University Times

Pitt ranked 8th among U.S. public research universities in terms of the number of  Fulbright U.S. student program grant winners it had this year.

It was 15th among all U.S. universities, public and private, outperforming its 2011 record when it placed 17th among all U.S. universities.

The ranking was announced this month by The Chronicle of Higher Education.

Of Pitt’s 54 applicants who applied for student Fulbright grants during the 2011-12 school year, 15 won Fulbrights, the most in Pitt’s history of competing for the award. With its 15 awards, Pitt was tied with Stanford and UCLA. The other research institutions in the top 15 spots were Michigan, Northwestern, Yale, Stanford, Chicago, Columbia and Harvard.

The Fulbright U.S. student program provides grants for individually designed study/research projects or English teaching assistantships abroad. The awards are granted to recent bachelor’s degree recipients, graduate students and young professionals based on their academic or professional achievements, as well as demonstrated leadership in their potential fields.

The grants are given by the U.S. Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.