About the American Institute For Foreign Study

THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE FOR FOREIGN STUDY, INC. (AIFS) and its family of companies organizes cultural exchange programs throughout the world for more than 50,000 students each year and arranges insurance coverage for our own participants as well as participants of other organizations. The group, a privately owned U.S. corporation with wholly owned overseas subsidiaries, has annual revenues in excess of $130 million. Since our founding in 1964, more than a million students and teachers have participated in AIFS programs worldwide.

The opportunity and need for enhanced global understanding is greater now than ever. AIFS is proud to serve this end through the programs described. Our programs teach young people from all over the world to understand each other's qualities, their similarities and differences. AIFS program participants learn vital language skills as well as the ability to function in different cultures. We provide our program participants with the educational edge they need to succeed in a highly competitive, diverse and interdependent world.

As we enter the 21st century, we look back proudly on nearly four decades of service to individuals and institutions concerned with educational and cultural exchange. We look forward to the future and to a world that shares a common global vision of peace and prosperity.

World Wide Education and Travel

Academic Year in America
High school foreign exchange student program. Academic Year in America (AYA) is the program arm of the AIFS Foundation. Using its designation by the department of State as an authorized 'J' exchange visitor sponsor, AYA has enabled 800-1000 students annually from overseas to attend American high schools. The students attend U.S. high schools for five or ten months and share their language and culture with their host families. American high school students also travel abroad under AYA auspices to study in Germany, France, Holland and Spain. AYA also sponsors summer camp experiences in countries such as Brazil, Chile, France, Austria and Spain.

More recently, AYA has partnered with the State Department to administer study programs in the United States for students from Muslim countries and the former Soviet Union.

American Council for International Studies
Educational travel for high school students and teachers. Founded in 1978, ACIS annually organizes high quality educational travel programs for more than 30,000 U.S. high school students and teachers. Students and teachers from more than 2,000 school districts travel on one to four-week educational trips in Europe, China, Mexico, Africa, Australia and to the Americas. For most participants, ACIS programs provide their initial exposure to a foreign country. Students and teachers stay in quality hotels, are led by experienced couriers to places of historic and cultural interest and return home with a fresh, exciting perspective of learning possibilities throughout the world. Custom-designed educational travel programs for students and special interest groups generally include a period of educational sightseeing and lectures on politics, foreign culture and other subjects.

AIFS Summer Advantage - for High School Students
Campus-based and adventure travel programs for high school students. AIFS Summer Advantage Study Abroad programs provide high school students aged 16 and older who have completed their sophomore year with a taste of university life before they enroll in college, as well as help strengthen their prospects for acceptance at a university through foreign language study or liberal arts courses abroad. Most U.S. colleges accept transfer credits for completed work.

AIFS Foundation
Study travel and academic programs promoting cultural exchange. Founded in 1967 with the assistance of the late Senator Robert F. Kennedy, the American Institute For Foreign Study (AIFS) Foundation is an independent 501 (c) 3 entity. The Foundation has a history of grant-making in secondary and higher education. It co-sponsors a scholarship fund in partnership with the Coca-Cola Foundation to provide students from the State of Georgia opportunities to study abroad as well as the chance to host foreign students. In addition the Foundation made it possible from American college students to study in Italy, Poland (Krakow), England and the Federal Republic of Germany. The Russel & Deborah Taylor Foundation has been a key supporter of the grantees in Italy and Britain. A very unusual scholarship initiative by the AIFS Foundation was conducted in St. Petersburg, Russia with an initial grant from the Tcherepnine family. Finally, the Foundation is investing in a series of matching grants for minority youngsters from Washington, D.C., Reading, York and Allentown, PA to enable students to take part in overseas study travel programs as well as in summer academic camps.

AIFS Study Abroad College Division
Study abroad programs for college students. In affiliation with 18 international universities, AIFS annually organizes study abroad programs for more than 5,000 American students during the academic year and the summer. All courses are for academic credit. AIFS works closely with 500 American colleges and universities providing students and faculty with high quality educational experiences abroad. AIFS also arranges study abroad programs for 80 American universities and colleges on a partnership basis, providing housing, transportation, classrooms, meals, student services and cultural activities. Faculty from U.S. institutions participating in this program teach their own courses at AIFS centers.

Richmond, The American International University in London
Undergraduate and graduate University in London. Like the city in which it is located, Richmond, The American International University in London, provides a diverse, multicultural environment. The University combines the student-centered approach of an American liberal arts college with outstanding British and American faculty in fully accredited AA, BS, BA, MA and MBA programs. Students come to Richmond from more than 100 countries. Small classes and personal attention from the faculty, an extensive advising service and a wide range of courses make Richmond an ideal study abroad choice. At Richmond, you don’t just read about a global culture, you experience it. Richmond is an independent, co-educational, non-profit international liberal arts and professional studies university of approximately 1,200 students. The original Richmond College, founded in 1843, was a constituent institution of the University of London until the founding of the present University in 1972 which bears its name and occupies its campus.

Gifted and Talented Education

Summer Institute for the Gifted
Summer programs for gifted and talented students. A unique and prestigious three-week residential and day, co-educational, summer program for academically talented students in grades K through eleven, the Institute blends a strong and challenging academic program of introductory and college-level courses, an opportunity for cultural exposure and social growth, and traditional recreational summer camp activities to create an effective, well-balanced, rewarding and enjoyable summer experience. Programs are conducted at Amherst College, Bryn Mawr College, Drew University, Emory University, Fairfield University, Manhattanville College, Moorestown Friends School, Princeton University, University of Michigan, UC-Berkeley, UCLA and Vassar College.

Child Care and Professional Staffing

Au Pair in America
Live-in child care for U.S. families. Approximately 4,000 young people from around the world arrive each year to live with an American host family and assist with child care in this unique cultural exchange program. This one-year program is coordinated and monitored by local AIFS Community Counselors who provide general support and social and cultural activities for au pairs and host families alike. Au pairs take advantage of educational opportunities available in a given area and often participate in civic events to gain a broader awareness of American culture and community life. Au Pair in America is a designated program of the United States State Department.

AIFS also offers Au Pair Extraordinaire and EduCare. In addition to requirements to be an Au Pair in America, Au Pair Extraordinaire candidates either have completed a full-time, two-year academic course in child care or are at least 19 years old and have two years full-time experience as a nanny, child care provider or nursery school teacher. EduCare is a child care cultural exchange program that offers you the opportunity to continue to receive quality live-in care as your children grow and your needs change.

Camp America
Camp counselors and support staff for U.S. summer camps. Camp America brings more than 8,500 foreign students and young people into the United States each year to work as camp counselors and support staff in U.S. summer camps. Camp counselors teach sports, crafts, performing arts and other skills to campers. Campower participants contribute maintenance, kitchen and office support. Camp America is designated by the United States Department of State as a J-visa sponsor.