Academic Exchange Programs - Educational Advising and Student Services

The Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs administers Academic Exchange Programs - Educational Advising and Student Services (Assistance Listing 19.432), funding nonprofit organizations to operate EducationUSA advising centers, conduct international student mobility research, and train educational advisers on U.S. higher education opportunities, with the most recent grant award on September 30, 2026.

The program is active and sustaining consistent grant volume. The portfolio includes 188 total awards across a twenty-year history beginning in 2007, with recent activity showing 4 awards in 2026 (year-to-date through late September), 7 in 2025, 10 in 2024, 6 in 2023, and 17 in 2022. Combined federal dollars obligated total $160.1 million, with combined total obligation (including non-federal cost-share) of $171.7 million, indicating that recipients contribute approximately $11.6 million in matching funds.

The program funds three concrete activity streams: operation and expansion of EducationUSA advising centers in 175 countries and territories that provide prospective international students with accurate information on U.S. higher education options; administration of the EducationUSA Opportunity Funds Program, which covers application fees, standardized test costs, visa interview travel, and initial flight expenses for merit-based, economically disadvantaged students; and research and statistical surveys on bilateral student mobility, including the Open Doors census of foreign students and scholars in the U.S. and American students studying abroad. Recent awards funded EducationUSA center operations in Cambodia, Nigeria, and the Philippines; global advising infrastructure and training; and international educational exchange data collection.

Awards are split predominantly between Project Grants (61 percent, 114 awards) and Cooperative Agreements (39 percent, 74 awards). The Department of State Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs dominates the portfolio, accounting for 166 of 188 awards and $159.1 million of the $160.1 million federal obligation—approximately 99 percent by count and federal dollars. Five other State bureaus (East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Near Eastern Affairs, Western Hemisphere Affairs, South and Central Asian Affairs, and African Affairs) fund smaller regional advising initiatives, together accounting for less than one percent of total federal dollars obligated.

Award magnitudes range from under one thousand dollars for single adviser support to multi-million-dollar cooperative agreements. Representative recent awards include a $6.177 million Cooperative Agreement (January 2026) to the Institute of International Education for FY 2026 EducationUSA Global Advising Services; a $2.2 million Cooperative Agreement (December 2024) to support advising in Eurasia and Central Asia; and a $1.031 million Cooperative Agreement (December 2024) to AMIDEAST for advising operations in Egypt, Gaza, Lebanon, Tunisia, West Bank, and Yemen. Project grants for discrete advising center operations typically fund $7,000 to $30,000 per award.

Two recent opportunities are open: FY26 EducationUSA Nigeria Advising (Solicitation PDS-EDUSA-FY26-01, due July 3, 2026, seeking a Cooperative Agreement to operate advising centers in Calabar, Jos, Ibadan, and Kano and administer the Opportunity Funds Program targeting high-achieving low-income Nigerian students in STEM and critical emerging technologies); and FY 2025 EducationUSA Advising Services (Solicitation SFOP0010349, due July 3, 2024, seeking up to three Cooperative Agreements for global advising infrastructure, Eurasia/Central Asia advising, and Middle East/North Africa advising). Eligible applicants are 501(c)(3) nonprofits and public and private higher education institutions meeting Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3) status at time of application.