Student Exchange Program

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) funds a variety of exchange programs for individuals like professionals, teachers, and students to gain leadership experience in the U.S. These programs also encourage applications from people with disabilities, including:

• Fulbright: For scholars, graduate students, and language instructors.
• Humphrey Fellowship: For mid-career professionals with a Bachelor’s degree from selected countries.
• Community Solutions Program: For professionals from developing nations in specified fields.
• UGRAD: For undergraduate students from select countries.
• Community College Initiative Program: For adults from developing countries interested in specific fields.
• Mandela Washington Fellowship: For individuals aged 25-35 from Africa.
• YSEALI Fellowships: For professionals and college students from ASEAN countries.
• Youth Exchange and Study (YES): For high school students from countries with large Muslim populations.
• Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX): For high school students from former Soviet Union countries.
• Youth Leadership Program: For teens aged 15-17 from specific developing nations.

To see if you’re eligible for an ECA exchange program, visit the U.S. Department of State’s ECA Exchanges website, where you can filter by nationality and education level.

Additionally, several private organizations sponsor exchange programs focusing on leadership, democracy, or human rights, such as:

• Echidna Global Scholars: For NGO leaders and academics advancing girls’ education in developing countries.
• Atlas Corps: For non-profit leaders under 35.
• Ford Motor Company International Fellowship: For non-profit leaders from specific countries.
• Rotary World Peace Fellowships: For graduate students in Peace Studies or related fields.
• Emerging Leaders International Fellows Program: For professionals under 36 with a college degree.
• Human Rights Watch Finberg Fellowship: For recent law or graduate program graduates in select fields.
• Reagan-Fascell Democracy Fellows Program: For scholars, journalists, and democratic advocates.
• Human Rights Advocates Program at Columbia University: For human rights leaders from developing nations.
• Asia Pacific Leadership Program (APLP): For graduate students and early-career professionals from the Asia-Pacific region.
• Partners of Americas Programs: For citizens of the Americas and the Caribbean.
• World Youth Alliance: For youth aged 18-29.

Programs focused on disability issues include:

• MIUSA: Offers various programs, some by invitation or for specific groups.
• Nippon Foundation Scholarships: For Deaf or hard-of-hearing international students at Gallaudet University.
• Institute on Disability and Public Policy Master’s Program: Preference given to students with disabilities from ASEAN countries.