The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, in coordination with partner organization IREX, will host an arrival orientation in Washington, DC from August 12-15 for 100 participants in the Global Undergraduate Exchange Program in Pakistan (Global UGRAD-Pakistan).

Launched in Fall 2010, Global UGRAD-Pakistan provides a substantive exchange experience at a U.S. college or university for a diverse group of Pakistani students. Participants will engage in one semester of non-degree study in the United States. Half of the 200 participants arrive in August 2011 for the Fall Semester, and the second half arrive in January 2012 for the Spring 2012 semester. The program has doubled from 100 participants last year to 200 this year.

The Fall 2011 Global UGRAD-Pakistan Fellows are placed at more than 53 accredited two- and four-year higher education institutions in over 31 states, including 19 institutions hosting participants for the first time this year. Participants also take part in local community service projects, engage in cultural enrichment activities on and off campus, and complete an American Studies course.

The Global UGRAD-Pakistan program is a part of the Department of State-sponsored Global Undergraduate Exchange Program, a scholarship program for approximately 600 students from the Western Hemisphere, East Asia and the Pacific, the Near East and South Asia, and Eurasia and Central Asia. Students take part in an orientation before departing for either one semester or one academic year of non-degree study at colleges and universities across the United States.

In addition to the Global UGRAD participants from Pakistan, 143 participants from 12 countries in Eurasia and Central Asia and 85 participants from 16 countries and territories in the Near East and South Asia will also arrive in the U.S. on Friday, August 12.

Global UGRAD participants are among the more than 50,000 academic and professional exchange program participants supported annually by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Other Bureau programs include the Fulbright Program, the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program and the International Visitor Leadership Program. For more information, visit http://exchanges.state.gov.

Media Contacts: James Lawrence, LawrenceJA@state.gov, 202-632-3241
John Fleming, FlemingJT2@state.gov, 202-632-6454