The Fulbright Program and Pulitzer Prizes
The Pulitzer Prizes have had a lasting influence on journalism, literature, music, and drama, as they have evolved and grown to encompass 22 different categories within these fields. Ninety Fulbright alumni have won a total of 95 Pulitzer Prizes since their inception in 1917, with four Fulbrighters receiving more than one, including three-time winner Edward Albee. The below list of Pulitzer Prize-winning Fulbright alumni features individual winners, but Fulbrighters have also been part of newsrooms and organizations that have won group Pulitzer Prizes. The alumni listed here are excellent examples of the Fulbright Program’s commitment to fostering opportunities and excellence in all fields of study and endeavor. We are delighted to recognize the contributions these globally-minded U.S. Fulbright alumni have made to their fields and to arts and letters around the world, and we look forward to seeing more Fulbrighters join the ranks of Pulitzer Prize winners in the years ahead.
Pulitzer Prize-winning Fulbright Alumni
Megha Rajagopalan
Journalist
Fulbright U.S. Student to China, 2010
2021 Pulitzer Prize in International Reporting
Emily Green
Journalist
Fulbright U.S. Student to the Philippines, 2006
2020 Pulitzer Prize in Audio Reporting
David W. Blight
Professor and Author
Fulbright U.S. Scholar to Germany, 1992
2019 Pulitzer Prize in History
Jake Halpern
Journalist and Author
Fulbright U.S. Scholar to India, 2011-2012
2018 Pulitzer Prize in Editorial Cartooning, with Michael Sloan, freelance cartoonist
David Kertzer
Professor and Author
Fulbright Scholar to Italy, 1978 and 2000
2015 Pulitzer Prize in Biography or Autobiography
Jake Halpern
Journalist and Author
Fulbright U.S. Scholar to India, 2011-2012
2018 Pulitzer Prize in Editorial Cartooning, with Michael Sloan, freelance cartoonist
David Kertzer
Professor and Author
Fulbright Scholar to Italy, 1978 and 2000
2015 Pulitzer Prize in Biography or Autobiography
John Lewis Gaddis
Historian
Fulbright Scholar to Finland, 1980-81, and Poland, 1996-97
2012 Pulitzer Prize in Biography
Eric Foner
Historian
Fulbright Scholar to Russia, 1990, and Japan, 2003
2011 Pulitzer Prize in History
Philip Schultz
Poet
Fulbright Scholar to Israel, 1983
2008 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry
Edmund S. Morgan
Historian
Fulbright Scholar to Japan, 1968
2006 Pulitzer Prize (Special Awards and Citations)
William C. Taubman
Biographer and Historian
Fulbright Student to the Soviet Union, 1965
2004 Pulitzer Prize in Biography
Herbert P. Bix
Historian
Fulbright Scholar to Japan, 1977 and 1992
2001 Pulitzer Prize in General Non–Fiction
Mark Strand
Poet
Fulbright Student to Italy, 1960, and Fulbright Scholar to Brazil, 1965
1999 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry
Mark Strand
Poet
Fulbright Student to Italy, 1960, and Fulbright Scholar to Brazil, 1965
1999 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry
George Walker
Composer
Fulbright Student to France, 1957
1996 Pulitzer Prize in Music
Eric Freedman
Journalist
Fulbright Scholar to Uzbekistan, 2001
1994 Pulitzer Prize in Journalism for Beat Reporting
Stephen Doig
Journalist
Fulbright Scholar to Portugal, 2010, and the Czech Republic, 2016
1993 Pulitzer Prize in Public Service
Robert Frederick Schenkkan
Playwright and Screenwriter
Fulbright Scholar to Chile, 1969–70
1992 Pulitzer Prize in Drama
John Updike
Writer
Fulbright Scholar to Ghana and Nigeria (Lincoln Lecturer), 1973
1991 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction
(also won 1982 Pulitzer in Fiction)
Allan Temko
Architecture Critic
Fulbright Scholar to France, 1952
1990 Pulitzer Prize in Criticism
David Herbert Donald
Historian and Biographer
Fulbright Scholar to the United Kingdom, 1959
1988 Pulitzer Prize in Biography
(also won 1961 Pulitzer in Biography)
Peter Taylor
Writer
Fulbright Scholar to the United Kingdom, 1955
1987 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction
Murray Kempton
Journalist
Fulbright Scholar to Italy, 1958
1985 Pulitzer Prize in Journalism for Commentary
Loretta Tofani
Reporter for The Philadelphia Inquirer
Fulbright Scholar to Japan, 1983
1983 Pulitzer Prize in Journalism for Local Investigative / Specialized Reporting
Leon F. Litwack
Historian
Fulbright Scholar to the Soviet Union, 1980, and Australia, 1991
1980 Pulitzer Prize in History
John Ashbery
Poet
Fulbright Student to France, 1955
1976 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry
Richard (R.W.B) Lewis
Biographer
Fulbright Scholar to Germany, 1957, and Japan, 1977
1976 Pulitzer Prize in Biography
Dominick Argento
Composer
Fulbright Student to Italy, 1951
1975 Pulitzer Prize in Music
Daniel Boorstin
Historian and former Librarian of Congress
Fulbright Scholar to Japan, 1956, and to Yugoslavia, 1963
1974 Pulitzer Prize in History
Hedrick Smith
Journalist
Fulbright Student to the United Kingdom, 1955
1974 Pulitzer Prize in Journalism for International Reporting
Eudora Welty
Writer
Fulbright Scholar to the United Kingdom, 1954
1973 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction
Jacob Druckman
Composer
Fulbright Student to France, 1954
1972 Pulitzer Prize in Music
James A. Wright
Poet
Fulbright Student to Austria, 1952
1972 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry
Ada Louise Huxtable
Writer and Critic
Fulbright Student to Italy, 1952
1970 Pulitzer Prize in Journalism for Criticism
Benjamin Reid
Writer
Fulbright Scholar to the United Kingdom, 1963
1969 Pulitzer Prize in Biography
George Crumb
Composer
Fulbright Student to Germany, 1954, and Fulbright Scholar to Australia, 1984
1968 Pulitzer Prize in Music
Edward Albee
Writer
Fulbright Scholar to the Soviet Union, 1964
1967 Pulitzer Prize in Drama
(also won 1994 and 1975 Pulitzer Prizes in Drama)
William H. Goetzmann
Historian
Fulbright Scholar to the United Kingdom, 1967
1967 Pulitzer Prize in History
Katherine Anne Porter
Writer
Fulbright Scholar to Belgium, 1954, and Mexico, 1964
1966 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction
Richard Hofstadter
Historian and Sociologist
Fulbright Scholar to the United Kingdom, 1955
1956 Pulitzer Prize in History
(also won 1964 Pulitzer in General Non–Fiction)
Garett Mattingly
Historian
Fulbright Scholar to Italy, 1963
1960 Pulitzer Prize
(Special Awards and Citations)
Oscar Handlin
Historian
Fulbright Scholar to France, 1954, and Australia, 1981
1952 Pulitzer Prize in History
Virgil Thomson
Composer
Fulbright Scholar to France, 1960
1949 Pulitzer Prize in Music
Virginius Dabney
Journalist and Editor
Fulbright Scholar to the United Kingdom, 1954
1948 Pulitzer Prize in Journalism for Editorial Writing
Merle Curti
Historian
Fulbright Scholar to the United Kingdom, 1952, India, 1964, and Brazil, 1969
1944 Pulitzer Prize in History
John Steinbeck
Writer
Fulbright Specialist to the Soviet Union, 1963
1940 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction
Eugene P. Chase
Editor
Fulbright Scholar to France, 1953 and 1956
1934 Pulitzer Prize in Journalism for Editorial Writing
Greg Grandin
Professor and Author
Fulbright U.S. Student to Guatemala, 2006
2020 Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction
Jeffrey C. Stewart
Professor and Author
Fulbright U.S. Scholar to Italy, 2002
2019 Pulitzer Prize in Biography
Jack E. Davis
Professor and Author
Fulbright U.S. Scholar to Jordan, 2002-2003
2018 Pulitzer Prize in History
Elizabeth Kolbert
Journalist and Author
Fulbright Student to Germany, 1983
2015 Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction
Julia Wolfe
Composer
Fulbright U.S. Student to the Netherlands, 1991
2015 Pulitzer Prize in Music
Stephen Greenblatt
Literary Critic and Theorist
Fulbright Student to the United Kingdom, 1964-66
2012 Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction
Robert Haas
Poet
Fulbright Scholar to the United Kingdom, 1976
2008 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry
Caroline Elkins
Historian and Author
Fulbright Scholar to Kenya, 1998–99
2006 Pulitzer Prize in General Non–Fiction
David Hackett Fischer
Historian
Fulbright Scholar to New Zealand, 1994
2005 Pulitzer Prize in History
Daniel Grech
Journalist
Fulbright Student to Argentina, 2003
2001 Pulitzer Prize in Journalism for Breaking News Reporting
Bruce Bissell Finley
Journalist
Fulbright Student to the United Kingdom, 1984–85
2000 Pulitzer Prize in Journalism for Breaking News Reporting
Edward J. Larson
Historian
Fulbright Scholar to the Netherlands, 2000
1998 Pulitzer Prize for History
Will Englund
Foreign Correspondent
Fulbright Scholar to the United Kingdom, 1988
1998 Pulitzer Prize in Journalism for Investigative Reporting
Edward Albee
Writer
Fulbright Scholar to the Soviet Union, 1964
1967 Pulitzer Prize in Drama
(also won 1994 and 1975 Pulitzer Prizes in Drama)
Gunther Schuller
Composer and Musician
Fulbright Scholar to China, 1971
1994 Pulitzer Prize in Music
Wayne Peterson
Composer
Fulbright Scholar to the United Kingdom, 1953
1992 Pulitzer Prize in Music
Jane Smiley
Writer
Fulbright Scholar to Iceland, 1976–77
1992 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction
Charles Simic
Poet
Fulbright Scholar to Yugoslavia, 1982
1990 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry
Roger Reynolds
Composer
Fulbright Student to Germany, 1962
1989 Pulitzer Prize in Music
Rita Dove
Poet and former U.S. Poet Laureate
Fulbright Student to Germany, 1974
1987 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry
Joseph Lelyveld
Executive Editor of the New York Times
Fulbright Student to Burma, 1960
1986 Pulitzer Prize in General Non–Fiction
Galway Kinnell
Poet
Fulbright Scholar to France, 1955, and to Iran, 1959
1983 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry
Sylvia Plath
Poet
Fulbright Student to the United Kingdom, 1955
1982 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry
C. Vann Woodward
Historian
Fulbright Scholar to the United Kingdom, 1955, and New Zealand, 1995
1982 Pulitzer Prize in History
Meg Greenfield
Editorial Page Editor for The Washington Post
Fulbright Student to the United Kingdom, 1952
1978 Pulitzer Prize in Journalism for Editorial Writing
Alan M. Kriegsman
Writer
Fulbright Student to Austria, 1956
1976 Pulitzer Prize in Criticism
Ned Rorem
Composer and Writer
Fulbright Student to France, 1951
1976 Pulitzer Prize in Music
Edward Albee
Writer
Fulbright Scholar to the Soviet Union, 1964
1974 Pulitzer Prize in Drama
(also won 1994 and 1967 Pulitzer Prizes in Drama)
Donald Martino
Composer
Fulbright Student to Italy, 1954-55
1974 Pulitzer Prize in Music
Michael G. Kammen
Historian and Sociologist
Fulbright Specialist to Romania, 2004
1973 Pulitzer Prize in History
Carl Neumann Degler
Historian and Author
Fulbright Scholar to Chile, 1967
1972 Pulitzer Prize in History
Wallace Stegner
Writer
Fulbright Scholar to Greece, 1963
1972 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction
Richard Howard
Poet
Fulbright Student to France, 1958
1970 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry
T. Harry Williams
Biographer and Historian
Fulbright Scholar to the United Kingdom, 1966
1970 Pulitzer Prize in Biography
N. Scott Momaday
Writer
Fulbright Scholar to Russia and the Soviet Union, 1973-74
1969 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction
Anthony Hecht
Poet
Fulbright Scholar to Brazil, 1972
1968 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry
David Brion Davis
Historian
Fulbright Scholar to India, 1967, and France, 1980
1967 Pulitzer Prize in Non–Fiction
Leslie Bassett
Composer
Fulbright Student to France, 1950
1966 Pulitzer Prize in Music
Ernest Samuels
Biographer
Fulbright Scholar to Belgium, 1958
1965 Pulitzer Prize in Biography
David Herbert Donald
Historian and Biographer
Fulbright Scholar to the United Kingdom, 1959
1961 Pulitzer Prize in Biography
(also won 1988 Pulitzer in Biography)
Russell Jones
Reporter
Fulbright Scholar in France, 1966
1957 Pulitzer Prize in Journalism for International Reporting
Theodore Roethke
Poet
Fulbright Scholar to Italy, 1955
1954 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry
Roy Franklin Nichols
Historian
Fulbright Scholar to India, 1962
1949 Pulitzer Prize in History
Peter Viereck
Poet
Fulbright Scholar to the United Kingdom, 1953, and Italy, 1954-55
1949 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry
Aaron Copland
Composer
Fulbright Scholar to the United Kingdom, 1961, Japan, 1962, Germany, 1963-64, Austria, 1964, and Italy, 1964
1945 Pulitzer Prize in Music
Carleton Mabee
Writer
Fulbright Scholar to Pakistan, 1952, and Japan, 1953
1944 Pulitzer Prize in Biography or Autobiography
Robert P. Tristram Coffin
Writer and Poet
Fulbright Scholar to Greece, 1953
1936 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry