The English Language Center (ELC) was recently awarded a five-year renewal of its Fulbright Pre-Academic program grant. This has been the ELC’s signature summer special program since 2009. The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) of the U.S. Department of State sponsors the program, and it is administered by the Institute of International Education (IIE). The grant has a total value of approximately $1.5 million and will allow the ELC to host up to 40 international grantees for six weeks each summer through 2027.

Key program components include enhancing the exchange experience by providing Fulbright grantees with:

• an introduction to US graduate school life/culture,
• an introduction to cultural awareness and US culture, and
• an opportunity to develop their Fulbright identity and grow their network.

These program components are delivered through special courses in research writing, technology and digital literacy, communication and American culture. The grantees live on Drexel’s University City campus and participate in volunteer community engagement activities and field trips. Students come for six weeks in July and August, then go on to their host institutions to complete their graduate studies. Drexel ELC is one of only two sites across the U.S. to host a six-week program.

This is one of two Fulbright programs run by the ELC that complements Drexel’s commitment to Fulbright. This summer a culture fair will be held on Wednesday, August 2, from 5–7 p.m. at the Dornsife Community Center and a poster presentation and final reception will be held on Wednesday, August 16, from 3–4:30 p.m. at the Gerri C. LeBow Rose Terrace and Atrium (2F). Drexel faculty, professional staff and students are welcome to meet and interact with the grantees at these two special events to learn about their cultures and hear them present on their small group research projects conducted during the program.