A student exchange program is a program where students from a secondary school or university study abroad at one of their institution's partner institutions. Student exchange programs may involve international travel, but does not necessarily require the student to study outside of their home country. For example, the National Student Exchange program (NSE) offers placements throughout the United States and Canada.
According to the U.S. government, foreign exchange programs exist to provide practical training and employment and the sharing of history, culture, and traditions of the participants' home country.
The term "exchange" means that a partner institution accepts a student, but does not necessarily mean that the students have to find a counterpart from the other institution with whom to exchange. Exchange students live with a host family or in a designated place such as a hostel, an apartment, or a student lodging. Costs for the program vary by to country and institution. Participants fund their participation via scholarships, loans, or self-funding.
Student exchanges became popular after World War II, and are intended to increase the participants' understanding and tolerance of other cultures, as well as improving their language skills and broadening their social horizons. An exchange student typically stays in the host country for a period of 6 to 10 months. International students or those on study abroad programs may stay in the host country for several years. Some exchange programs offer academic credit.
Read more about Student Exchange Program: Costs, Intercambio
Famous quotes containing the words student, exchange and/or program:
“Now that Stevenson is dead I can think of but one English- speaking author who is really keeping his self-respect and sticking for perfection. Of course I refer to that mighty master of language and keen student of human actions and motives, Henry James.”
—Willa Cather (1873–1947)
“... the subjective viewpoint is the only one to use regarding a library. Your true library is a collection of the books you want. You may have deplorably poor taste or bad judgment. Never mind. Correct those traits before you exchange your books.”
—Carolyn Wells (1862–1942)
“It is said that a carpenter building a summer hotel here ... declared that one very clear day he picked out a ship coming into Portland Harbor and could distinctly see that its cargo was West Indian rum. A county historian avers that it was probably an optical delusion, the result of looking so often through a glass in common use in those days.”
—For the State of New Hampshire, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)