Nineteen students and recent graduates from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have been awarded Fulbright U.S. Student Program grants including one from Kirkland.

John Schmale graduated from UNC during spring and will teach English in South Korea. He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics.

The grants are for self-designed research and study projects or to teach English abroad during the 2014-2015 academic year. This is the highest number of Fulbright grants awarded to UNC students in a single year.

The students study a diverse array of fields at Carolina, including biomedical engineering, computer science and musicology. With a Fulbright, they will complete projects as varied as studying soybean farming in Brazil, studying species conservation in Mongolia and teaching English in Malaysia. Overall, Carolina students will leave their mark in 13 countries across the globe over the next year.

Schmale will receive funding for travel, health insurance and a monthly stipend to cover living expenses during the 9- to 12-month grant period. Each student passed a rigorous selection process.

“Selection committees seek applicants who come from many backgrounds and with a variety of past experience. They’re looking for students for whom a Fulbright will be deeply meaningful and perhaps career-changing,” said Tripp Tuttle, Fulbright program adviser at the UNC Center for Global Initiatives.

This flagship international educational exchange program is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Fulbright is administered nationally by the Institute of International Education and through the Center for Global Initiatives at UNC. Designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and international communities, the program operates in more than 155 countries.

The Fulbright U.S. Student Program 2014-2015 grant winners who applied through UNC appear below by North Carolina county or U.S. state.