US-UK Fulbright Commission receives significant uplift in investment from the Department for Education, endorsing the value of 75 years of transatlantic education exchange. 

Today the Department for Education has announced a commitment to fully fund an additional 5 UK postgraduate awards for study at leading universities in the US over the next three years. In addition, the Commission’s pioneering Global Challenges Teaching Award programme will be supported through funding the design and teaching of virtual exchanges between classrooms in the US and UK that address key issues affecting our planet including climate change, racial injustice and the threat of future pandemics. The investment represents a recognition of the manifold benefits academic exchange leverages and is symbolic of the special relationship between our two nations.   

The Department for Education’s pledge to fully fund each of the five new postgraduate awards is meaningful in that it recognizes the Commission’s dedication to widening participation and ensuring that Fulbright opportunities are accessible to all, regardless of background or financial circumstance.  Candidates will be able to access the Commission’s extensive network of American university partners and apply for postgraduate study programmes across all academic disciplines, tapping into unique specialisms and academic communities relevant to their fields of study.   

US-UK Fulbright Commission Executive Director, Maria Balinska said: 

"We are delighted that the work of the Commission has been recognized with a multi-year investment which will support talented students from across the UK to do their postgraduate work in the US. We know from experience that these new awards will have a transformational impact on the individual lives of the grantees while at the same time, deepening understanding between our two countries and promoting collaboration on our shared challenges. As the only US-UK academic exchange programme that operates on both sides of the Atlantic, we are also tremendously excited that the UK government is helping us expand our Global Challenges Teaching Awards, a programme that promotes innovation and excellence in virtual exchange – thereby making global learning accessible to all students and forging new teaching partnerships between the US and UK."

The next competition round will open in spring 2024, and applies to master's courses starting in academic year 2025/26. For information on how to apply, please visit the UK Postgraduates page here.