The Director's Corner

April 14, 2026

Guest Director's Corner with Dr. Benjamin Fagan

Happy April to everyone in the Honors College! With the semester nearly over, I’m now approaching the end of my first academic year as Assistant Director for National Prestigious Scholarships. We’ve made a number of important strides this year, including educating our campus community about the many opportunities available, helping students produce over 50 applications, and celebrating successes like a Rhodes Scholarship finalist and a Goldwater Scholarship winner.

While classes may be coming to a close, April is an ideal time for our students to start thinking about NPS opportunities they may want to pursue this fall. One of the largest and most prestigious programs that students may want to consider is the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. The Fulbright program is the world’s largest and oldest academic exchange program, supporting thousands of students from the U.S. as they spend a year abroad in one of over 140 countries around the world. Undergraduate and graduate students in their final year of study at Auburn can apply for a Fulbright in order to pursue a graduate degree abroad, conduct an independent research project, or serve as an English teaching assistant. Some Fulbright awards require knowledge of a foreign language, but many awards have no such requirement.

Recent Auburn Fulbright awardees have served as English teaching assistants in Peru, Spain, Germany and Madagascar, and you can see the full list of Fulbright winners on our NPS recipients webpage. The Fulbright offers opportunities to students from any discipline and prioritizes skills such as cultural adaptability and a commitment to engaging with your community at home and abroad. It’s an ideal program for those who have had the opportunity to study abroad and want to build on that experience, but also for those who have not yet been able to travel outside of the country and are eager to explore.

The Fulbright deadline comes early in the fall, so the time to think about applying is now. The Office of National Prestigious Scholarships is happy to help students navigate the many awards on offer and craft their applications. Please reach out to me if you are interested in learning more.

Benjamin Fagan, Ph.D

Assistant Director for National Prestigious Scholarships

Associate Professor of English