Wesleyan Named Fulbright Top Producer for Seventh Year

For the seventh consecutive year, Wesleyan University has been recognized for being one of the colleges and universities with the highest number of alumni selected for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. 

The Fulbright Program is the U.S. government’s premier international academic exchange program. Each year, it provides opportunities for exceptional Americans and participants from 160 countries and locations to study, teach, and conduct research abroad, advancing knowledge, science, and industry through international exchange and collaboration. Fulbright alumni are recognized as leaders in government, business, science, technology, research, education, and the arts.  

Fulbright Top Producing Institutions like Wesleyan University value global connection and support members of their campus communities across the United States to pursue international opportunities. 

“The University has long encouraged its students to pursue opportunities that offer them a rich cultural experience and an outlet to research, study, or teach,” said President Michael S. Roth ’78. “The Fulbright Program provides an ideal platform for our young graduates to leverage their curiosity and dedication while improving the broader world.” 

Nine of the 10 students from Wesleyan selected for Fulbright U.S. Student Program awards for the academic year 2025-26 accepted the opportunity. This is the most Fulbright awards from Wesleyan in one cycle since the inception of the Fulbright program in 1946. 

Wesleyan’s liberal arts approach has prepared students for the interdisciplinary and practical skills it takes to be a Fulbright scholar. From Romania to Mexico, these Wesleyan alumni have embarked on a journey to continue their academic studies through international exchange as teaching assistants, scholars-in-residence, and researchers. (More details about them were published in a story last fall):  

• Hansini Bhasker ’25 is conducting research in Tamil Nadu, India on the experiences of disabled South Indian classical Karnatak performers. 
• Zubaida Bello ’22 is continuing her focus on literature in the African Diaspora as she enrolls in the Master of Science program in historical studies at the University of Strathclyde in the U.K. 
• Teva Corwin ’25 has traveled to Mexico to assist English teachers and work on a supplementary project surrounding food security and community.  
• Spencer Klink ’25 is in Germany as a scholar-in-residence at LACMA’s Robert Gore Rifkind Center for German Expressionist Studies. 
• Jack Noble ’25 has returned to Nepal to research how modern, attention-grabbing internet platforms are impacting Tibetan Buddhist monastic communities. 
• Kaori Sakurai ’25 is teaching English to elementary and middle school students in Chiayi City, Taiwan. 
• Sophie Jager ’25 is currently in Spain’s La Rioja region to teach English and study the impact of rural depopulation. 
• Czarina Yuffa ‘25 is teaching English at a university and an afterschool program in Uzbekistan. 

Through Wesleyan’s Office of Fellowships, students are given one-on-one guidance throughout the application process from advisors. They also learn from the vast network of Fulbright-Wesleyan alumni through panel discussions. Erica Kowsz, the associate director for fellowships at the Fries Center for Global Studies, said Wesleyan’s Fulbright committee “has had to grow substantially to accommodate demand. We now have over 20 faculty and staff participating each fall and contribute to Wesleyan’s Fulbright track record." 

In addition to on-campus support, Kowsz highlights the unique characteristics of Wesleyan that make our Fulbright applicants consistently successful. “Without globe-spanning coursework, robust language learning opportunities, and the chances to engage across cultures outside class that already exist at Wesleyan, it would be difficult to produce very many Fulbright winners,” Kowsz said. “For many students, Fulbright is a chance to take their global engagement a step further.” 

The Office of Fellowships is in the process of organizing events for students interested in applying for the Fulbright US Student Program when the new cycle opens in early April for the 2026-27 cycle. Students should fill out the Fulbright Interest Form to be added to the Office of Fellowships mailing list, or email fellowships@wesleyan.edu to express their interest in applying. 

For more information about the Fulbright Program, visit https://fulbrightprogram.org/.