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Emergency Information for American Citizens

Education & Exchanges

Overview

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. The United States Mission in Saudi Arabia oversees and implements several programs sponsored by the American people for Saudi citizens to support young leaders, students, and professionals, including journalists, teachers, and entrepreneurs.

These programs focus on building people-to-people relations to foster mutual understanding, enhance professional partnerships and collaboration, and strengthen a healthy exchange of ideas across all sectors between our two countries.

  1. Opportunities for individuals individual to apply for programs;
  2. Programs for which an individual is nominated; and
  3. Opportunities for institutions to request support from the U.S. Embassy.

Learn more about the opportunities offered by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.

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Exchange Alumni: Resources & Opportunities

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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:

  • Gain access to various grant opportunities through Foundation Directory Online (FDO) and Grants to Individuals (GTI).
  • Read journals, academic journals, and articles through Gale and EBSCO’s first academic database.
  • Find and connect with fellow ExchangeAlumni locally and globally.
  • Get up-to-date information on live events, such as #MentorTalks, and ExchangeAlumni news.

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, X, and Instagram, sharing your successes by using #ExchangeAlumni when you post. Prefer to email? Reach us at exchangealumni@state.gov.

Local Alumni Opportunities

Participation in an exchange program is not a one-time event, but rather the beginning of an exchange of ideas that continues throughout a participant’s life.  We want to make sure we remain engaged with our alumni, and develop ways to connect with each other, share opportunities, and continue building bridges among our communities. 

With approximately 5k+ alumni of U.S. government-sponsored exchange programs, Saudi Arabia has a large and diverse U.S.-government exchange alumni community.  Former exchange program participants have risen to important positions in Saudi Arabia, serving as leaders in government, media, civil society, and business fields. More information on the global Alumni network is available at  https://alumni.state.gov . 

Examples of exchange programs whose participants make up our exchange alumni community include: IVLP, Fulbright, Humphrey, SUSI, SYLEP, YES, and UGRAD.  

Connect with our alumni coordinators to learn about upcoming events and opportunities. In addition, if you have upcoming events or success stories that you would like highlighted in our alumni newsletter, please reach out to one of our alumni coordinators.