Pictured above, top row from left to right: Mercy Campbell CC’23, Gabriel Chan CC’23, Sylvie Epstein CC’23, Carolyn Friedman CC’23, Courtney Eileen Fulcher CC’21, Maki Ishibashi CC’23

Middle row, left to right: Alexander Liebeskind SEAS’22, Regan Mies CC’22, Viviana Prado-Núñez CC’20, Andrew Ramirez CC’23, Charles Smith CC’22, Nkima Stephenson CC’21

Bottom row, left to right: Paul Ward CC’23, Emile Warot CC’21, Serena White CC’23, Sam Yelnosky CC’23, Haley Zehrung CC’22, GSAS’23

Not pictured: Benjamin Arenstein GS’18 and Samuel Magaziner CC’16

Columbia University has again been named a top-producing institution for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, landing in the top 10 with 28 awardees in 2023–24. Columbia is one of several institutions that has been on the top-producing list for the last decade.

Columbia’s awardees in the last year include 17 Columbia College alumni, one Columbia Engineering alum and one General Studies alum. Each received Fulbright U.S. Student Program grants to pursue independent research, postgraduate studies or English teaching assistantships in locations such as South Korea, Uzbekistan and Colombia. The Fulbrighters will pursue professional and academic objectives in fields ranging from educational reform to computational neuroscience.

Paul Ward CC’23, a Fulbright-Nehru English teaching assistant in India, works with students in Chennai.

“We are thrilled that Columbia has been named a top-producing Fulbright institution, and we know why: Our students are future changemakers and thought leaders who embrace the global cooperation that the Fulbright fosters,” says Ariella Lang, associate dean of academic affairs and director of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships.

Established in 1946, the Fulbright U.S. Student Program awards approximately 2,200 grants annually for individually designed study/research projects or for English teaching assistant programs. The Fulbright program is one of several U.S. cultural exchange programs for which the goal is to improve mutual understanding, cultural diplomacy and intercultural competence between the United States and other countries through the exchange of persons, knowledge and skills. It is the most widely recognized and prestigious international exchange program in the world.

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program operates in more than 160 countries and facilitates cultural exchange through direct interaction on an individual basis in the classroom, field and home, and daily life. Fulbright alumni include 41 heads of state or government, 62 Nobel Laureates, 89 Pulitzer Prize winners, 78 MacArthur Fellows, and countless leaders and changemakers who carry forward the Fulbright mission.

Columbia College students interested in applying for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program can participate in Columbia’s Fulbright Week, Monday, March 25–Friday, March 29, 2024, and should also connect with the Undergraduate Research & Fellowships Office.