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W&L a Top Producer of Fulbright U.S. Students for Seventh Straight Year Washington and Lee was ranked sixth among the baccalaureate institutions recognized by the Fulbright Program.

By Emily Innes
February 25, 2025

500x500-Fulbright-TPI-Student-24-25-350x350 W&L a Top Producer of Fulbright U.S. Students for Seventh Straight Year

Washington and Lee University is proud to be included on the list of U.S. colleges and universities that produced the most 2024-2025 Fulbright U.S. Students for the seventh consecutive year. Each year, the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs announces the top producing institutions for the Fulbright Program, the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program.

Washington and Lee was ranked sixth among the baccalaureate institutions recognized by the Fulbright Program.

The Fulbright Program is among the largest and most diverse exchange programs in the world. Since 1946, the program has provided more than 400,000 talented and accomplished students, scholars, teachers, artists and professionals of all backgrounds with the opportunity to study, teach and conduct research abroad. Fulbrighters exchange ideas, build connections and work to address complex global challenges.

Eleven students from W&L were selected for Fulbright awards for the 2024-2025 academic year, and 8 accepted the grant. Together, they represent a range of backgrounds, academic interests and professional goals, and embarked on their Fulbright programs to expand their worldview and foster their service-minded ambitions.

The Fulbright competition is administered at W&L by Matthew Loar, director of fellowships and student research, and Dallas Tatman, assistant director of fellowships, with the support of the university’s Fellowships Committee.

“Being named a top-producing Fulbright institution doesn’t happen by accident,” Tatman said. “This designation recognizes the important and sustained contributions from the entire W&L community supporting our undergraduate and alumni applicants. Our community effort uniquely prepares and positions W&L applicants to be teachers, graduate students and researchers best suited for the Fulbright experience. When top-notch students work alongside dedicated faculty and staff, great things happen.”

Fulbright is a program of the U.S. Department of State, with funding provided by the U.S. government. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations and foundations around the world also provide direct and indirect support to the program. The program was established more than 75 years ago to increase mutual understanding between the people of the U.S. and the people of other countries.

Fulbright alumni work to make a positive impact on their communities, sectors and the world and have included 41 heads of state or government, 62 Nobel Laureates, 89 Pulitzer Prize winners, 80 MacArthur Fellows and countless leaders and changemakers who build mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.

For more information about the Fulbright Program, visit https://fulbrightprogram.org/. W&L students interested in applying for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program should contact Matthew Loar in the Houston H. Harte Center for Teaching and Learning (Leyburn 114) or by email at mloar@wlu.edu.

Where are they now?

As a top-producing institution, W&L has demonstrated a commitment to global connection and to ensuring its alumni become engaged citizens and thoughtful leaders.

Maria Kisker ’21 received a Fulbright Master of Arts Degree Award to study at National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan. The two-year program combines Kisker’s interests in business, economics and foreign policy, and she plans to use her degree to help global businesses navigate the geopolitical environment.

Students who received an English Teaching Assistantship (ETA) have a unique opportunity to forge meaningful connections by serving as cultural ambassadors for the U.S. and engaging in their host community beyond their teaching responsibilities.

Anna Bosking ’24 received an ETA to Colombia and appreciates the opportunities she was afforded at W&L, which prepared her for her ETA and shaped her ability to connect with and guide students from diverse cultures and backgrounds.

Benton Copeland ’24 was awarded an ETA to Taiwan and is grateful for the opportunity to challenge his communications skills and understanding of the world and to make a tangible impact on the community he serves.

For Michelle Morgan ’24, being awarded an ETA to North Macedonia satisfies her lifelong passions for exploration, connection and service. “It will broaden my horizons of knowledge and understanding and help me experience the rest of my life through a tremendously expanded lens,” she said.