How I Secured a Fully Funded PhD Research Stay at American University, United States Through the Fulbright Scholarship for Colombian Doctoral Students

My name is Andrés Peña-Galindo, and I am from Bogotá, Colombia. I am a political scientist and an International Relations scholar. I completed a PhD in Political and International Studies at Universidad del Rosario in Bogotá in 2021. My doctoral research examined the history of the International Relations discipline from a critical perspective, asking how dominant ways of telling the history of the field can make ideas, experiences, and voices from the Global South less visible. I chose to continue into doctoral study because I wanted to move beyond using existing theories only to explain international politics and instead examine how those theories themselves were produced, whose experiences they privileged, and what they left out.

Fulbright Scholarship for Colombian Doctoral Students Details

I received the Fulbright Scholarship for Colombian Doctoral Students (Beca Fulbright Estudiantes Doctorales de Colombia), 2019 cohort, for a doctoral research stay at American University in Washington, D.C. This scholarship did not fund a new degree in the United States. It supported a research stay connected to the PhD I was completing in Colombia. The award was not structured as a single lump-sum scholarship. For the 2019 cohort, the program provided a monthly living stipend adjusted to the destination. It also included round-trip airfare, J-visa processing, basic health coverage, orientation, and program support. I do not have my individual total award figure at hand, so I prefer not to give an estimated total that could be inaccurate.

Were You Offered Any Other Scholarships?

Yes. My doctoral studies at Universidad del Rosario were also supported by a scholarship from the university. That support made it possible for me to pursue the PhD in Colombia, while Fulbright later financed the research stay in the United States. I do not have a single monetary figure available for the Universidad del Rosario scholarship because it was part of my doctoral funding arrangement rather than a one-time cash award.

Educational Background

Before the PhD, I completed a master's degree in International Affairs at Universidad Externado de Colombia, a specialization in University Teaching at Universidad Militar Nueva Granada, and my undergraduate degree in Political Science at Pontificia Universidad Javeriana. This trajectory gave me both substantive training in International Relations and experience with research and teaching. By the time I applied to Fulbright, I was already working on a doctoral project with a clearly defined research problem, an established academic record, and a strong reason for spending time in the United States.

How Did You Prepare to Apply to American University?

I approached the institutional search from the perspective of research fit. The key question was not simply which university had the strongest name, but where I could find scholars whose work could genuinely challenge and improve my doctoral project. American University was particularly attractive because of its strength in International Relations and because I could engage with scholars working on questions of race, hierarchy, the Global South, and the history and sociology of the discipline. The application therefore became much stronger once the host institution was connected to a very specific intellectual purpose rather than treated as a generic destination abroad.

How Did You Find Information About Fulbright Scholarship for Colombian Doctoral Students and American University?

I combined information from Fulbright Colombia with my doctoral academic network and my own search for researchers whose work was closely related to my dissertation. For this type of scholarship, the host institution and the research proposal need to make sense together. I therefore looked at faculty profiles, publications, and research agendas, and then worked toward securing the invitation required for the Fulbright application. My advice is to begin with the people and research conversations that could improve your project, and only then think about institutional prestige.

Did You Take Any Standardized Tests? If So, How Did You Prepare for Them?

The Fulbright program required applicants to demonstrate English proficiency through an accepted standardized test. I took the TOEFL and achieved a C1 level of English proficiency. This was especially important because English was already central to my doctoral work, as a significant part of the International Relations literature I was reading and discussing was published in English. Regular exposure to academic reading and writing helped me prepare not only for the TOEFL, but also for the application process and, later, for conducting research and participating fully in academic life during my stay in the United States.

How Did You Prepare to Apply for the Fulbright Scholarship for Colombian Doctoral Students?

I treated the application as a coherent research story rather than as a collection of forms. The central task was to explain what my doctoral project was asking, why a research stay in the United States was necessary, why American University was the right place for that stage of the project, and how the experience would matter after I returned to Colombia. I also paid close attention to the research objectives, personal statement, recommendation letters, academic record, English requirement, and host invitation. The strongest version of the application was the one in which all of those pieces pointed in the same direction.

How is Your Experience at American University?

The experience at American University was extremely important for my intellectual development. During the stay, I had the opportunity to discuss and develop my research in an environment with a strong International Relations community. I worked particularly closely with Randolph B. Persaud and Amitav Acharya, and the broader research experience also allowed me to learn from conversations and intellectual exchanges involving scholars such as J. Ann Tickner, Patrick Thaddeus Jackson, and Robbie Shilliam. For a doctoral student, the value of the stay was not only access to a university or to libraries. It was the chance to place my ideas in front of scholars who approached the discipline from different critical traditions and to return to Colombia with a more ambitious dissertation.

How Do You Rate American University Academically?

I would rate American University very highly for International Relations. What mattered most to me was the diversity of theoretical conversations and the possibility of engaging with scholars who did not all share the same understanding of the discipline. For my project, that was ideal. I was studying the history and silences of International Relations, so being in Washington, D.C., at a university with a strong international affairs community created a productive tension between being close to a major centre of the discipline and critically examining how that discipline constructs knowledge.

How Does American University Support International Students?

My experience was as a visiting doctoral researcher rather than as a student enrolled in a full U.S. degree, so my support structure was somewhat different from that of a regular international student. Fulbright provided significant administrative support, including the visa process, orientation, health coverage, and monitoring during the stay. At the university, the most important support for me was academic: having a host environment in which I could participate in research conversations, meet scholars, and develop my dissertation.

What Did You Pursue After the Fulbright Scholarship for Colombian Doctoral Students?

I returned to Colombia and completed my PhD in Political and International Studies at Universidad del Rosario in 2021. The doctoral research that Fulbright helped me develop later became the basis of my book Monólogos del Imperio, published by Universidad El Bosque in 2024. I continued an academic career in teaching and research and am currently an Associate Professor at Universidad El Bosque in Bogotá. My work has continued to focus on International Relations, critical approaches, Global South perspectives, security, foreign policy, and the politics of knowledge production. In that sense, the Fulbright stay was not an isolated experience. It became part of a longer research trajectory.

What Do You Think Made Your Application Stand Out?

I cannot know exactly what the selection committee valued most, but I believe the strongest element was the consistency between my doctoral project, the host institution, and the purpose of the stay. I was not applying simply because I wanted an international experience. I had a specific research problem, a clear reason for working with scholars at American University, and a project connected to broader debates about whose knowledge becomes central in International Relations and whose experiences are pushed to the margins. I also think it helped that the application showed what I intended to bring back to Colombia rather than presenting the scholarship only as an individual achievement.

What Would You Have Done Differently if You Were Going Through the Process Again?

I would start the host-institution conversations even earlier and spend more time translating the technical language of the research project into a story that any educated reader could understand. Doctoral students sometimes assume that complexity makes a proposal look stronger. In a competitive scholarship application, clarity is usually more powerful. I would also keep an even more organized record of every document, score, deadline, version of the essays, and financial detail. Years later, those records are useful not only administratively but also when other applicants ask for advice.

What Advice Would You Give Those Looking to Apply for a Similar Scholarship?

Do not begin by asking only, 'Which famous university should I choose?' Begin by asking, 'Who can make my research better, and why do I need to be there?' A strong Fulbright application connects the research question, the host institution, the people you want to work with, and the contribution you hope to make when you return home. Start early, especially with the host invitation and recommendation letters. Read the call carefully and treat the personal statement and research objectives as complementary parts of one story. Be specific about why the United States is necessary for the project. Finally, do not eliminate yourself before applying.