Brown ranked 17th among top research institutions for 2011-12 Fulbright award recipients, falling 14 places from last year. Brown ranked third in 2009 and 2010, according to lists released by the Chronicle of Higher Education. The Chronicle released the list for the most recent cycle Oct. 23.
Fourteen out of 76 applicants — 18 percent — received Fulbrights in the 2011-12 award cycle. During the 2010-11 cycle, 24 out of 96 applicants received awards, and during the 2009-10 cycle, 29 received awards out of 109 applicants.
"It's certainly something that has caught our attention," said Linda Dunleavy, associate dean of the College for fellowships and pre-law. "We are certainly concerned, and we want to make sure that Brown does as well as possible in these competitions."
But the numbers published in the Chronicle account for both graduate and undergraduate applicants and do not accurately reflect undergraduate performance alone, Dunleavy added.
The 14 award recipients reported in the Chronicle's list were all undergraduates, she said.
Still, Dunleavy acknowledged the decrease in the number of awards and applications, attributing it to a "number of possible factors," including cuts to the Fulbright program.
Dunleavy also noted Brown's continued success in the number of Fulbrights students receive compared to its peers.
"We're in good company," she said. Brown is tied with Princeton, Cornell and Penn this year.
"We've been doing extremely well, and this past year we didn't do quite so well, but we'll be back on top," she added.
Dunleavy said the University sent 81 applications to the Fulbright program for the 2012-13 cycle.
"Ranking is all relative," said Andrea Dillon '11.5, an international relations concentrator who applied in the fall for a Fulbright to study in Chile. "I'm sure that the ranking is affected by how many applicants Brown has in a given year and how many applicants other schools have in a given year," she said.
Students also said they feel the support the University provides has remained consistent.
"It was certainly helpful for me," said Sam Koplewicz '11, who is currently studying on a Fulbright in Croatia. He said the University supports applicants by revising project proposals and personal statements with advisers and other applicants. "It's a helpful way to look at your application," he said.
Applying for a Fulbright remains highly competitive regardless of the University's standing.
"It seems that more and more people are starting to be interested in it," Koplewicz said.
"Now that I've turned (my application) in to the national competition, I'm aware that it's extremely competitive," Dillon said, adding that she hopes to research the political ramifications of Palestinian migration in Chile. "I have no expectation of winning one. It would be a really lovely surprise if it worked out."
But Dunleavy said she is optimistic about the upcoming Fulbright cycle.
"We're hopeful that this coming applicant pool will return Brown to its previous standing as a really top producer of Fulbrights," she said. "We're very confident that this year's pool will do very well."
