Updated 2/14/2023

Since its inception in 2013, the Fulbright-National Geographic Storytelling Fellowship (or "Nat Geo") has gone through various program changes as well as a hiatus. Your primary source of information should be the Nat Geo page on the Fulbright website. What follows is a summary of additional relevant information or best guesses based on what the Office of Merit Awards has been able to glean.

In its current form the Nat Geo is an add-on award, meaning that every Nat Geo applicant is simultaneously a Study/Research grant applicant. The parameters described below reflect changes introduced in 2023.

Imagine that you would like a Nat Geo award and that you hope to pursue your project in Paraguay. You would prepare a Study/Research grant for Paraguay comprising all of the normal application elements. Your application will be read first by a National Screening Committee. If that committee likes your application, it will be forwarded (in this example) to Paraguay for further review.

For the purposes of your Fulbright-National Geographic Award you must pursue your originally proposed research project--you may not change your focus. This means that if you are thinking about applying for the National Geographic award, you must write your Fulbright Study/Research grant application in a way that will accommodate your National Geographic aspirations. (This is a departure from previous practices.)

Assuming that you have become a semi-finalist (i.e. made it past the first cut in January), you would have to prepare the additional application materials to be considered for the National Geographic award.

Round 1 applications are due March 1. These are the Round 1 application components:

Focus area - currently: Oceans, Land, Wildlife, Human History, or Human Ingenuity

Project Approach - Conservation, Education, Research, Storytelling, Technology

Short Essays - 1,500 characters each

Summarize the distinct project components you hope to conduct as part of this award. Explain why it matters, and why it is timely, urgent, and relevant. Basically, describe why we should pursue this idea.

What is the estimated amount of funding you will be requesting (up to $20,000 USD)? How will this funding, and the National Geographic Society resources, allow you to expand the reach of your proposed Fulbright project?

Please share any additional information that helps the Society understand how your project reflects the Society’s commitment to the advancement of diversity, equity, and inclusion within your discipline or more broadly. Please also feel welcome to share information about your own background that helps the Society understand your approach to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Essay - 4,000 characters - What do you hope to achieve? What are your expected outcomes from the project? How is the project going to illuminate and protect the wonder of the world?

Resume - 1-page resume of relevant work

Supplemental Materials - Storytellers or Researchers adding science communication components must upload working link to a website with a portfolio or work samples as files.

Returning to our example, in the case of Paraguay, the overseas selection process is handled by the U.S. Embassy (though in many countries it would be handled by an independent commission). A review committee in Paraguay will decide whether or not to offer you a Study/Research grant.

Fulbright finalists are announced on a country-by-country basis, normally no later than April 15. Selection as a Fulbright finalist is a prerequisite for consideration for a Nat Geo award.

Following finalist notifications, a shortlisted group of finalists will be invited to submit a second round application for the Fulbright-National Geographic award.

Round two applications are due in "mid May." These are the Round 2 application components:

Leader and Team Member Info

Team Members - 2,000 characters - Details on your local collaborators

Your Qualifications - 1,500 characters - Explain why you are the right person to carry out this work

Career Goals - 4,000 characters - How does this grant fit into your five-year plan?

Project Details

Background - 4,000 characters - What is unique about your project and how is it different from previous work on this topic?

SMART Objectives - 4,000 characters - List of the objective(s) with a short description of how each will be measured.

Methods - 4,000 characters - Timeline and description of the activities, methods, tools and/or storytelling coverage plan you will implement

Communication/Engagement - 4,000 characters - Describe your stakeholders, how they are involved in the project, and whether you have existing media or dissemination plans with any of them

Results/Impact - 4,000 characters - Expected results of this project

Since many aspects of applying for the National Geographic award have changed this year, we don't have a good sense of how this final round of judging will take place. Based on past practices we assume that National Geographic editors will be involved, and we wonder if shortlisted applicants will be interviewed.

If the National Geographic committee says yes, congratulations!--you are finally a Nat Geo winner. If that committee says no, to the best of our understanding, you would still be able to carry out the Study/Research grant for which you were already named a finalist. Selection decisions for Round 2 will be sent in June.

What all of this means for your statistical chances is really hard to say. You can no longer say "this is how many applicants there are for the Nat Geo" because the only applicants who matter have made it past the second cut in the selection process. And because some countries are statistically relatively easier and others relatively harder based on the number of applicants and the number of grants, it's probably effectively easier to be considered for a National Geographic award if you apply to countries with more favorable Study/Research statistics. We have no way of knowing how many applicants make it to each phase of the selection process for the Nat Geo.

We certainly encourage applicants for the National Geographic fellowship, but the first mountain to climb is developing a solid research grant proposal. We see a lot of students with stars in their eyes and dreams of a National Geographic byline, but those alone will not get you through the complicated selection process.

The profile of successful applicants

You can find short biographies of each of the winners by following this link, scrolling down until you see their names, and then clicking on a name. Each of them is in his or her way very impressive. They have won awards for their films, had their work exhibited in galleries, established organizations, and so on. They tend not to be straight out of college, and they have a lot of relevant experience. It takes a lot to stand out in this competition.

There may be a preference for older applicants. This is an opportunity for applicants who already have solid skills and credentials. This is not an opportunity for people learning to take photos, etc.

Where to find information

A quirk of this program is that IIE, the State Department, and National Geographic have all posted relevant info online. Your primary source of information should be IIE--they administer this program and all the other Fulbright programs, so they know best. These, to the best of our knowledge, are the most relevant webpages to review:

http://us.fulbrightonline.org/fulbright-nat-geo-fellowship -- IIE's general overview of the Fulbright-Nat Geo.
http://us.fulbrightonline.org/applicants/application-components/fulbright-national-geographic -- Practical information about preparing your application.
http://eca.state.gov/fulbright/fulbright-programs/program-summaries/fulbright-national-geographic-storytelling -- ECA's description of the program with FAQ.
Because of recent changes to the program, we no longer recommend the videos about the program archived on vimeo or profellow. However, the following recorded webinar, which was intended for Fulbright semifinalists in February 2023, includes relevant information about the award and process that would lie ahead.

Pointers

All applicants for the National Geographic award must propose something that relates to focus areas set by National Geographic annually. These are currently Oceans, Land, Wildlife, Human History, or Human Ingenuity--but subject to revision. As you are preparing your Study/Research grant application, pick a research topic that you can fit within those themes so that your proposal is suited to conversion later.
A theme of what program administrators say about this program is that it is important to have a good story to tell. Find characters--people through whom the story will be told. Have a good plan for telling your stories (and have the background to do it).
A common mistake is proposing a topic rather than a story. "Penguins" is a topic. "How does urbanization affect penguin habitat in South Africa" is a story.
National Geographic judges are sticklers for grammar. You can't win if you can't write.
Check the National Geographic archives to see if they have already told the story you're trying to tell. They want to tell stories that have not yet been told.

The application process at AU

We hold Nat Geo applicants to the our usual timeline for Study/Research grant applicants. We will support the applicants who make it to Round 1 or Round 2 in whatever ways are necessary.