About

1947 - The Beginning

The Executive Committee on Student Travel forms to foster student and teacher travel. Logistics management and orientation for student exchange programs to Europe begins.

1967 - Becoming CIEE

Name change from Council on Student Travel to Council on International Educational Exchange (CIEE); begin to focus on academic programming. The first CIEE Study Center opens in Leningrad.

1969 - Introducing Summer Work Travel

CIEE is designated by the State Department as the first sponsor of the J-1 Summer Work Travel program; the CIEE Work & Travel USA program is created.

1984 - Expanding J-1 Visa Opportunities

At CIEE’s suggestion, the State Department creates a new J-1 visa category, J-1 Trainee, for university students to travel to the U.S. for internships.

2003 - Hello from Portland, Maine

U.S. headquarters moves from New York, New York, to Portland, Maine.

2015 - Reinventing Study Abroad

CIEE reinvents the study abroad model with the launch of its first Open Campus Block Program in Berlin. Open Campus Block locations follow in London, Paris, and Rome. 

2017 - Seven Decades of Bringing the World Together

CIEE celebrates 70 years of transforming lives through meaningful exchange.

View CIEE’s Full History