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Learn, exchange, grow, and serve. The U.S. Department of State offers many programs for non-U.S. citizens wishing to come to the U.S. for cultural, educational, or professional exchange. These programs are augmented by local opportunities in countries around that world that allow non-U.S. citizens to explore U.S. culture and the English language. Learn more about the opportunities offered by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
Iraqi alumni of the U.S. exchange programs listed below can learn more about how to stay connected with other Iraqi alumni by contacting the U.S. Embassy Alumni Coordinator at IraqiAlumni@state.gov and by visiting the Department of State online global community of Alumni at https://state.gov. Current alumni can also visit the Iraqi Alumni Facebook pages listed to the right of this page.
Whether you plan to pursue a short-term or full degree program in the United States, Education USA has the resources you need.
EducationUSA is a U.S. Department of State network of over 430 international student advising centers in more than 175 countries and territories. The network promotes U.S. higher education to students around the world by offering accurate, comprehensive, and current information about opportunities to study at accredited institutions in the United States. EducationUSA also provides services to the U.S. higher education community to help institutional leaders meet their recruitment and campus internationalization goals. EducationUSA is your official source on U.S. higher education.
Follow us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/StudyUSAIraq
Education Advising Office
The Education Advising Offices at the U.S. Embassy and Consulate are certified EducationUSA advising centers.
Services available from the Education Advising Offices include:
Feel free to contact our offices for assistance for your contacts interested in studying in the United States.
Baghdad
U.S. Embassy – Baghdad
BaghdadEducationAdv@state.gov
Erbil
U.S. Consulate General – Erbil
ErbilEducationUSA@state.gov
The United States supports international education and welcomes foreign students and exchange visitors. Before applying for a visa, students and exchange visitors must be accepted by their schools or program sponsors.
American English is a resource center for teaching and learning about American English language and culture.
The English Language Office (ELO) supports the mission of the Public Affairs section of the United States Embassy to focus on building mutual understanding between people through its educational, cultural, and informational programs.
The Cultural Affairs section arranges a variety of U.S.-government sponsored exchange programs that link Iraqis and Americans. These programs are intended to introduce participants to the United States and American people and culture, as well as provide them with a chance to exchange ideas with their American colleagues. Educational and cultural exchanges create human bonds and enduring relationships that build bridges of cooperation and understanding between peoples.
Each U.S. college or university has its own requirements for admission, including standardized tests that all students take as part of the admissions process. You will take these tests in English at an official testing center. The official test scores must be sent to each of the universities you are applying to. Not all universities will require these tests, so be sure to read their websites carefully.
Here are some useful resources to help you with your search for undergraduate and graduate programs.
Degree-granting institutions in the United States can be called colleges, universities or institutes. Colleges tend to be small and offer only undergraduate degrees, while universities also offer graduate degrees. An institute usually specializes in degree programs in a group of closely related subject areas, such as institutes of technology and institutes of fashion.
It can seem overwhelming to find the right school for you from such a large number of universities and colleges. Here are some search engines that can help you narrow your choices. Remember that you will want to think about location, cost, type of program, and size of the institution.
Fulbright Foreign Student Program for 2024-2025
Fulbrighters live and learn together with people of different cultures and become part of a global network that fosters mutual understanding between nations, advances knowledge across communities, and improves lives around the world. After they return home, they join thousands of alumni serving as leaders across the globe and in every field imaginable.
Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant (FLTA)
The Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant (FLTA) Program is a nine-month non-degree program that provides early career teachers of English an opportunity to refine their teaching skills through exposure to U.S. teaching methodologies, increase their English language proficiency, and extend their knowledge of the society and culture of the United States. Participants will serve as teaching assistants in Arabic classes for U.S. students during the program, strengthening foreign language instruction at U.S. colleges and universities.
Fulbright Foreign Student Program
This scholarship program, launched by the U.S. Congress and the late U.S. Senator William J. Fulbright in 1946, allows outstanding students and professionals worldwide to study at U.S. universities to further their careers as well as promote international cultural understanding. Here in Iraq, participation in the Fulbright Foreign Student program allows exceptional Iraqis to experience life and education in the United States first-hand. Fulbright students also have the opportunity to share Iraq’s rich culture with Americans they meet and to serve as “student ambassadors” both in the classroom and in everyday life.
Fulbright Teaching Excellence and Achievement Program
The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad is pleased to announce that the application period for the 2023-2024 Fulbright Teaching Excellence and Achievement Program (FTEA) is now open until March 10, 2023. This program will provide Iraqi secondary-school teachers the opportunity to spend six weeks at a host institution in the United States to observe classrooms and share their expertise with teachers and students at the university and at local secondary schools.
Fulbright Visiting Scholar Program
The Fulbright Visiting Scholar Program for Iraq brings junior Iraqi scholars to U.S. institutions for faculty development, mentoring, and cultural exchange activities. Discipline-based cohorts will spend 10 weeks at selected U.S. host institutions, where they will be introduced to new teaching and research methods, observe classes, attend seminars, and develop linkages with American faculty through weekly mentoring sessions.
The Hubert H. Humphrey Fellowship Program, a Fulbright exchange, enhances leadership among international professionals who collaborate to address local and global challenges and foster change for our collective good. Through academic study and professional development with U.S. counterparts, this growing global network shares best practices and builds expertise in fields of critical importance to advance societal and institutional capacity, promote human rights and freedoms, ensure sustainable lands, and develop thriving communities. By providing future leaders and policy makers with experience in U.S. higher education, society, culture, and professional organizations, the program provides a basis for lasting, productive ties between Americans and their professional counterparts overseas.
Join the ExchangeAlumni community and open the door to a world of support, resources, and funding opportunities to help you build on the skills you gained during your exchange program:
There are also resources you can access without logging in, such as the Resources for Entrepreneurs page, where you can find information and programs to help you build your business. In addition, you can connect with us online through LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, sharing your successes by using #ExchangeAlumni when you post. Prefer to email? Reach us at exchangealumni@state.gov.
If you are interested in being part of an Alumni Advisory Council, please email the information below to: IraqCulturalAffairs@state.gov
Please also indicate which of the six councils you would like to join:
We look forward to having you join us!
Please call: (301) 985-8841
Outside of Office Hours, contact: 0760-030-4400
Outside of Iraq: 964-760 030-4400
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