US awards 19 IU students Fulbright scholar grants

Upon receiving a Fulbright-Hays grant, one of the most prestigious awards in the world, Angela Martin will now be able to pursue a career in anthropology after completing a year of dissertation research in Zambia. \nShe will live in a tent in a remote village studying the migration and cooperative behavior of co-wives as it pertains to agricultural development. After her field work is finished, she will return to IU to analyze her data and write her dissertation.\nThe prestigious award was given to 19 graduate students at IU. They were awarded this year with either the Institute of International Education Fulbright grant or the Fulbright-Hays grant. \nThe J. William Fulbright Program was established to provide grants to students at the graduate, masters and doctoral level. The award was established in 1946 and has awarded about 255,000 grants, according to the U.S. State Department's Web site. \nSix more IU students received grants compared to last year. \nRose Vondrasek, Office of International Programs program associate and student Fulbright program adviser, said the pool of applicants changes every year. IU doesn't always know how many grants it will receive. \nMartin, one of eight IU students who was awarded the Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Grant, said she was ecstatic upon hearing she received the grant. She said her research would have been delayed for a year had she not received it. \n"It was the best news I could have hoped for," Martin said. "Receiving the Fulbright-Hays has allowed me to pursue a career in anthropology and experience things most people never have a chance to." \nThe Fulbright-Hays grant is given to support dissertation research in modern foreign languages and area studies in non-Western European countries. About 400 students apply nationwide and about 140 to 150 grants are given each year with amounts up to $60,000. \nGrants at IU ranged from $17,000 to $43,000, according to a press release. \nMelissa Schnyder, who studies political science, has been granted the Institute of International Education Fulbright Grant. Her award money can go to teach in certain fields or to further their studies and conduct research to obtain professional training toward their degrees. \nSchnyder will be in Brussels, Belgium, interviewing civil servants who work at the European Union, along with representatives, migrants and refugees. \nAbout 4,500 people apply nationwide and 1,100 are given the grants. Vondrasek said the number of Bloomington recipients proves IU's academic excellence.\n"I think that IU has had an excellent reputation in research and has for decades," Vondrasek said. \n"They continue to have a high number of recipients, which reflects the high quality of the student body, faculty and academic programs," she added.