The world is an extension of the classroom

Fulbright operates in 160+ countries worldwide. For the Western Hemisphere, it names opportunities for Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay individually, though only about a third of these operate through an independent binational commission with its own board and budget, while the rest are administered directly by the local US Embassy. Smaller nations in Central America and the Caribbean are grouped into a single pooled competitive selection process.

OAS scholarship eligibility is restricted to citizens and permanent residents of OAS Member States, spanning North, Central, and South America and the Caribbean, plus the US and Canada. The core Academic Scholarship Program offers up to $10,000/year for Master's or PhD study at a university in a member state other than the applicant's own. OAS also runs partnership agreements with specific universities (including the University of the West Indies) and the 70+ year old Rowe Fund, an interest-free loan program for OAS-member-state citizens studying in the US.

Commonwealth Scholarships are a UK-wide program open to citizens of any of the 50+ Commonwealth countries. These scholarships fund postgraduate study only, require at least an upper-second-class undergraduate degree, and specifically target students from low- and middle-income Commonwealth countries who couldn't otherwise afford UK study; around 700 scholarships are awarded worldwide each year.

The Kingdom Scholarship (Koninkrijksbeurs), agreed to by the four countries of the Kingdom of the Netherlands — Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, and the Netherlands (which also represents the BES islands: Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius) — funds study or work abroad at the secondary vocational (MBO), higher professional (HBO), and university (WO) levels, both between the islands themselves and with the Netherlands. It was created specifically because students from the Caribbean part of the Kingdom could use Erasmus+ to study anywhere else in Europe except the Netherlands, since intra-Kingdom moves don't count as international under Erasmus+ rules.

Funding covers travel, accommodation, and living costs at levels comparable to Erasmus+; allocation is by lottery among eligible applicants. The program is still scaling: the first 2024 cohort sent 9 Aruban students to the Netherlands, growing toward 120 places split across Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten.

LADOM (L'Agence de l'Outre-mer pour la Mobilité) is the French government agency dedicated to support for studying and working abroad for residents of France's overseas departments and territories. Its Passeport Mobilité Études program funds round-trip airfare in full for students moving to mainland France when their field of study is unavailable or saturated locally. Students apply directly to LADOM rather than through their university. Over 10,000 students used the program in 2025, with 45% of them from the Antilles-Guyane region specifically.

Campus France operates an office in Port-au-Prince (based at the Institut Français en Haïti) offering individualized guidance for Haitian students pursuing study in France. The Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie has run a dedicated Caribbean regional bureau in Port-au-Prince since 1987, representing 19 Caribbean Francophone universities. On the Canadian side, a Haiti–Québec government agreement grants up to 34 Haitian students tuition at Québec-resident rates at universities like Laval, Montréal, and Sherbrooke, and Canada's Bourses de la Francophonie program allocates Haiti 38 scholarship slots annually.

The University of the West Indies (UWI) is a single public university shared across the English-speaking Caribbean; one of only two fully regional public university systems in the world. Founded in 1948 as an external college of the University of London, it became fully independent in 1962. UWI has four physical campuses in Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, and Antigua and Barbuda, plus an Open/Global Campus serving the other 13 contributing countries and territories without a landed campus of their own. UWI maintains bilateral exchange agreements with universities in North America, the UK, and beyond.

Argentine students access study abroad programs primarily through AUGM (Asociación de Universidades Grupo Montevideo), a network of 38 public universities across Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay founded in 1991. Its Programa ESCALA offers a genuine semester-long exchange for undergraduates who have completed at least 40% of their degree, selected competitively by their home university; tuition is waived at the host institution, with the home university covering travel and the host covering room and board. Companion tracks exist for graduate students (ESCALA Posgrado) and for faculty and administrative staff (ESCALA Docentes/Gestores).

Chile places among the heaviest emphasis in the region on international collaboration — Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile alone maintains 800+ active international agreements and sends roughly 1,200 students abroad annually, alongside a growing number of English-taught programs. Its partnerships include a Notre Dame exchange program for faculty and doctoral students, a research collaboration with the University of Maryland, and membership in Universitas 21, a 25-member global research university network. As an AUGM (Asociación de Universidades Grupo Montevideo) member, Chilean students also have direct access to the Programa ESCALA exchange network.

ICETEX (Instituto Colombiano de Crédito Educativo y Estudios Técnicos en el Exterior) is Colombia's primary government body for international education funding, offering credit and scholarship programs including exchange semester support. The US, UK, Spain, France, and Argentina are the leading destinations for Colombian students studying abroad.

Study abroad programs in Brazil are managed primarily through individual university partnerships and CAPES, the federal graduate-funding agency, which is launching a Global Fund for Postgraduate Education (2026–2031) to expand international partnerships. UNESCO counts over 110,000 Brazilian students abroad, with the US, Portugal, France, and Canada among top destinations.

Mexico's study abroad landscape has changed significantly in recent years. For five decades, CONACYT (Mexico's National Council for Science and Technology) funded Mexican graduate students to study abroad. Under recent government restructuring, that program was renamed CONAHCYT and then elevated to a ministry-level body (SECIHTI) in 2025, with its international scholarship funding sharply reduced in favor of domestic scholarships. AMPEI (Asociación Mexicana para la Educación Internacional) and ANUIES, the national association of Mexican universities, remain the main channels connecting Mexican students to study abroad, though this now runs almost entirely through individual university partnerships rather than a centralized national program.

Top 3 Regional Hosts for Students Studying Abroad

Sources: Argentina and Brazil figures are from Global Student Flows | Latin America, QS. Chile's figure is estimated from Project Atlas's reported 450% cumulative growth since 2019.

SENESCYT (Secretaría Nacional de Educación Superior, Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación) is Ecuador's national scholarship authority for direct enrollment abroad, running named programs including Convocatoria Abierta (funding one to five years of Master's/doctoral study) and Universidades de Excelencia (targeting life sciences, natural sciences, and social science fields), plus institutional partnerships such as a co-sponsorship agreement with McGill University. Roughly 23,000–26,000 Ecuadorian students are currently abroad, an increase of nearly 50% since 2010.

The two most established scholarship programs for Palestinian students wanting to study at U.S. universities are the Fulbright Foreign Student Program and the Hope Fund, both administered by AMIDEAST. The Fulbright Foreign Student Program funds graduate study and research; its 2025–2026 West Bank cycle was suspended, but 2026 interview dates have been shared suggesting plans to reopen. The Hope Fund is privately funded and has helped nearly 200 Palestinian students since 2001 close the funding gap after they've already secured undergraduate admission and a scholarship covering at least 80% of costs at a US university.

Germany's DAAD funds Masters study for Palestinians through its In-Country Scholarship Program, delivered at accredited universities within the West Bank rather than in Germany itself. The program covers up to 20 scholarships per participating institution at roughly €400/month. DAAD has had to suspend the parallel track for Gaza, citing the absence of functioning universities there. However, German officials have pointed to in-region alternatives, particularly partnerships with universities in Jordan, as a possible current option for Gazan applicants.

HESPAL funds UK Masters and a small number of PhD placements for Palestinian academic staff nominated by their home university. The 2025–2026 cohort brought 12 new scholars from six universities across the West Bank and Gaza, joining 23 continuing scholars already studying across 13 UK universities. The 2026–2027 cycle is open exclusively to applicants from Gaza.

The National Erasmus+ Office in Palestine, based in Ramallah, appears to be continuing to operate and support academic mobility under the Palestinian Ministry of Education and Higher Education, but currently through West Bank institutions, not Gaza.

Lebanon's study abroad programs run through its major universities. The American University of Beirut's Office of International Programs ("AUB Abroad") and the Lebanese American University's International Services and Programs Office are among the most internationally recognizable, each operating exchange programs with formal partner-university agreements; AUB requires a minimum cumulative GPA and a nomination-based selection process, and both offer bilateral exchange, Erasmus+, and other study abroad tracks side by side. Several other major Lebanese universities run comparable infrastructure: the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK) alone maintains more than 250 international partnerships worldwide, and Université Saint-Joseph, Notre Dame University–Louaize, and the University of Balamand all participate in active EU-funded exchange and capacity-building projects alongside European partner institutions.

The African Union's Agenda 2063 explicitly promotes a "borderless Africa," easing visa and immigration requirements between member states to support cross-border study. The effect is visible in the data: among students tracked by the HALI network (high-achieving, low-income students across the continent), the split between those studying outside Africa and those studying within it is now close to 50/50 — a reversal from a decade ago, when nearly all went to North America. Cost is a major driver behind this shift as intra-Africa study is significantly more affordable than study outside of Africa; price sensitivity remains one of the biggest factors pushing African students toward regional options over transcontinental ones.

Other intra-continent opportunities include the EU-funded Intra-Africa Academic Mobility Scheme, the Southern African Development Community's SADC CATS, and the East African Community's EACAT credit-transfer frameworks, the latter two still early-stage, alongside a continent-wide African Credit Transfer System (ACTS) currently being piloted across 100 universities under the HAQAA initiative.

South Africa is the continent's primary intra-African destination. As of 2013, it held the highest share of African students from outside South Africa of any country in the world (9.3%), ahead of both the UK and the US as destinations for African students specifically.

South Africa universities also run study abroad programs of their own. The University of Cape Town's Student Exchange Programme sends UCT students abroad on a reciprocal swap basis, a partner-university student arrives at UCT as the UCT student departs, while students remain registered and continue paying tuition at UCT. Wits runs a similarly structured track as does Stellenbosch University.

This program operates in 160+ countries worldwide and has different opportunities for non-US scholars seeking to study abroad in the US. For those scholars and students, the program provides competitive funding for graduate-level study only — Masters, PhD, or non-degree research — not undergraduate study. Grants typically cover full or partial tuition, a monthly living stipend calibrated to the host city's cost of living, round-trip airfare, and health insurance, along with J-1 exchange visitor visa sponsorship. The program is administered in the APAC region through binational commissions — including the Korean-American Educational Commission, the Japan-US Educational Commission, and the American-Indonesian Exchange Foundation — or directly through the US Embassy when no commission exists. About 4,000 foreign students receive Fulbright grants globally each year; grants are usually awarded for one academic year to start, though many Masters and PhD placements include multi-year funding depending on the country and university.

The Asian International Mobility for Students (AIMS) Programme, coordinated by SEAMEO RIHED (Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization), is the region's flagship multilateral exchange framework initially founded within ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations). The program began in 2009 as a Malaysia-Indonesia-Thailand pilot before expanding regionally in 2012; it has since grown to include Japan, South Korea, and Singapore. 87 member universities across 10 countries participate. It's a competitive application process where students can receive a full scholarship from their home university covering flights, accommodation, and a monthly allowance, with tuition waived by the host university. Over 6,000 students have participated since 2010.

New Zealand's eight universities maintain exchange agreements with partner institutions worldwide; English is the primary language of instruction. However, New Zealand does not publish public study abroad reporting at the national level. Additionally, New Zealand's international education infrastructure has historically focused on attracting inbound students rather than promoting outbound study abroad.

Singapore's study abroad programs run almost entirely through university-level bilateral exchange rather than full-degree study abroad. The National University of Singapore (NUS) alone maintains agreements with 300+ partner universities across 40+ countries; Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and Singapore Management University (SMU) operate similar networks. English is the primary language of instruction, and exchange is often credit-bearing and built into degree requirements.

Taiwan's major research universities maintain institutional exchange infrastructure. National Taiwan Normal University alone maintains agreements with nearly 200 partner institutions worldwide, with tuition-exemption arrangements for students studying abroad outside of Taiwan, and National Taiwan University runs a similarly structured program.

However, Taiwan has a current study abroad policy focused on bringing international students to Taiwan: the government is targeting 320,000 international students by 2030, having introduced expanded work rights and scholarships in 2025 to compete with Japan and Korea for the same regional applicant pool.

Indonesian students in Australia grew 41% over six years. The overall number of Indonesia students studying abroad is up roughly 29% since 2017 (OECD); Malaysia, the US, Japan, and the UK are top destination countries after Australia.

UK and Australia each averaged 14,000–15,400 Malaysian students studying abroad annually from 2013–2024 (ISEAS–Yusof Ishak Institute). Taiwan hosted 10,500–17,500 Malaysian students annually from 2015–2023, it was Taiwan's main source of international students until Vietnam and Indonesia overtook Malaysia in 2019–2020.

Students from Vietnam make up the largest number of Southeast Asian students studying abroad. Vietnam's Ministry of Education and Training reports that more than 250,000 Vietnamese students are studying abroad as of 2025, with South Korea, Japan, Australia, the US, Taiwan, China, and Canada as the top destinations. The pathway is mostly direct enrollment abroad and not the study abroad/exchange pathway.

Vietnam became Australia's third-largest source of new international students in 2023/24, and Vietnam replaced China as South Korea's largest source country in 2025, driven by affordability, proximity, and the rising prestige of Asian universities relative to Western ones.

English is a co-official language of instruction in the Philippines and the country has emerged as a top-five destination for Japanese students seeking affordable English-language programs; a role it now plays for students from across the region.

More broadly, English-medium and English-official countries in the region – the Philippines, Singapore, India, and to a lesser extent Malaysia – show a stronger pull toward English-speaking Western destinations than non-English-medium countries do.

China isn't just a huge sender of outbound students, it's also a significant regional receiver of international students from its Southeast Asian neighbors. As of 2019 (the last year with published country-level figures), China hosted 28,600 Thai students, 15,000 Indonesian students, 11,300 Vietnamese students, and 9,500 Malaysian students, making it a top destination for a substantial share of the region. Taiwan draws a related pull toward Mandarin-medium study for students prioritizing Chinese-language immersion specifically.