Fulbright State and territory Scholarships

Fulbright State and Territory Scholarships were established to provide a local focus and recognition of the opportunity and benefit of Fulbright at a state level. The Fulbright State Scholarships, as with all Fulbright Scholarships are awarded on merit, however a key criterion is also the potential benefit of the research on an issue or topic relevant to that state.

The aim of Fulbright State Scholarships are to increase awareness and thus numbers of applications from the state; encourage and profile research relevant to that state; and assist build international research links between the state and U.S. researchers and institutions.

The Fulbright State Scholarships are an investment in the future of that state. They aim to complement the national scholarships and increase the number of Fulbright scholarships available for Australians.

Fulbright State Scholarships offer the opportunity for outstanding young researchers to broaden their professional, educational and cultural horizons, and then return to share the experience with their local community.

To be eligible for a Fulbright State Scholarship an applicant must be:

• a permanent resident of that state at the time of application, with a commitment to return to the state following their Fulbright;

• be associated with an institution, organisation or community in that state that will benefit from the proposed Fulbright program.

Applicants must clearly outline the potential benefit of their proposed program of study / research on a topic or issue relevant to this organisation and their state.

State Scholars are thus selected not just on their academic and professional merit, but also the relevance and importance of their research to the state and the individual’s commitment to make a contribution to the state on their return.

The first Fulbright State Scholarship was granted in 2007 when the Tasmanian Government and the University of Tasmania co-sponsored the Fulbright Tasmania Scholarship. Queensland and Western Australia followed with inaugural scholarships in 2008, Victoria in 2009, and inaugural South Australia and New South Wales in 2010. The Northern Territory Scholarship was launched in 2010 with the first scholarship presented in 2011.

The State and Territory Scholarships are:

• New South Wales Scholarship is supported by the NSW Government and NSW universities
• Northern Territory Scholarship is supported by the NT Government, Charles Darwin University and corporate sponsor, Blackboard.
• Queensland Scholarship established by the QLD government and all QLD based universities
• South Australia Scholarship is supported by the South Australian Government and South Australian based universities.
• Tasmania Scholarship sponsored by the Tasmanian Government and the University of Tasmania
• Victoria Scholarship established by the Victorian government and Victorian based universities
• Western Australia Scholarship established by the WA government, WA based universities, companies and individual donors