth (11 student awards) and Carleton College was tied for 10th (nine student awards). No other Minnesota colleges cracked the top 25.

This is the highest CSB has been rated in three years. In 2014-15, CSB was ranked No. 29, and was No. 34 in 2015-16. Coincidentally, CSB produced four grantees each year.

The Fulbright Program is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program.  Top-producing institutions are highlighted annually in The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Since its inception in 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided more than 370,000 participants—chosen for their academic merit and leadership potential — with the opportunity to exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns. Over 1,900 U.S. students, artists and young professionals in more than 100 different fields of study are offered Fulbright Program grants to study, teach English and conduct research annually. The Fulbright U.S. Student Program operates in over 140 countries throughout the world. 

The Fulbright Program also awards grants to U.S. scholars, teachers and faculty to conduct research and teach overseas. In addition, some 4,000 new international Fulbright students and scholars come to the United States annually to study for graduate degrees, conduct research and teach foreign languages.

If you are interested in applying for a Fulbright award for the 2018-19 academic year, please contact Phil Kronebusch, professor of political science and coordinator of competitive scholarships at CSB and SJU.