The Fulbright Program placed Creighton on the list of colleges and universities producing the most Fulbright Scholars for 2011-12. Creighton is one of only 29 Master’s Institutions to make the list.

The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between U.S. citizens and the people of other countries.

The Fulbright Program began in 1946 under legislation from former Arkansas Sen. J. William Fulbright. The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs sponsors and administers the program in cooperation with 150 other countries and several U.S. agencies.

The goal of the Fulbright Program is to provide graduates with the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research, exchange ideas and contribute to finding solutions to shared international concerns.

The Fulbright Program has provided almost 310,00 participants with grants to study and conduct research abroad, in conjunction with other countries. Fulbright awards approximately 8,000 grants to applicants annually and about five students from Creighton apply each year.

According to Amy Wendling, Creighton Fulbright Program Coordinator and assistant professor of philosophy, the application process of applying for a Fulbright Grant is both extremely involved and rewarding. It takes about a year to complete a good application, and students wishing to participate in the program immediately after they graduate should begin the application with the start of their senior year.

“The application is complex, with several essays,” Wendling said. “The process begins with an interview on campus with a committee of five faculty members. This committee then submits a report on the interviews to the national organization in October. The national committee then makes two rounds of cuts before submitting the remaining applications to review committees from their desired countries.”

In general, the majority of Creighton students advance to the final round of cuts.

“Our students are very, very competitive when applying to receive these Fulbright grants, despite their Midwest modesty,” Wendling said. “The process of writing the grant application is illuminating for the student; it allows them to flex the depths and range of what they learned at Creighton. Almost all of our applicants make it to the final cut on the international level.”

There is really no limit to what students can study when they participate in the Fulbright Program; projects range from the humanities to the sciences alike, sometimes depending on the host country.

“A lot of counties participate; some want projects in a specific field, some don’t,” Wendling said. “It varies by country. Mainly, it’s a question of fit. All kinds of people do all kinds of work.”

Currently, Creighton has two graduates participating in the Fulbright Program this semester: Anya Burkart, a physics and German double major from Monument, Colo., and Jessica Gaulter, a biology and Spanish double major from Urbandale, Iowa.

Burkart is studying high level physics and working in Leipzig, Germany this fall, where she will participate in an Optical Stretcher Lab. Gaulter is conducting research in the Galapagos Islands on the role of the epidermal-growth-factor receptor in hair cycling and skin inflammation.

“Creighton’s Fulbright participants make significant contributions to their areas of study and their projects produce long-lasting effects,” Wendling said. “Furthermore, they gain experience in competitive, high level international venues that open a window to the entire international world.”