Maine International Links : Council on International Educational Exchange

Council on International Educational Exchange
300 Fore Street, Portland, ME 04101
www.ciee.org.

Contact: Adam Rubin, Program Director
Telephone: 207-553-4051
Fax: 207-553-5051

The Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE) is the leading U.S. non-governmental education organization.  CIEE creates and administers programs that allow high school and university students and educators to study and teach abroad.

Into the chilly postwar world of 1947, CIEE launched the next generation of study abroad programs, the first since they'd been suspended during World War II.   Senators and scholars worried about how to increase international understanding and establish trust between nations.  As soon as there was enough capacity aboard trans-Atlantic ships to carry students, CIEE programs began teaching.

For U.S. high shool and university students, CIEE administers approximately 104 study abroad programs in over 35 host countries and teaching programs in Chile, China, Spain, and Thailand.  Educators can participate in 26 summer seminars in 28 countries.

The Trainee Program - a category of the J-1 Visa - constitutes one of CIEE's core areas of competency.  During its nearly 20 years as administrator of this program, CIEE has supported more than 50,000 participants in their endeavor to expand their knowledge and skills and to enhance their professional qualifications.  The knowledge and experience accumulated over this time, along with an enduring commitment to quality, has allowed CIEE to remain the largest sponsor in this category and an overall leader in program administration.

CIEE's Work and Travel USA Program makes it possible for international students to explore life in the United States.  The program is designed so that overseas students can become more than tourists, experiencing life in the U.S. firsthand by working alongside U.S. citizens in temporary employment.  CIEE has been designated by the U.S. State Department to administer this J-1 Visa program since 1969.