The Fulbright Program in Poland was initiated in 1959. It was administered by the U.S. Embassy, on the American side, and the Ministry of Education, on the Polish side. On March 22, 1990, the Government of the USA and the Government of Poland signed the bilateral agreement, establishing the Office of U.S. Educational Exchanges, the first of its kind in Central and Eastern Europe. The next Fulbright accord was signed on October 22, 1995, by Mr. Nicholas A. Rey, Ambassador of the U.S. to Poland, and Mr. Władysław Bartoszewski, Minister of Foreign Affairs, changing the name to the Polish - U.S. Fulbright Commission. On March 10, 2008, in conjunction with Polish Prime Minister's official visit to Washington, the United States and Poland signed a new Fulbright Agreement, which significantly raised the financial contribution of the Polish side, and, consequently, expanded the exchange of students, scholars and teachers between the two countries.
The Polish Fulbright Program is the largest in Eastern and Central Europe as well as the most prestigious and continuous academic exchange program between Poland and the United States. The general objective of the Polish Fulbright Commission is to conduct educational and cultural exchanges between the two countries. Through its various exchange programs, the Commission supports studies, research, instruction, and other educational activities of American and Polish educators, scholars, and institutions; it also administers visits and exchanges between the United States and Poland of students, trainees, scholars, teachers, instructors, and professors. In this way the Polish - U.S. Fulbright Commission contributes to the central goal of the Fulbright Program: to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and Poland through the sharing of ideas, knowledge, skills, and individual experiences by means of educational and cultural exchange.
In our ongoing efforts to eliminate prejudices and misunderstandings resulting from the way the program used to be administered prior to the inception of the Commission, as well as to encourage greater participation from fine applicants in various fields, we made a point of conducting widely publicized open national competitions. These efforts have paid off. Great care has been taken to institute proper selection procedures, promoting and rewarding excellence and quality, resulting in a three-stage evaluation process of candidates. Polish Fulbrighters are recognized as outstanding scholars, teachers, and researchers. As a result, Fulbright selection system has become a model imitated by numerous institutions offering scholarships to Polish nationals.
