Founded in 1980, the AYUSA Global Youth Exchange is a nonprofit organization that provides students from the United States and around the world with the opportunity to study in each other's respective high schools and learn each other's cultures and languages. AYUSA coordinates programs in a number of countries around the world, including Costa Rica, France, Germany, Australia, Japan, China, and many others. The organization administers scholarships and grants funded by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, including the Freedom Support Act/Future Leaders Exchange Program and the Youth Exchange and Study (YES) Program Abroad.
The Institute of International Education administers the prestigious Fulbright Program, which offers college graduates, postgraduates and scholars the opportunity to pursue further study and research in universities and colleges around the world. The Fulbright has several different scholarship and fellowship programs, including the U.S. Student Program, the Fulbright Foreign Student Program (for foreign students wishing to study in the U.S.), and a number of grants to promote cross-interdisciplinary and cross-cultural exchanges between scholars, teachers and researchers.
The AAUW (formerly American Association of University Women) offers International Fellowships annually to women who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents the funds to pursue graduate or postgraduate work at U.S. universities and colleges. A few fellowships are also earmarked for those who wish to study at institutions outside the United States.
For students interested in mastering their German by spending an academic year in Germany, the Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange offers full scholarships that cover room and board, school fees, language instruction, orientation and various excursions. The Congressionally funded scholarships provide the opportunity to live with a host family during the year, learn more about German culture and language, and meet with German and American government officials.
The Rotary International Youth Exchange programs offer both short- and long-term stays for American youths aged 15-25 in more than 150 countries around the world. Recipients receive room and board and school tuition and fees; they and their parents will be responsible for airfare to and from the host country, travel documents, spending money and other personal expenses. The exchange programs, which are sponsored by local Rotary clubs, are not always academic in nature, but all are for the express purpose of promoting cultural exchanges and empowering young citizens to be informal ambassadors of their home countries.