Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs

EDUCATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS PROGRAM
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The U.S. Department of State’s Educational Partnerships Program has supported educational reform, economic development, civil society, and mutual understanding through cooperation between U.S. colleges and universities and foreign post-secondary institutions. Partnerships have focused on disciplines in the social, political and economic sciences; public administration; the humanities; business; economics; law; journalism and communications; public health policy and administration; library science; and educational administration.

Since 1982, more than 700 awards have been made across the U.S. in support of partnerships with educational institutions overseas. A list of previously issued educational partnerships and affiliations grants can be found in the Historical Directory or in our online database available through the "Search for Projects" link on the left menu.

Projects have been of benefit to all partner institutions, although the benefits may differ significantly for each of them. The proposals have had to demonstrate a commitment by all partner institutions to pursue project goals collaboratively. Cooperation sometimes has resulted from the experiences of a Fulbright scholar at a U.S. or foreign host institution.

Department of State Educational Partnership Programs have included the following programs and projects:

• The Educational Partnerships Program, formerly known as the College and University Affiliations Program, extending to all world regions. Funding caps have varied by year and country.
  
  
• The Freedom Support Educational Partnerships Program formerly funded educational partnerships between colleges and universities in the United States and Eurasia (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan; Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan) with funds from the Freedom Support Act (FSA). This program was incorporated into the Educational Partnerships Program.
  
  
• Specialized projects provided comprehensive or targeted educational assistance in cooperation with previously designated foreign partners. For example, separate individualized projects to assist foreign educators to develop locally oriented educational curricula in consultation with U.S. experts have been undertaken in 12 different countries in Europe and Eurasia. Other projects assisted with the development of curricula at universities in such places as Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Serbia, Turkey, Tunisia, and Japan.

Typical Project Objectives

Partnership Program project objectives have typically included:

• Strengthened teaching, research, administrative, and public service capacity for all partner institutions;
  
  
• Establishment, expansion, or reform of educational programs;
  
  
• New pedagogical models and educational materials;
  
  
• Collaborative research; and,
  
  
• Outreach to local communities and relevant professional, non-governmental and government entities.

How to Apply

There are currently no Educational Partnership Program competitions open. When available, announcements will be posted for Requests for Grant Proposals (RFGPs), which are published periodically in the Federal Register and are available online on the Bureau's RFGP website. U.S. educational institutions and organizations may submit proposals to the Department, following the proposal guidelines included in the RFGPs and associated documents. "Suggestions for Applying" are also available online.

The Department of State does not support U.S. student exchanges under most Partnership Programs. U.S. graduate students may participate as visiting instructors at the foreign partner institution, and foreign students must either have teaching responsibilities or be preparing for teaching duties. Information on grants to individual students and scholars through other Department of State programs is also available on the Bureau's website.

Eligibility

U.S. participation in State Educational Partnership Programs is open to accredited institutions of higher learning, including:

• Community colleges,
  
  
• Liberal arts colleges,
  
  
• Universities with graduate-level and/or undergraduate programs,
  
  
• Consortia and other combinations of college and universities, and,
  
  
• Minority-serving institutions.

In limited cases, U.S. non-governmental organizations may be eligible to apply in certain competitions for specialized projects. Letters of commitment from the U.S. and foreign partner(s) are required. Cost sharing from participant organizations and other sources is encouraged. The commitment of partner institutions to the proposed project should be reflected in the cost sharing which they offer in the context of their respective institutional capacities.

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