Villanova University Named a Top Producer of Fulbright U.S. Students

VILLANOVA, Pa.—Villanova University is listed as a top producer of 2020-2021 Fulbright U.S. Students as recently announced by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA). The Fulbright Program is the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program. Top-producing U.S. colleges and universities are highlighted annually in The Chronicle of Higher Education. Villanova had 17 students and alumni win Fulbright awards for the 2020-2021 academic year. For the full list of Top Fulbright Producers, click here.

“I am delighted to see Villanovans continuing our rich history of representation with the Fulbright program,” said University President the Rev. Peter M. Donohue, OSA, PhD. “I would like to congratulate this year’s recipients on this impressive achievement, and I look forward to seeing the impact of these students and alumni throughout the world. I would like to thank all those in the Villanova community involved in helping prepare this year’s Fulbright recipients.”

The Fulbright competition is administered at Villanova through the Center for Research and Fellowships (CRF). In the current Fulbright cycle, 62 of Villanova’s 113 applicants were named Semi-Finalists for the award and will be notified over the next three months if they are selected to go abroad during the 2021-2022 academic year. The number of 62 Semi-Finalists breaks the previous University record of 55, set in 2019.

The Fulbright Program was created to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. Fulbright is the world’s largest and most diverse international educational exchange program. More than 2,000 U.S. Students and over 900 U.S. college and university faculty and administrators are awarded Fulbright grants annually. In addition, some 4,000 Fulbright Foreign Students and Visiting Scholars come to the United States annually to study, lecture, conduct research or teach their native language.

Since its inception in 1946, the Fulbright Program has given over 400,000 passionate and accomplished students, scholars, teachers, artists, and professionals of all backgrounds and fields the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas, and contribute to finding solutions to important international problems. The global network of Fulbrighters fosters mutual understanding between the United States and partner nations, advances knowledge across communities, and improves lives around the globe.

Fulbright is active in more than 150 countries worldwide and partners with participating governments, host institutions, corporations, and foundations in foreign countries and in the United States. Many of these organizations also provide direct and indirect support. The primary source of funding for the Fulbright Program is an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.  This year marks the 75th Anniversary of the Fulbright Program. Visit the Fulbright Program website to learn more.    

About Villanova University: Since 1842, Villanova University’s Augustinian Catholic intellectual tradition has been the cornerstone of an academic community in which students learn to think critically, act compassionately and succeed while serving others. There are more than 10,000 undergraduate, graduate and law students in the University's six colleges—the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Villanova School of Business, the College of Engineering, the M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing, the College of Professional Studies and the Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law. Ranked among the nation’s top universities, Villanova supports its students’ intellectual growth and prepares them to become ethical leaders who create positive change everywhere life takes them. For more, visit www.villanova.edu.