TODAY
AFS-USA sends more than 1,500 students to more than 40 countries each year on year, semester, and summer programs; awards approximately $2 million in financial aid and scholarships annually; and welcomes more than 2,500 international high school students to the U.S. and places these students in high schools and families.
AFS proudly acknowledges an alumni network of more than 370,000 individuals who have studied abroad on an AFS Program. Former AFS Students live in more than 100 countries around the world.
AFS HISTORY
AFS (formerly the American Field Service) is a worldwide nonprofit organization that has been a leader in high school student exchange for 60 years. During World Wars I & II, young Americans volunteered as ambulance drivers in the American Field Service evacuating the wounded from battlefields. When they returned home, they founded a movement to promote understanding and peace through
international student exchanges, known today as AFS Intercultural Programs. They believed—as we believe today—that the way to
build a more just and peaceful world begins when people from different countries and cultures meet, learn together, and better understand one another.
AFS-USA MISSION
AFS-USA works toward a more just and peaceful world by providing
international and intercultural learning experiences to individuals, families, schools, and communities through a global volunteer partnership.
