IIE was established in 1919, in the aftermath of World War I, by Nobel Peace Prize winners Nicholas Murray Butler, President of Columbia University, and Elihu Root, former Secretary of State, and by Stephen Duggan, Sr., Professor of Political Science at the College of the City of New York and IIE's first President. They believed that there could be no lasting peace without greater understanding between nations—and that international educational exchange formed the strongest basis for fostering such understanding.

The Institute was created to act as a catalyst for educational exchange. It met a real need for a central point of contact and source of information both for U.S. higher education and for foreign nations interested   in establishing educational relations with the United States.

1920s:

IIE began organized student exchanges with several European governments as well as faculty and teacher exchanges. IIE President Stephen Duggan persuaded the U.S. government to create a new category of nonimmigrant student visas, bypassing post-war quotas set in the Immigration Act of 1921. The Institute published the first reference guides to international study and created a climate for international education on campus with the establishment of a network of International Relations clubs.

1930s:

The Institute established the Emergency Committee to Aid Displaced German Scholars, an important activity which eventually aided such distinguished individuals as Martin Buber, Paul Tillich and Jacques Maritain. Edward R. Murrow began his career as IIE's Assistant Director at this time, helping to find lectureships for hundreds of European refugee scholars. IIE also assisted those fleeing from Spanish and Italian fascism. Expanding its activities outside Europe, IIE opened the first exchanges with the Soviet Union and Latin America.

1940s:

With programs designed to counter the Axis propaganda threat, IIE began its cooperation with the predecessor agencies of the U.S. Department of State through large-scale Latin American exchanges. After the Second World War, the Institute was instrumental in establishing what it now NAFSA: Association of International Educators, and Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE).    IIE also arranged for more than 4,000 U.S. students to study and work on reconstruction projects at devastated European universities.

In 1946, the Institute was invited by the U.S. Department of State to administer the graduate student component and CIES to administer the faculty component of the Fulbright Program — IIE's largest program, still active today.

1950s:

IIE became increasingly involved with assisting the developing world, managing programs concerned with public administration, food research, family planning, and other development-related fields for the countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The Institute aided Hungarian refugee students, arranging scholarships for more than 700 freedom fighters to study in the U.S. The flow of foreign students to the United States nearly doubled during this decade, and IIE established its U.S.office network to serve the large number of students under its supervision and to promote international education in the community and on campus. IIE began producing on an annual basisOpen Doors statistical analysis on the foreign student population in the U.S. The Fulbright Program expanded greatly.

1960s:

The Institute established overseas offices in Asia, Africa, and Latin America to meet growing needs for information about U.S. higher education. Donor-supported Educational Services were likewise expanded to meet the increasing demand for information on international education. IIE continued to expand its fellowship services in support of human resource development in developing countries, in the belief that education is an important key to the development process.

1970s:

IIE undertook administration of the Venezuelan Government's "Gran Mariscal de Ayacucho" Scholarship Program which assisted nearly 4,000 promising young Venezuelans, many from disadvantaged backgrounds, to study in the United States in fields related to national development. IIE also assumed responsibility for a portion of the USIA International Visitor Program. IIE began administering the ITT International Fellowship Program, which for 17 years was an exemplary model of corporate involvement in international educational exchange.

In 1978–79, IIE joined with the White House and USIA in planning the innovative Hubert H. Humphrey North-South Fellowships, which brings mid-career professionals in public service fields from developing countries and East Central Europe to the U.S. for a year of academic study and practical professional experience. The end of the decade also saw the beginnings of the South African Education Program, designed to prepare black South Africans for a post-apartheid future.

1980s:

The South African Education Program continued to develop—a unique cooperative effort of U.S. foundations, corporations, universities, and USAID that provided opportunities for hundreds of black South Africans to study in the United States, and gain leadership positions back home after apartheid.

The Institute began managing short-term, hands-on professional development projects and internships—largely through the administration of projects for USAIDs—and further extended its reach into Africa and Southeast Asia by opening offices in Jakarta, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and Cairo. Innovative programs in journalism and human rights were added to the IIE roster. Taking advantage of improving relations with Communist governments, IIE developed the U.S.-U.S.S.R. Student Exchange Program in cooperation with the Soviet State Committee for Public Education and extended its educational advising services in the People's Republic of China.

The International Education Information Center was opened at New York headquarters. Enrichment programs designed to introduce foreign students to American society and culture were developed. IIE also expanded its services for scientific and technical development, establishing the Department of Science and Technology.

1990s:

In 1990, IIE established an office in Budapest, increasing program operations across Europe. New offices in Beijing and Hanoi extended IIE’s network of international offices in this decade focused on supporting and strengthening internationalization of universities, developing and managing scholarship and study abroad programs, and supporting English language teaching and testing.

The Fulbright Student Program continued to grow and The Council for International Exchange of Scholars joined IIE in 1997, continuing the close partnership with the U.S. Department of State to expand the Fulbright Program’s outstanding record of achievement. IIE provided innovative performance-based, results-oriented training to support USAID’s activities in Egypt, ranging from restructuring the country’s national electric utility in partnership with the Ministry of Electricity and Energy, to improving maternal and child health.

2000 to Today:

For almost 90 years, IIE has developed leaders, educated global citizens and advanced social justice.   In 2001, The Ford Foundation launched the Ford International Fellowships Program to broaden access to higher education for marginalized individuals from over 21 countries. In 2002, several IIE Trustees and other committed donors endowed the Scholar Rescue Fund to provide safe haven and support to scholars at risk of being silenced, arrested or persecuted for their work.  IIE is also expanding programs in the Middle East and Asia to deepen mutual understanding and address issues of common concern, and developing new models for educational exchange within North America.

New initiatives to expand the numbers and diversity of U.S. Students studying abroad are featured in IIE’s first White Paper on “MEETING AMERICA’S GLOBAL EDUCATION CHALLENGE: Exploring Host Country Capacity for Increasing U.S. Study Abroad.”