Exchange Programs

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Building Bridges by Bringing People Together

For over 40 years, AMIDEAST has arranged and administered student and employee exchange programs between the U.S. and the Middle East and North Africa.

In the short term, these programs contribute to individual success and provide a forum for positive cross-cultural interaction. In the long term, they hold the potential to improve economic development, cross-cultural understanding, and even foreign policy.

The success of exchange programs requires solid logistics and support: to help sponsors set student selection criteria and make the most of their resources; to advise students on their best educational choices; to handle applications, financial, and travel arrangements; to monitor students’ progress; and to help students actively engage in novel academic and social environments. AMIDEAST has long been the leader in meeting these needs.

In their own words: AMIDEAST students comment on the value of student exchange:

Who better to ask about the value of student exchange than students themselves? AMIDEAST did just that, when it asked a cross-section of participants in AMIDEAST-administered student exchange programs to reflect on their experiences in the United States. The comments of these students?44 men and women from ten Middle Eastern countries participating in programs at the high school, undergraduate and graduate levels?attest to the importance of student exchange in promoting mutual understanding and cooperation among people from different cultures.

AMIDEAST administers a variety of exchange programs: