The Teaching Excellence and Achievement Program (TEA) provides outstanding secondary school teachers of English as a Foreign Language (EFL), social studies, math and science with unique opportunities to develop expertise in their subject areas, enhance their teaching skills and increase their knowledge about the United States.

Teachers come to the United States from all world regions for a six-week academic program at a U.S. university, including intensive training in teaching methodologies, lesson planning, teaching strategies for their home environment, teacher leadership, and the use of instructional technologies. The program also includes an internship at a secondary school to engage participants with American teachers and students. This program is administered by International Research & Exchanges Board (IREX); for more details visit the IREX website.

Participating Countries

• Argentina
• Armenia
• Azerbaijan
• Bangladesh
• Bolivia
• Bulgaria
• Cambodia
• Chile
• Colombia
• Costa Rica
• Côte d’Ivoire
• Dominican Republic
• Ecuador
• Egypt
• El Salvador

• Estonia
• Georgia
• Guatemala
• Haiti
• Honduras
• India
• Jordan
• Kazakhstan
• Kyrgyzstan
• Latvia
• Lithuania
• Mali
• Morocco
• Nepal
• Nicaragua

• Oman
• Panama
• Peru
• Poland
• Romania
• Russia
• Rwanda
• South Africa
• Tajikistan
• Thailand
• Turkey
• Turkmenistan
• Venezuela
• Ukraine
• Uzbekistan*

Note: Participating countries are subject to change.

*For interested participants from Uzbekistan, please contact teacherexchange@state.gov for more information.

Eligibility Requirements
All applicants must:

• Be secondary-school-level, full-time teachers with five or more years of classroom experience** in TEA teaching disciplines: EFL, social studies, mathematics or science.
• Have proficiency in written and spoken English with a TOEFL score of 450 or equivalent

**For interested participants from Turkey please consult IREX for country-specific eligibility requirements.

Application Deadline
The application deadlines vary by country. Contact the Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy for a copy of the application and for additional information, please visit the website of the IREX, which administers the program.

Alumni Grant Opportunities
Alumni are encouraged to apply for small grants to support follow-up activities in their home countries. Alumni will also be eligible to join the community of alumni of all State Department Educational and Cultural exchange programs.

Related Programs
Teachers in selected countries in the Near East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and the Western Hemisphere participate in a similar five month professional development program called the International Leaders in Education (ILEP) program.  More information about this program can be found on the IREX website.