As individual countries continue to finalize their 2011 Fulbright grants, 11 Georgetown students this year have received awards so far, with the university awaiting word on an additional 13.

Six of this year’s recipients are graduating seniors. In 2010, Georgetown received 16 Fulbright grants, with 14 scholarships being awarded in 2009 and 18 in 2008.

Fulbright scholarships are awarded as part of the Fulbright Program, which allows students and researchers in the United States to receive grants to study and teach abroad for an academic year, while allowing foreign students the chance to study in the United States.

This year’s recipients will be studying and researching in countries across five continents, including Brazil, Cameroon, India, South Korea, and Austria.

Maryam N. Mohamed, associate director of the university’s Office of Fellowships, Awards and Research, wrote that Georgetown students have historically been particularly competitive for grants due to research with faculty members, teaching work in the district, and students’ high rate of study abroad.

“This means they have knowledge of culture [in-country], that they’ve begun learning language [...] and often that they’ve begun putting affiliations in place in country that can assist them with their Fulbright proposal,” Mohamed wrote in an email.

Fulbright decisions are rendered by individual countries, making it difficult to predict the success of applications. Since countries contact grant winners at different times, it is unknown when the University will receive word on the remaining 13 applications.

“Generally most awards come in April, and then a few trickle into May and even June depending on the situation in country,” wrote Mohamed.

Reporting: John Flanagan

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