4 reasons that Bates is again a Fulbright ‘Top Producer’ in 2016

Matthew Summers '15, a senior economics major from Short Hills, N.J., was awarded a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship for South Africa. (josh Kuckens/Bates College)

Matthew Summers ’15 was among the 20 Bates recipients of 2015-16 Fulbright U.S. Student awards. (Josh Kuckens/Bates College)

Bates College has again received “Top Producer” honors from the U.S. Fulbright Program.

In fact, Bates ranks third in the country in the number of Fulbright U.S. Student awards earned in 2015-16, according to lists published by the Chronicle of Higher Education. Pitzer and Smith are one-two, respectively.

2015-16-Fulbright_Top Student-ProducerThe Top Producer honor reflects the Bates Fulbright cohort that was selected and profiled in spring 2015.

Bates has earned Top Producer honors five straight years and seven out of the last eight.

While Bates’ robust study-abroad program is a major reason for student success in the Fulbright program, there are less-obvious reasons that the Bates experience is prime preparation for winning post-graduate fellowships.

Robert Strong, director of national fellowships for Bates, explains in these video clips.


Bates Fulbright success: community-based learning in Lewiston

Bates students gain valuable cross-cultural experience by doing community-engaged learning in the city of Lewiston, experiences that support their Fulbright candidacy.


Bates Fulbright success: putting leaders into the world

The Bates-Fulbright tradition recognizes that earning a Fulbright experience adds value to the world and also adds to each young leader’s skills and abilities.


Bates Fulbright success: teaching experience broadly defined

Bates students often have the requisite experience for a Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship, though they might not know it yet.


Bates Fulbright success: experiences that test and reward

Students who do service and community-based work are gaining more than “gold star” experiences. They’re having opportunities for success, failure, and self-improvement.


“It is incredibly gratifying to see so many of our students going abroad to make an impact as teachers, as scholars, and as ambassadors of Bates,” says Matthew Auer, dean of the faculty and vice president for academic affairs.

Supporting an academic year of research or teaching in more than 155 countries outside the U.S., the Fulbright U.S. Student Program, funded primarily by the U.S. Department of State, sends some 1,500 U.S. citizens abroad annually.