Opportunity for international teachers: Teaching Excellence and Achievement (TEA) Program 2017

The Teaching Excellence and Achievement (TEA) program provides international teachers with an opportunity to enhance their teaching skills and increase their knowledge about the United States.

TEA is a six-week customized academic program that includes seminars on curriculum development, lesson planning, instructional technology, and new teaching methodologies. Fellows participate in a practicum in a US secondary school, working closely with US teachers and students. The program provides cultural enrichment, mentoring, and support.

Application Instructions

Each US embassy or Fulbright commission sets its own application deadlines. Please contact the US embassy or Fulbright commission in your country or territory for deadline information. Please review the program eligibility requirements prior to starting an application to ensure that you are eligible. If you have additional questions after reviewing the application instructions, please send an e-mail to teaglobal@irex.org.

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Program Eligibility

Details for this program may vary by country. In general, applicants must meet the following criteria:

• Current secondary school-level,* full-time teacher in an institution serving primarily a local population;
• A bachelor’s degree or equivalent;
• Five or more years of classroom experience as a teacher of English, English as a foreign language (EFL), mathematics, science, or social studies, including special education teachers in those subject areas;
• Proficient in written and spoken English with a TOEFL score of 450 on the paper-based TOEFL or an equivalent English-language examination;**
• Demonstrated commitment to continue teaching after completion of the program; and
• A complete application.

*Secondary-level teachers include both middle and high school teachers working with students between approximately 12 and 18 years of age. Teachers responsible for teaching additional grade levels must teach middle school or high school students more than 50% of their work time in order to be eligible for the program.

**A limited number of participants with TOEFL scores between 425 and 450, or equivalent, will be accepted for the program in a special cohort that will include additional English-language training as part of the professional development program.

Applicants from the following countries are eligible:

• Algeria
• Argentina 
• Armenia 
• Azerbaijan 
• Bangladesh
• Belarus
• Bolivia
• Burkina Faso 
• Burma
• Cambodia 
• Cameroon 
• Chile 
• Colombia
• Costa Rica 
• Cote d'Ivoire 
• Dominican Republic 
• Ecuador
• Egypt 
• El Salvador 
• Estonia
• Georgia 
• Ghana 
• Guatemala 
• Haiti 
• Honduras 
• India 
• Iraq
• Jordan 
• Kazakhstan 
• Kyrgyzstan 
• Laos
• Latvia 
• Lebanon
• Lithuania
• Malawi
• Mali 
• Moldova 
• Mongolia
• Mozambique 
• Nepal 
• Nicaragua 
• Niger 
• Nigeria 
• Panama
• Peru 
• Russia 
• Rwanda 
• Senegal 
• South Africa 
• Sri Lanka
• Sudan 
• Tajikistan
• Thailand 
• Tunisia
• Turkey
• Turkmenistan 
• Ukraine 
• Uruguay
• Venezuela 
• Vietnam
• West Bank/Gaza 
• Zambia 
• Zimbabwe 

Financial Support

The Teaching Excellence and Achievement Program is fully funded* by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) of the US Department of State.

*Pending availability of funds