By Charlie Cecil

Honors students at UK are being challenged in an open competition for the chance to be selected to the US-United Kingdom Fulbright Summer Institutes.

The institutes provide an opportunity for students to learn about a new culture while improving academic skills at a top in the line university in the United Kingdom.

To apply, the student must be 18 or older and a U.S. citizen with a passport. The student is expected to have a confirmed minimum of a 3.5 GPA. Students must be freshmen or sophomores to be eligible.

The director of the program at UK is Dr. Lisa  Broome-Price.

“The mission of the Fulbright Program is to promote cultural understanding, so an eagerness to learn about the culture and heritage of the UK is important,” Broome-Price said.

The institutes are looking for those who are strong-willed, independent and willing to venture out and make the most of a whole new experience in learning.

Those selected must be engaged in all assignments and be willing to participate in classroom discussions.

The program does not end when students travel back home; they are expected to take all that they have learned and use it to continue in their undergraduate studies.

There are three institutes available to UK students. The schools are Newcastle University, Roehampton University and the Wales Summer Institute. Students are required to pick one school of study before applying.

The competition is open to all students in all areas of study.

According to Broome-Price, the Fulbright Institutes have a prestigious history dating from 1948.

“The global program was conceived by U.S. Sen. J. William Fulbright in the aftermath of World War II to promote leadership, learning and empathy between nations through educational exchange,” Broome-Price said.

She said that Fulbright once said that the goal of the exchanges was to generate a deeper understanding of difference cultures and peoples of the world.

Applications are due no later than April 15.