The Global Undergraduate Exchange Program in Pakistan (Global UGRAD-Pakistan) provides emerging youth leaders from communities across Pakistan with the opportunity to attend American universities and colleges for non-degree academic study.

During a semester of undergraduate classes and community engagement, participants strengthen their leadership, academic, and career-preparedness skills while building relationships with Americans. Participants return home as engaged leaders committed to tackling pressing challenges in their communities and fostering greater understanding between people of the United States and Pakistan.

Global UGRAD-Pakistan is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. Government and supported in its implementation by IREX.

Global UGRAD-Pakistan is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. Government and supported in its implementation by IREX.

• Since its inception in 2010, Global UGRAD-Pakistan has supported over 2,500 participants from across Pakistan. In the 2023-2024 academic year, 99% of participants were “first generation” exchange participants to the United States, and 37% of participants were the only students from Pakistan studying on campus, sharing new perspectives with their American peers.
• Strengthened Leadership Ability: Ninety-five percent of alumni reported that the leadership skills and knowledge from the program positively impacted their educational success, and 97% reported these skills enabled them to make a difference in their community.
• Engaged Community Leaders: Since program inception, participants have volunteered over 55,500 hours (equivalent to about 6 and a half years) of service with organizations in their American host communities. Ninety-six percent of alumni have engaged in activities to improve their home communities since returning to Pakistan, and 98% believe they have created positive change as a result. 
• Essential Academic and Professional Skills: Ninety-seven percent of participants report feeling more knowledgeable about their field of study as a result of the program. Additionally, 97% of alumni credited the leadership skills they developed during the program for significant career development with over 90% experiencing positive change in their employment status such as gaining new employment, receiving a promotion or salary increase, or transitioning to a full-time role.
• Fostering Mutual Understanding: Over 95% of alumni maintain relationships with Americans they met through Global UGRAD-Pakistan. Nearly 99% have shared about their U.S. experience with their home communities in Pakistan, and 92% of alumni reported that since they returned home, they think they have changed opinions about America among their friends, family, classmates, or co-workers.

• Strengthen participants’ leadership skills and experience
• Enhance participants’ academic competencies and career preparedness skills
• Increase participants’ community engagement abilities and commitment to service
• Contribute to increased understanding between the people of the United States and Pakistan through participants’ engagement in their host and home communities.

• Undergraduate study and academic skill-building: Participants attend a semester-long, academic program at U.S. universities and colleges, which includes coursework in their fields of study and in an American studies topic. Participants also take an additional course to strengthen their academic skills.
• Community service: Participants volunteer a minimum of 20 hours during the semester to give back to their American host communities and learn firsthand how to identify social problems and design and implement effective interventions.
• Country presentations: Participants share their country's history and traditions through interactive presentations on Pakistan at their host institutions or in local schools, retirement homes, or Rotary clubs.
• Digital Cultural Passport: Through the Passport, participants explore U.S. cultural experiences across themes such as: Arts and Music, Holiday and Community Celebrations, Sports and Leisure, Community Leadership in Action, Youth Concerns, and Local Pride, and forge bonds with Americans in their host communities.
• Alumni programming: Alumni lead Community Development Initiatives in Pakistan to create positive social change in their home communities and continue to apply and enhance their leadership skills.

E-mail: ugradpakistan@irex.org

Global UGRAD-Pakistan is sponsored by the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. Government and supported in its implementation by IREX.