The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright-Hays Program, is a program of competitive, merit-based grants for international educational exchange for students, scholars, teachers, professionals, scientists and artists, founded by United States Senator J. William Fulbright in 1946. Under the Fulbright Program, competitively selected U.S. citizens may become eligible for scholarships to study, conduct research, or exercise their talents abroad and citizens of other countries may qualify to do the same in the United States. The first participating university in the United States was George Washington University in Washington, D.C.

The Fulbright Program is one of the most prestigious awards programs worldwide, operating in over 155 countries. Forty-three Fulbright alumni have won Nobel Prizes (including two in 2010, Peter A. Diamond and Ei-ichi Negishi) and seventy-eight have won Pulitzer Prizes. More Nobel laureates are former Fulbright recipients than any other award program.^{[citation needed]}