Project Statement Examples

The Project Statement is the central element of a Fulbright application and is required for all activities: teaching, research, teaching/research, and professional projects. Here, in only five pages, applicants bring together their backgrounds, particular interests, teaching and research philosophies, relevant experience, adaptability, planned activities and anticipated outcomes in a coherent, well-written statement addressed to reviewers in the U.S. and abroad. Statements must address the following questions: what you propose to do, how you propose to do it, why this project is important, and what the potential benefits are of the project and this experience.

Below, we provide you with some excerpts of successful applications to show you how some of these questions have been addressed. These are examples provided solely for the purpose of guiding applicants; copying any part of these samples is not permitted. 

There is no template for a “successful” Project Statement. The statement should be clearly presented, concisely written, and uniquely yours, reflecting the project you are proposing. Regarding formatting, you may use paragraphs, paragraph headers, lists (including numbered and bulleted lists), timelines, graphs, tables, and other graphics as appropriate to address the guidance outlined below. 

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Program Guidance for Project Statement

The project statement is your opportunity to explain your proposed project and specific strengths as an applicant to reviewers and potential hosts․ It must be clear and compelling to audiences both inside and outside your discipline․ It should be well-organized and developed, and realistic in scope.

View our Project Statement Guidance Video.

Format: 3-5 pages, single-spaced, 12-point font, 1-inch margins

The Project Statement should include, but is not limited to, discussion of the following points:

  • What you propose to do
    • Teaching: describe what courses you propose to teach, do you plan on other teaching activities (e.g. seminars, curriculum/program development, public lectures, etc.
    • Research: describe objectives and nature of research (qualitative vs. quantitative), the academic and professional context of the project, your relevant experience
  • How you propose to do it
    • Teaching: What have you taught, how do you teach, your involvement in curriculum planning, thesis advising, or administrative responsibilities?
    • Research: How do you expect to use the experience upon your return? (Such as institutional collaboration, student and faculty exchange) How feasible is your project in terms of resources and amount of time allocated? What research facilities and resources are found in the host country? How could local political/cultural issues impact your work?
    • Be sure to discuss how you are uniquely qualified to conduct the project.
  • Why the project is important
    • Teaching: What you hope to contribute and gain from the experience.
    • Research: Why does it need to be done? What significance does it hold for your discipline, your development, the host country’s benefit? How do you expect to use the experience upon your return? (Such as institutional collaboration, student and faculty exchange)
  • What benefits the project will produce for your host, your discipline, you, and your home institution (employer)
    • Teaching: What impact do you expect on your teaching and professional work? How do you expect to use the experience upon your return? (Such as institutional collaboration, student and faculty exchange)
    • Research: How will results be disseminated (publications, conferences, presentations, joint collaborations, exhibitions, etc.)
  • Additional considerations:
    • Teaching/Research: Address teaching/research ratio as indicated in the award description; if the award description does not specify the ratio, speak to the teaching/research components equally using the above guidelines.
    • Flex and Multi-Country: indicate clear plans and justification for each Flex segment/country visit and clearly indicate a project timeline.
Examples: What You Propose To Do

While the examples below incorporate lists, this format is not required. These applicants outlined their objectives clearly and went on to explain their plans further in their statement.

The project’s research questions – as described by the Department - are: 

  1. How can a consumption tax on food based on the climate impact of different types of foods be designed to be effective, taking into account current (and future realistic) data availability of the climate impact of different food products?
  2. What effects as regards 1) distributional effects for consumers, 2) the nutrient intake in different income groups 2) profitability of Swedish farmers and 3) other environmental objectives would such a tax entail?
  3. How can the income from such a consumption tax be recycled in order to mitigate potential negative effects? How would these recycling suggestions affect farmers and the environment?
  4. What is the cost of such a tax in relation to other measures aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions in Sweden?

Brooten: Promoting “people-centred” and socially responsible media the six-month period of research proposed here would make possible the completion of a book manuscript of more than ten years of research on the efforts of local media reform and development organizations in Myanmar, Thailand and the Philippines as they have struggled to diversify and democratize the media landscape.

Objectives 

  1. update my knowledge of the concerns and goals of NGOs and advocacy organizations working on media reform, including the development of national, regional, and international reform networks 
  2. identify the national media issues facing media workers and journalists in both the professional, commercial media sector and community/alternative media sectors 
  3. specify and explore how the tensions between media workers and journalists in the professional, commercial sector and the community/alternative media sector affect their efforts to work together toward media reform and development 
  4. develop a working conceptual framework drawing from critiques of the “systems” approach (Hallin & Mancini, 2011) to better understand the opportunities and constraints facing regional efforts at media reform, and how they have shifted and changed over time.    
Examples: How You Propose To Do It

The proposed methodology includes the following overlapping phases. 

These examples demonstrate different ways of conveying clearly described plans. 

  • Introductory and scoping activities will be conducted to meet with personnel, become familiar with resources and networks at the AIR Centre, and to orient the research. I will provide an introductory lecture/seminar(s) regarding the proposed research and solicit feedback to sharpen its focus, identify interested collaborators, and prioritize areas of concern, which ideally include urban and rural areas in North and South America, Europe, and Africa, consistent with the focus of the AIR Centre. (Weeks 1-3).
  • I will evaluate and assemble databases to support the proposed work. This may include meteorological, aerosol and pollutant data (using surface and satellite data, as well as land-use, fire hazard, demographic, and health surveillance data. Some of the data sets are expected to be utilized in follow-up work completed after the Fulbright visit. (Weeks 2-5)
  • For 3 or 4 areas and significant past wildland fire events, I will conduct analyses to quantitatively determine the contributions of wildland fires (and other sources) to PM2.5 levels affecting the areas. Techniques utilized to provide these apportionments may include, for example, quantitative transport bias analyses (sQTBA) receptor modeling in conjunction with airmass back-trajectories, meteorological analysis techniques, and satellite remote sensing. 10, 11 This will quantify the contribution of wildland fires to PM2.5 and aerosols at the selected locations, potentially improve estimates of fire-related emissions, and initiate the development of techniques feasible for use at regional and continental scales. (Weeks 4-12) 
  • For several of the study areas, initiate health impact analyses following established methods 14, 43, 44 to estimate excess morbidity and mortality associated with historical fires, and potentially with future events. The latter will require the use of realistic scenarios, which may be available in some cases; the development of such scenarios is beyond the scope of work achievable in a 3-month visit but can be a follow-up recommendation. (Weeks 10-14). 
  • Study results will be disseminated at several points during and beyond the research, e.g., using presentations at the AIRS Center and at participating or allied institutions (governmental and academic), authoring scholarly publications, and potentially developing policies and action plans or guidance for local authorities. I will develop a memorandum that summarizes my work and suggest future directions for the AIR Centre. (Weeks 4-15). 

I would use my time in Scotland to initiate a new research project using a similar methodology. First, I would work with my local hosts to identify a local nature reserve and public park that would warrant exhaustive exploration … I would work with members of the Sound Emporium Research Group to identify specific locations within these parks where regular audio recording should occur, then develop goals for how often we should visit these locations for sampling. The resulting materials would be assembled into a fully-searchable digital repository that helps document the local soundscape. Both the capture and organization of these audio field recordings could involve members of the academic program. The resulting materials would be assembled into a fully-searchable digital repository that helps document the local soundscape. Both the capture and organization of these audio field recordings could involve members of the academic program. The sound recordings could then be used by anyone for scientific study of environmental changes on the local soundscape or artistic projects that respond these unique locations)

Examples: Why the Project is Important

Brooten: This research is in many ways more vital now, as all three countries have become increasingly militarized, and their media systems far more complex given the meteoric rise in social media and its unexpected negative consequences. Regional reform efforts vary from modifying existing commercial systems to developing more community-focused media outlets to provide for a wider diversity of voices.  Media reformers are facing the fallout from these trends, including shifting public attitudes towards journalism, verbal and physical attacks on journalists, increased use of libel and outdated laws to silence dissent, an increase in misinformation and harassment on social media that is further polarizing their societies, and increasing concerns over digital rights and security.  This research will provide an invaluable time-line of the work of democratic media institutions in a period of rapid and contested political change in these countries and the region, and an overview of the impact of these local organizations and their developing networks. This is especially important as aid agencies are struggling to know how to best support independent media in the current geopolitical climate. The research will also elucidate tensions between the commercial, state and community media sectors in these countries, how these tensions constrain efforts at media reform, and what might be done to support indigenous efforts to develop better media. 

Most coral reefs are found in developing nations where anthropogenic and socioeconomic pressures are strongest and government protections are weakest. These conditions can coalesce to threaten the livelihoods of disenfranchised populations that rely on reefs for economic and nutritional subsistence. The recent influx of capital for infrastructure development pouring into Colombia following the recent peace agreement epitomizes this unfortunate combination of circumstances. Rapid development is likely to have major impacts on Colombia’s marine ecosystems, but the speed at which regulatory decisions are being made leaves little time for appropriate environmental impact studies or for directly affected groups to participate in planning and decision-making.

Examples: What Benefits the Project Will Produce

I teach media studies, including the impact of global trends such as media ownership consolidation and conglomeration, privatization and technical convergence, with a focus on their impact on local cultures worldwide.  The Mekong Studies Centre at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok has invited me to conduct this project in collaboration with them as my host institution in Thailand. I have received a similar invitation from the College of Mass Communication at the University of the Philippines Diliman, which will further our ongoing relationship, including my role as an international editorial board member of the College’s journal, Plaridel. In Myanmar, I have been invited to collaborate with the recently-established Yangon-based Inya Institute, a member of the CAORC working to advance the social sciences, arts and humanities in and related to Myanmar. I have recently been invited by the Council of American Overseas Research Centers (CAORC) to lead a group of 10-12 community college teachers to Myanmar in June 2020. 

The successful execution of this project will benefit: 1. My host institution, by developing an environmental policy model for assessing the costs and benefits of taxing meat under imperfect competition; 2.My discipline in terms of customizing environmental policy modelling to account for the idiosyncrasies of the livestock sector; 3. My institution, the University of Nebraska, by development in-house expertise on the subject of meat taxes - particularly given the State of Nebraska is a leading producer of cattle in the U.S. - as well as by developing stronger relationships between the University of Nebraska and the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences; and 4. Me, academically, by providing me with fresh know-how and interdisciplinary experience I can use to develop a new graduate course in environmental policy and market structure to contribute to research on the subject; and by creating a pathway for further collaboration with Swedish colleagues beyond the duration of the Fulbright engagement.