Only 30 scholarships are offered each year to UK citizens for the first year of postgraduate or doctoral study, with candidates needing to impress during the rigorous application and interview process.
Emily, who began studying History at Bristol as an undergraduate before completing her Masters, is now carrying out a PhD which explores humanitarian movements working with European and African children in the years between the two world wars.
She is interested in the way in which history can inform contemporary debates about humanitarian policy, and has worked closely with Save the Children in compiling reports on their past.
During her Fulbright year in New York, Emily will undertake research into the origins of international child sponsorship movements between 1915 and 1970.
She’s also looking forward to volunteering with the Harlem Food Bank, having been involved in a number of initiatives tackling food poverty in the UK, and plans to run the Boston Marathon.
Emily said: “I'm delighted to be spending a year in the history department at Columbia. It's a fantastic opportunity to work alongside trailblazing scholars in the field of international history and to conduct exciting new research.
“I am very grateful to members of the History Department at Bristol for their support during the Fulbright application process and to the University for helping me to cover the additional costs associated with taking up the award."
Meanwhile, American student Brett Evans will be coming to the University of Bristol to study for an MA in Classical Reception. He received a Fulbright Scholarship after graduating from the College of William and Mary in Virginia where he studied Latin and Ancient Greek.
Created by treaty in 1948, the US-UK Fulbright Commission is part of the Fulbright programme conceived by Senator J. William Fulbright in the aftermath of World War II to promote leadership, learning and empathy between nations through educational exchange.
The Commission is funded partially by the UK’s Department of Business, Innovation and Skills and the US Department of State, with additional support from a variety of individual and institutional partners including many leading UK universities and an annual contribution from the Scottish Government.