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Access to the World and Its Languages 

www.ed.gov/ope/iegps 1

Fulbright-Hays

Group Projects Abroad Program

(GPA)

Advanced Overseas Intensive Language 

Training Program

Department of Education

International and Foreign Language Education (IFLE)

Michelle Guilfoil – Senior Program Officer

(202) 502-7625 

michelle.guilfoil@ed.gov
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Access to the World and Its Languages 

www.ed.gov/ope/iegps

What is the Fulbright Program?

• Originated with legislation sponsored by Senator J. 

William Fulbright in 1946 to promote mutual 

understanding between people of the United States 

and those of other countries.

• Under the Fulbright-Hays Act of 1961, the U.S. Dept. 

of Education receives an annual appropriation from 

the U.S. Congress. 

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Access to the World and Its Languages 

www.ed.gov/ope/iegps

Foreign Language Projects: 18 

Number of Languages Studied: 25

Total Four Years of Funding: $10,963,675

Total Number of Participants: 1,577

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2008 – 2012 Grant Cycle
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Access to the World and Its Languages 

www.ed.gov/ope/iegps

GPA Languages Studied in 

2008-2012 Cycle

• Arabic

• Bengali

• Chinese, Mandarin

• Filipino

• Georgian

• Hindi

• Indonesian

• Japanese

• Kannada

• Kazakh

• Khmer

• Malayalam

• Marathi

• Oriya

• Persian

• Punjabi

• Russian

• Swahili

• Tamil

• Thai

• Turkish

• Urdu

• Vietnamese

• Yoruba

• Zulu

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Access to the World and Its Languages 

www.ed.gov/ope/iegps

GPA Host Countries in

2008-2012 Cycle

• Cambodia

• China/Taiwan

• Egypt

• Georgia

• India

• Indonesia

• Japan

• Nigeria

• Philippines

• Russia

• South Africa

• Syria

• Tajikistan

• Tanzania

• Thailand

• Turkey

• Vietnam

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Access to the World and Its Languages 

www.ed.gov/ope/iegps

To provide institutional grants to 

support advanced overseas training 

in modern foreign languages

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Purpose of Foreign Language 

GPA Grants
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Access to the World and Its Languages 

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 Institutions of higher education

 State departments of education

 Private nonprofit educational organizations

 Consortia of IHEs, departments,

and organizations 

Eligible Applicants
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Access to the World and Its Languages 

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 U.S. Citizen or permanent resident

AND

 Elementary or secondary teacher

 Post secondary faculty

 Education administrator

 Undergraduate/graduate student planning a teaching 

career or will use foreign language in future career 

in areas important to U.S. security

Eligible Project Participants
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Access to the World and Its Languages 

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Eligible Project Participants (cont’d)

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All participants must be teaching/studying in the following 

disciplines or interdisciplinary areas:

 Humanities, social sciences, foreign languages and/or 

area studies; 

 Business, health, social work, math, science, counseling, 

engineering, the environment and technology; or

 Area studies - including the study of geography, history, 

culture, economy, politics, international relations, or 

languages of a world region.
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Access to the World and Its Languages 

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GPA Project Requirements

Language indigenous to host country; maximum use 

of local institutions and personnel;

Training must be at advanced level (equivalent to 

completion of at least two academic years of language 

training); and

Project must take advantage of advanced language 

training opportunities present in host country & not 

available in U.S. 
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Access to the World and Its Languages 

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Project activities: full year, academic year, semester, trimester, 

quarter, and/or summer in host country (6 weeks minimum).

Contact hours: Minimum of 120

 Project length: Four Years (consists of four 12-month performance 

periods)

 Participant Number: At least 10 participants + Resident Director 

= 11 minimum for each cohort

Maximum Grant Award: $375,000/year 

Average Grant Award: $150,000/year

Time Frame & 

Participant Numbers
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Access to the World and Its Languages 

www.ed.gov/ope/iegps

GPA – Advanced Overseas Intensive 

Language Training

Financial Provisions

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Access to the World and Its Languages 

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GPA Allowable Expenses

 International travel; and

Within host country:

 Lodging and meals

 Local travel

 Educational materials

 Honoraria

 Meeting room space

 Host country instructors

 Pre and Post language assessment (REQUIRED)

 Host country evaluators

 Local administrative services

*Restrictions: No expenses within the U.S allowed

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Access to the World and Its Languages 

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Funding Restrictions

*Restrictions: The grant does not 

provide funds for project related 

expenses within the U.S., 

including pre-departure 

orientation and follow-up 

activities.

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Access to the World and Its Languages 

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 Absolute (requirement)

 Competitive Preference

(for additional points)

 Invitational (special invitation from the 

Secretary, but no points assigned)

Program Priorities
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 Study in non-western European 

countries

 U.S. must have official diplomatic 

relationship with host country

GPA Foreign Language

Absolute Priority
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Access to the World and Its Languages 

www.ed.gov/ope/iegps

GPA Competition Highlights

 Well-developed evaluation plans, data collection, 

participant tracking

 Innovative plans to showcase strength and importance of 

advanced language learning through data collection and 

reporting 

 Longer and more intense time abroad

 Higher numbers of students

 Same application package as for GPA short-term: be sure 

to indicate applying for GPA Foreign Language 84.021B

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Access to the World and Its Languages 

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Components of the Application
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 Profile of Applicant

 Need for the Project

 Selection of the Language to be Studied

 Selection of the Host Country

 Objectives of Project

A/ Introduction
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Access to the World and Its Languages 

www.ed.gov/ope/iegps

B/ Pre-Departure Phase

 Pre-departure preparation

 Lectures on the country of study

 Advanced reading materials

 Group Dynamics

 Pre-departure orientation

 Guidelines on conduct

 Discussions on daily living/traveling in host country/security 

issues

 Team building

 Team assignments & individual proposed projects

 Cross cultural training

 Minimum of 16 hours

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Access to the World and Its Languages 

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C/ Overseas Phase

1. Description of language program including assessment, placement, and 

instructional content and format

2. Information on Faculty, Instructors, Tutors including qualifications and 

experience

3. Cultural immersion experience including excursions, field work, 

internships, etc.

4. Special learning projects 

5. Travel arrangements and accommodations

6. Debriefings/evaluations

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Access to the World and Its Languages 

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D/ Follow-Up Phase

 Program evaluation: results and impact

 Reporting (project & participant)

 Staff professional development and training

 Dissemination and outreach plans

 Publicizing and recruiting for next group of 

students

 Possible future activities (collaboration, 

cooperation & networking)

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1. Plan of Operation (20 points)

2. Key Personnel (10 points)

3. Budget and Cost Effectiveness (10 points)

4. Evaluation (20 points)

5. Adequacy of Resources (5 points)

6. Impact (15 points)

7. Relevance to Institutional Dev. (5 points)

8. Need for Overseas Experience (10 points)

9. Program Priorities (15 points)

TOTAL 110 points

Evaluation Criteria
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Access to the World and Its Languages 

www.ed.gov/ope/iegps

THANK YOU

Questions and 

Discussion

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Michelle Guilfoil – Senior Program Officer

(202) 502-7625 

michelle.guilfoil@ed.gov