Columbia University has been named a top-producing institution for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program in 2025-2026. As the U.S. government’s flagship international educational exchange program, Fulbright fosters academic and cultural exchange worldwide. Columbia has consistently ranked among the highest-producing universities for over two decades, reflecting its ongoing commitment to global engagement.
For Fulbright’s 2025-2026 selection, 25 undergraduate affiliates—comprising members of the Class of 2025 and recent alumni—were selected as awardees. Of those selected, 21 accepted the award. This group includes projects as wide-ranging as researching philosophy of language in Pune, India to teaching English in Mexico, and completing a Master's degree in Political Science in Paris.
In celebrating the students whose successes are recognized with this achievement, Ariella Lang, associate dean of Academic Affairs and director of Undergraduate Research and Fellowships, notes that, “To be a top Fulbright producer is to acknowledge Columbia students’ commitment to approach the world with curiosity and generosity—expanding the reach of their research and community engagement while building lasting connections around the globe.”
Midway through their Fulbright year, Fulbrighters were eager to share their experience with the Columbia community. This is a sampling of the rich work going on around the globe!
Serrina Zou CC'25 with her students after their victory at a unicycle competition
Moving to Taiwan for the Fulbright grant is the hardest challenge I have ever faced — harder than logical proofs, harder than cobbling together a senior thesis, and even harder than class registration at Columbia —but it is by far the most rewarding. Being in an Asian country, particularly one so rooted in a language I believed I once lost, has pushed me to forge a robust bridge between who I was as a child of displacement and who I have always wanted to be: a globally conscious adult, a loving friend, an ambassador of stories.
It is through the quiet moments, from laughter-laced conversations in Mandarin Chinese over home-cooked dinner with my school directors debating which bakery has the best pineapple cakes, to rallying my students at their unicycle competition, and taking Taiwanese pottery lessons entirely in Chinese with new friends, that have defined this year of blooming and becoming. Taiwan is about people, and it is the people who have shown me what it means to live wholly, to love without limits.
The Walter Benjamin Death Memorial in Portbou
The 2025-2026 Fulbright Greece English Teaching Assistant cohort
I also wanted to share that we started a little reading club among the teaching fellows where we meet every week to discuss a few books of The Odyssey at a time. It’s been exciting and very full-circle to revisit the epic a few years after reading it during freshman year for Literature Humanities. After we finish The Odyssey, we want to continue the club with another text from either ancient or modern Greece and from the ideas that have been thrown around it looks like I might be looking back at some more texts from the Core Curriculum!
Jay Chae, SEAS’24 teaching a high school class in Piastow, Poland
I'm having a great time learning the different ways aerospace engineering is done in Poland, and the different approaches to technology outside the US. In the near future I'll have the chance to see an engine hotfire, so that's the next thing I'm looking forward to. Beyond my research, I had the opportunity to visit a high school in the smaller city of Piastow, and gave a presentation on the US and the work I'm doing. It's interesting to see that in many ways, school is similar no matter where you go.
I think one thing I didn't expect is how much the specific city you live in matters. Warsaw is such a different city compared to other Polish cities in terms of its history and identity, and I think this influences the culture and attitudes of the people that live here. Of course, it can't be overstated how important it is to put yourself out there and meet people around you. Overall, I'm having fun and learning a lot about both myself and the world around me.
Kristopher Jenner, CC'24, Master of Political Science at CY Cergy-Paris University
Kristopher Jenner, CC’24, Master's Degree in Paris, France:
I have most cherished the diversity of perspectives that I've encountered this year. In my Master's—which blends philosophy, politics, and AI—we have students from the Americas, Asia, Africa, Europe, and Australia. My classmates have helped me depart from my familiar line of thinking and discover new approaches to the challenges AI poses to democracies.
Madeleine Cesaretti, CC’25 at the Fulbright Korea 2026 orientation site, Jungwon University (중원대학교).
Madeleine Cesaretti, CC’25, English Teaching Assistant in South Korea:
My time in South Korea, though brief so far [South Korean ETAs start in January of each year], has been nothing short of transformative. I am so grateful for the opportunity to learn, study, and grow here as a Fulbright ETA. The most memorable aspect of orientation has been my conversations with other ETAs about the unique personal experiences that brought them to Korea and what it means to each of them to pursue this program. I am excited to continue getting to know my ETA cohort while also looking forward to teaching and exploring Korea more broadly in the coming weeks.
Since its inception in 1946, the Fulbright Program has provided nearly 450,000 talented and accomplished students, scholars, teachers, artists, and professionals, of all backgrounds and in all fields, the opportunity to study, teach, and conduct research abroad. Fulbrighters exchange ideas, build people-to-people connections, and work to address complex global challenges. Fulbright is a program of the U.S. Department of State, with funding provided by the U.S. Government. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations, and foundations around the world also provide direct and indirect support to the Program.
Columbia undergraduates and alumni interested in learning more about applying for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program can connect with Undergraduate Research and Fellowships and join us for Columbia’s Fulbright Week, April 6-10, 2026.
Congratulations to our 2025–2026 Columbia Fulbrighters!