Director of the Fulbright Student Program Outreach Tony Claudino spoke with eight students who attended an event on Wednesday about scholarships available for those interested in studying abroad.

Founded by United States Sen. J. William Fulbright in 1946, the program provides a greater understanding between citizens of the United States and other countries, Claudino said. The program both sends U.S. students abroad and brings foreigners into the U.S.

Claudino said those interested in the program don’t necessarily have to be enrolled as a student to participate.

The grant pays for all travel expenses, health and dental coverage, and provides participants with a monthly stipend.

Claudino said there will likely be 1,500 to 1,600 grants awarded this year. Over 5,000 applications were sent in for the grants.

During this academic year, there were 418 applications for only 25 grants to go to the United Kingdom.

Claudino said to increase one’s chance of obtaining a grant, the individual should demonstrate in his or her two-page application essay that he or she has some knowledge about the country of interest and a passion to pursue a particular area of study.

He said one particular student who went to Morocco did his study on hip-hop music and diplomacy.

The great thing about the Fulbright program is that you can decide what research or study you wish to do, he said.

Students interested in obtaining more information about the program can visit the Office of Global Education’s website at www.csus.edu/oge.

Michael Spitler can be reached at [email protected]