Texas State University recognized as a top producer of Fulbright U.S. students

The Fulbright Program has recognized Texas State University as a Fulbright Top Producing Institution. This distinction honors TXST as one of the 96 colleges and universities with the highest number of students and recent alumni selected for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. 

Three students, two undergraduates and one graduate, were selected as Fulbright U.S. Student Program awardees for the 2025–2026 academic year, and TXST is one of only three Texas universities to be recognized as a top producer this year. 

“Being named a Fulbright Top Producing Institution is a powerful affirmation of Texas State University’s commitment to global engagement and academic excellence,” said TXST President Kelly Damphousse. “It also attests to the high quality of students who are choosing to attend TXST.

"This recognition reflects the ambition and talent of our students, and the dedication of our faculty and staff who prepare them to lead, to serve, and to build meaningful connections around the world.”

The Fulbright Program, established in 1946, is the U.S. government’s premier international academic exchange program. Each year, it provides opportunities for exceptional Americans and participants from 160 countries and locations to study, teach and conduct research abroad, advancing knowledge, science and industry through international exchange and collaboration. Fulbright alumni achieve distinction and are recognized as leaders in government, business, science, technology, research, education and the arts. 

TXST has expanded outreach and advising for Fulbright U.S. Student Program applicants in recent years, supporting undergraduate and graduate students as well as recent alumni. This investment has led the university to produce more Fulbright U.S. Student Program grantees in the past four years than in the previous four decades.

“As a Fulbright alum, I also value how much TXST benefits from the transformational cultural exchange experiences these student grantees share upon their return to the U.S. and their continued engagement with our campus community," said Pranesh Aswath, Ph.D., provost and executive vice president of Academic Affairs at TXST.

TXST’s dedicated Fulbright Program Advisers—Brian Smith, DMA; Lisa Haegele, Ph.D.; and Andrea Hilkovitz, Ph.D.—support the university’s Fulbright U.S. Student Program applicants. TXST’s Fulbright Scholar Liaison, Sarah Blue, Ph.D., supports prospective TXST applicants to the Fulbright Scholar Program, which is for faculty, postdoctoral researchers and education abroad administrators. These resources comprise a robust campus support structure that has led to TXST’s recognition as a top producing institution of Fulbright Scholars in prior years.

“Whether through independent academic research, creative projects, or teaching English to non-native speakers, Texas State is becoming a significant and reliable producer of Fulbright U.S. Student Program awardees,” said Smith. “We have grown from a longstanding history of awards for projects in Germany to more recent awards in countries around the world—including Fulbright’s first-ever grantee to the South Pacific island nation of Tuvalu—and we are excited to build on our institutional potential as we Run to R1.”

Fulbright is a program of the U.S. Department of State, with funding provided by the U.S. government. Participating governments and partner institutions, corporations, and foundations around the world also provide direct and indirect support to the program. 

Fulbright alumni work to make a positive impact on their communities, sectors, and the world and have included 44 heads of state or government, 63 Nobel Laureates, 93 Pulitzer Prize winners, 83 MacArthur Fellows and countless leaders in all sectors and industries across the U.S. and around the world. 

For more information about the Fulbright Program at Texas State, visit the TXST Fulbright website.