Alliance member organizations connect Americans with their counterparts around the world through a myriad of international exchange programs, both inbound and outbound:

Academic* | Au Pair | Camp Counselor | Citizen/Professional/Youth* | High School* | Internship* | Professional Trainee | Study/Work Abroad* | Summer Work/Travel | Teacher*

Inbound exchange programs—International exchange participants in the United States

Hundreds of thousands of international exchange participants come to the United States each year for substantive, firsthand experiences with American communities and citizens. Many come as participants in grant-funded U.S. Department of State academic, citizen, professional, and youth exchange programs. Many others—roughly 300,000—come on self-funded programs under the auspices of the Department of State’s Exchange Visitor Program. These Exchange Visitors experience the United States in a variety of productive ways: as high school exchange students, university students and scholars, teachers, camp counselors, interns and trainees in all sorts of businesses, summer workers at American resorts and parks, and au pairs.

Outbound exchange programs—American exchange participants abroad

Each year, hundreds of thousands of American exchange participants travel abroad to take part in exchange programs administered by Alliance member organizations and the Department of State (many others, of course, take part in programs facilitated directly by their high schools and universities). As citizen diplomats, these Americans gain not only knowledge and insight into other countries and cultures, but also life-changing personal and professional enrichment. Equally important, by sharing U.S. culture and values with foreign counterparts and audiences, they lay a foundation of inter-cultural trust and friendship to last a lifetime.

The role of Alliance member organizations

Alliance member organizations—many nonprofit and all nongovernmental—work to facilitate and administer these inbound and outbound international exchange programs.  Alliance members work closely with the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs in the Department of State to administer Department-sponsored programs.  In addition, many Alliance members facilitate a variety of other, private exchange programs in addition to their work on Department of State-sponsored programs.

Explore Exchanges

Find out more about the various international exchange programs administered by Alliance member organizations by browsing by category:

Academic* | Au Pair | Citizen/Professional/Youth* | High School* | Internship* | Professional Trainee | Study/Work Abroad* | Summer Work/Travel | Teacher*

*Certain exchange programs in these categories are funded by the U.S. government. Other programs are privately funded.