Completing the Embark/IIE Online Application

LogoInstructions for the 'Foreign Fulbright Program' Application

If you are applying for a Fulbright-British Friends of Harvard Business School MBA Award follow the instructions on this page and not the instructions below. The following instructions pertain to the 2013-14 awards cycle only (for awards tenable in academic year 2013-14). The 2013-14 awards cycle opens on 1 Aug 2012 and closes on 15 Nov 2012. Applications started before or submitted after these dates will not be considered.

Please read all instructions carefully and follow the step-by-step application guidelines below.

The process has six steps:

  1. Review eligibility criteria and award conditions 
  2. Register online
  3. Complete the online application
  4. Review, print and submit online application
  5. Supplemental forms needed to complete your application
  6. Posting your application to the Fulbright Commission

Application Deadline
The application deadline for awards for enrolment during the 2013-14 academic year is 5:00 pm, Thursday, 15 November 2012.

Important note: all application materials including letters of reference/recommendation must be received by the application deadline.

STEP 1: Review eligibility criteria and award conditions

Review the selection criteria, minimum eligibility and Terms and Conditions relating to the category for which you intend to apply before making an application. When you begin your application, the system will ask you to confirm that you are eligible for this award.

STEP 2: Register online

Applications are completed online but must be printed and signed, along with several supplemental forms, and posted to the Fulbright Commission (arrival must be on or before 5pm on 15 November). When you click the Apply Now button, you will be redirected to the Embark/IIE online application site where you will need to register as a new user.

Your email address will be your user ID. It is very important that you keep your user ID and password in a safe place. The Commission cannot retrieve lost user IDs or passwords. It is also advisable for you to bookmark the URL for the Embark/IIE online application site for future reference to avoid having to come back through the Fulbright website. You will be able to log in and out of your application account and will not be required to complete the application in one sitting.

The online application is facilitated by IIE and is used by Fulbright Commissions worldwide.  Each Commission sets its own policies, procedures and country-specific instructions for using the online application system. 

STEP 3: Complete the online application

General Information

Step-by-step Application Guidelines

It is very important that the following questions are answered correctly:

Preliminary Question Page

1.  Through which program country are you applying?

Ensure that you selected the United Kingdom. Selecting another country in this field will send your completed application to the Fulbright Commission in that country and not to the US-UK Fulbright Commission. If we do not receive your online application we cannot review or consider your application for the Award.

2. To which program are you applying?

Please select the Fulbright Foreign Student Program option.

3.  Have you checked with your Fulbright Program Office?

You should select ‘yes’ so long as you are sure you meet the eligibility criteria and closely follow these instructions for completing the application form. Unless you have specific, unanswered questions, there is no need to ring or email the Fulbright Commission.

4 . Academic level

Make sure that you have identified the correct academic level: graduate study.

Select “save and continue”.

You will be directed to the Home page. Please do not follow the IIE instructions. The online application is facilitated by IIE and is used by all Fulbright Commissions worldwide.  Each Commission sets its own policies, procedures and country-specific instructions for using the online application system.  When making an application for a US-UK Fulbright Award it is imperative you follow these instructions only.

Select option 2. Application Form from the Home Page

Application Form page 1 of 12

1. Name

Write your name exactly as it appears (or will appear) in your passport. Please use upper and lower case when entering your name, e.g. Tania Smith. Also, do not use diacritical markings (accent marks) as this can cause computer-related problems.

11. Which Application Cycle Are You Applying To?

Please select 2013-2014. Selecting the wrong application cycle will invalidate your application and it will not be considered.

Degree Objective

Select your choice from the drop down menu. Do not select 'Bachelor's.

12. Field of Study

From the subject choices available, select the category that is most appropriate. You can briefly elaborate on the exact nature of your objective in the text box that follows.

Application Form page 2 of 12

14. Education

Please list all post-A level institutions attended in reverse order (putting the most recently attended first). Please list all post-A level institutions attended even those from which you did not achieve a degree. Do not include education up to and including A-levels.

If a scholarship or sponsor funded your degree, please indicate so by writing the words ‘funded by’ followed by the name of the source of funding, in brackets, after the name of the institution, e.g. Nottingham University (funded by LEA).

Questions 15-20

If  you cannot include information for these fields please enter N/A. Do not leave them blank.

Application Form page 3 of 12

21. Current Position or Occupation

Please select from the drop down menu the position title which best describes the activity in which you are currently (or were most recently) involved. There is an option for Student if you are still in Higher Education.

24. Examination Results

Please note results from standardised tests are not required for completion of your Fulbright application. If you have not obtained any results you can leave this section blank.

If you have already taken a GRE or GMAT you may include these scores in this section and submit a copy of your results (computer print-outs will suffice) to the Commission along with your other application materials. It is not compulsory at this stage.

25. Travel

Please fill this out to the best of your ability. Please do not include personal travel that did not exceed 30 days.

26. Emergency Contact

Please include a UK based emergency contact. You may leave the section for a US based emergency contact blank.

Application Form page 4 of 12

27. Study/Research Objective

The study/research objective description that you provide is an essential and highly important part of your application. You should take great care to write a clear and very detailed description of the programme you want to pursue. Clearly identify the area(s) within your field of study in which you want to specialise or concentrate. If there is specific research that you want to accomplish, please describe it here.

Please follow the formatting instructions clearly. We suggest that you compose and edit your essays in word processing software and then upload your document with the Apply Online system.

Application Form page 5 of 12

28. Personal Statement

The personal statement is a narrative statement in which you can include information about your education, your gap year (if you took one), practical experience, special interests, career plans, and your purpose in applying for study in the US. Please remember that in granting these awards, the US-UK Fulbright Commission is looking not only for academic excellence, but also evidence of leadership and initiative, a wide range of interests, a curiosity about the host country and culture and a clear intention to contribute to the betterment of the United Kingdom upon returning home. Please review our guidance on writing personal statements.

Advice for uploading Study Objective and Personal Statement
You will create essays on pages 4 and 5. On these pages, text entered that exceeds the space provided will not display or print. Therefore, you must limit your essays to 50 lines of text or less. If your specialisation has particular jargon, please ensure that your main area of interest is explained in lay terms.

You have several ways in which you can create your essays:

  1. You can compose your essay on-line. Please note there is a 40-minute ‘time out’ function. In other words, you will need to either complete your essay in 40 minutes or periodically save your essay. You will not be able to customise the formatting of your essay.
  2. You can copy and paste text from another document and edit online. Again, please be aware that the online application has a 40-minute “time-out” function. You will not be able to customise the formatting once you paste the text in the online form.
  3. You can upload text from another document. This is the only option where you will be able to customise your document formatting, e.g. bold, underline, headers, double spacing, etc. While you cannot edit an uploaded document on-line, you can delete your upload, make your corrections in your document off-line, and upload again.

Important note: Pages 4 (study objective) and 5 (personal statement) contain a header that displays on the PDF/print view. Therefore, if you choose to upload text from another document, you must leave a 4 cm (1.5 inches) margin at the top of every page of your essays to allow space for the header that will appear on the print version of your application. You should preview all of your essays to make sure the formatting is correct before submitting your application by clicking the preview button in upper right-hand corner of the screen. When you preview an essay, you must use the “Back” browser button to return to your essay. Be forewarned, however, that closing out of the HTML preview (i.e. clicking the X in the upper right-hand or left-hand corner) will exit you from your application.

Application Form page 6 of 12

29. Resume/Curriculum Vitae

Please upload your most recent CV or Resume into this section. Please try to keep your CV to a reasonable length and only include information that is relevant to your Fulbright application.

Application Form page 7 of 12

30. Transcript

You must submit a copy of your academic transcript or letter confirming your university grades/results so far. We require you to include most recent university grades with your application. If you do not have an academic transcript, results/grades achieved so far should be printed on headed paper and stamped/signed by your home institution.

You should have your academic transcript sent directly to you. You should then include your transcript with your main application, paper clipped to the back of your application

Application Form page 8 of 12

31. Personal Information – Email

The information provided on this form will be used by the US-UK Fulbright Commission and Fulbright administrative agencies for internal purposes only.

Please ensure that you include a current email address that you check regularly. Do not enter a university or work email. The email address must be valid throughout the entire Fulbright application process and if successful throughout your time in the US. We will be contacting all shortlisted applicants to interview by email so we must have an active account by which to contact you by.

32. National Identification Number

This is not a required field. You may leave this field blank.

36. Other Scholarships

Indicate if you are planning to apply for a fellowship, scholarship, assistantship or other educational grant or loan from another organization, government or educational institution. This information will not prejudice your application.

37. References

Please complete this section fully and ensure that you have the correct email address for each of your 3 referees. You will be required to register each of your referees again in Step 5 of the application form. Please review our guidance on selecting and briefing your referees. 

38. Proposed Length of Stay in the U.S.

You should include not only your Fulbright year but also any additional years that you would be in the USA to complete your programme of study; e.g. the majority of US Masters programmes are 2 years.

39. Approximate Arrival Date

This should be the proposed start date of your period of study or research in the USA. For the majority of applicants undertaking a Masters degree in this USA this would be August or September 2012.

Application Form page 9 of 12

Personal Financial Information

42. Funds Available For Your First Year of Study in the United States

This information will not prejudice your application. Since the Fulbright grant that may be awarded to you might only cover a portion of your expenses, you may need to provide funds of your own, or from other sources, in order to complete your study or research objective. Please complete this form to the best of your ability based on information that you have at the time of application. If you should have a major change in your financial resources while your grant is pending, you should immediately inform the US-UK Fulbright Commission. Please be as honest as possible- again, this will not prejudice your application in any way.

Please also note that the online application is facilitated by IIE and is used by Fulbright Commissions worldwide.

42(c) Other Funds

Please only include grants and scholarships that you have actually applied for. Any future grant applications can be added to your application at a later stage.

43. Funds Available After Your First Year Of Study In The United States

You only need to complete this form if you will be staying in the USA to complete your programme of study or research for more than one year.

For all other applicants this information is required as any US visa application is conditional on you having the funds available to support yourself.

45. Dependants

Please only list dependants who will require financial assistance from you during your stay in the US.

Application Form page 10 of 12

46. University Preferences

The online application is facilitated by IIE and is used by Fulbright Commissions worldwide. The US-UK Fulbright Commission does not take part in the IIE Placement Process. All Fulbright Postgraduate applicants are required to apply to US universities on their own behalf, therefore you do not need to complete Question 46 or 47. Please skip ahead to Question 48.

48. Instititutions to which you have applied.

Applicants are encouraged to conduct a thorough university search beyond those institutions that are simply well known. Please review our guidance on choosing a degree programme to ensure you have a well-rounded list of institutions. 

You must indicate the US universities which you have or will apply to. If you have/will apply to more than three institutions please list the other universities in the space provided under Question 47 - Other Institutions which you may be Interested in.

If offered an award, the Fulbright scholarship will only be tenable at universities listed on the online application and agreed upon at the time of interview. Scholarships are only tenable for admission offers made for the 2013-14 academic year.

Important note: inclusion of instititutions to which you have applied is mandatory.

If you have any letters of admission, letters of invitation, and deferral requests at a US university, please include this information here and upload any offer letters into the Supplemental Forms section in Step 4.

Application Form page 11 of 12

Writing Sample

Please note this is an optional section, it is not required at this stage in the application process.

Click continue to supplemental forms

STEP 4: Supplemental Forms

 

Please disregard all supplemental forms on this page; we do not require you to complete any of these documents. Proceed to the Recommendations page.

STEP 5: Recommendations Page

When you register and enter details for your 3 recommenders, they will each be sent instructions via email for how to submit their online recommendation for you. However, the email they receive will not indicate the deadline for submitting recommendation letters. You must inform your recommenders that they must submit their recommendations by 5:00 pm, 31 May 2011.

The US-UK Fulbright Commission will only accept recommendation letters via the online system, and will only accept recommendations submitted on time, without exception.

You will be sent an email notification when each of your three recommenders submits their recommendation. You may also log in to your Embark/IIE account and monitor the status of your recommendations by clicking the 'Recommendations' button on the left-hand side of the page.

Important note: submitting details of your referees here is mandatory.

Please review our guidance on selecting and briefing your referees.

STEP 6: Submit Application

 

You must submit your application online and then print off a copy and include a signed Signature Form, completed Commission Form and copy of your passport and include it with the copy of your application that you post to the Commission.

Confirmation of Documentation

Before posting your application form and supplemental documents please confirm that you have included all of the necessary documents. Failure to include all the essential documents will invalidate your application and your application will not be considered by the selection committee under any circumstances. We will not accept partial or late applications.

You must post the following to the US-UK Fulbright Commission to be received by 5pm on 31 May 2011:

1.    Application Form

2.    Signature Form

3.    Completed COMMISSION FORM

4.    Copy of Passport

5.    Original transcripts and copies of Diplomas (optional)


Please post completed applications (with all supporting documents) to:

Fulbright Awards Programme
Application for: INSERT NAME OF AWARD CATEGORY
Applicant: INSERT YOUR NAME
The US-UK Fulbright Commission
Battersea Power Station
London, SW8 5BN

Applications must be received in full by 31 May 2011 by 5pm (UK Time)

Note: Applications that are incomplete or arrive by email or fax will not be considered by the selection committee. We will not accept applications that arrive after the deadline. Please ensure that you attach sufficient postage when sending forms/letters to the US-UK Fulbright Commission in London. We will not accept excess charges for items of mail which have been underpaid -- they will be returned unopened.

If you would like confirmation that your application has been received by the Fulbright Commission, you must send your application via Recorded Delivery. Commission staff will not confirm receipt of applications by email or phone.

Additional Information

Interviews

Within approximately 1 months of the application deadline, you will be notified if you have been longlisted. If you are longlisted, your application is passed to the selection committee. The selection committee then decides which candidates to shortlist and interview. If the selection committee invites you to interview you will be notified by the US-UK Fulbright Commission by email.

Interviews are provisionally set for:

Award category applying to: Interview date range:

Fulbright-Science and Technology Award

Tuesday, 21 June 2011
Fulbright All Discipline Postgraduate and Alistair Cooke Awards 11-26 August

Make note of the interview date and ensure that you are available. Unfortunately, if you are unable to attend the interview date that you are invited to, you will not be considered for an award in this year.  All interviews will be conducted in person; the Commission will not allow telephone interviews for this category.

The selection committees comprise people drawn from the following list: representatives from a relevant professional field, senior academics, senior US Embassy representatives, Fulbright alumni and senior Fulbright Commission staff.

Important note: The US-UK Fulbright Commission is unable to comment on individual applications or the reason for their refusal.