A track record of winning Fulbright Scholarships is a common metric of academic excellence and indicates the best opportunities for undergraduate research
(1). On average, the top 10 doctoral institutions produced 29.9
Fulbright Students in 2019-20 while the top 10 small liberal arts colleges produced 13.7 students. Despite their small size, small liberal arts colleges had an acceptance rate of 39.80% compared to doctoral programs’ 27.49%. Both groups, however, produced scholars at a much higher rate than the national average thus demonstrating their excellence and focus on undergraduate research preparation.
2019-2020 Map of Fulbright Recipients:
Hover the Markers ↑ to see the Institution name.
Along with Fulbright Scholarships, access to funding and historical emphasis on undergraduate research are important metrics in determining the strength of a research institution. For example, Bowdoin College offers between
$800 and 2,000 per student via grants whereas Bates College offers up to
$300 per student per grant. Larger doctoral institutions have much larger budgets, with Harvard boasting
$937 million for research and development in 2019, but this funding must be shared across faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates.
Table 1 (Data)
Table 1
| Institution |
Awards |
Applicants Accepted |
| Doctoral |
| Georgetown U. |
45 |
28% |
| Brown U. |
38 |
31% |
| Princeton U. |
31 |
32% |
| Villanova U. |
30 |
33% |
| Columbia U. |
29 |
22% |
| Harvard U. |
27 |
22% |
| Stanford U. |
27 |
36% |
| U. of Chicago |
27 |
22% |
| Northwestern U. |
23 |
24% |
| U. of Virginia |
22 |
26% |
| Average |
30 |
28% |
| Baccalaureate |
| Bates College |
24 |
33% |
| Bowdoin College |
17 |
39% |
| Middlebury College |
15 |
48% |
| Smith College |
15 |
63% |
| St. Olaf College |
13 |
39% |
| Dickinson College |
12 |
50% |
| Rhodes College |
11 |
48% |
| Williams College |
11 |
23% |
| Carleton College |
10 |
29% |
| Colgate U. |
9 |
26% |
| Average |
14 |
40% |
Top Fullbright-Student Producing Doctoral and Baccalaureate · Institutions (2019-2020):
Source:
The Chronicle of Higher Education (paywall)
(1) The US Fulbright Scholarship is a government-sponsored research program that sends US students and scholars abroad to live, work, and engage with people of their research’s host country. It is a highly competitive program, with most reports estimating an award rate of 20%, and selection indicates an impressive background in research, thus reflecting highly on a students’ college or university.
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