Albania

American Councils opened its office in Tirana, the capital city of Albania, in 2003 with the launch of the Junior Faculty Development Program (JFDP). Since then, American Councils in Albania has administered an array of programs, including JFDP, World Bank projects, various outbound programs, and the YES program.

AC Albania works closely with the U.S. Embassy in Tirana, as well as with the Ministry of Education and Sports, boards of education, high schools and other community partners and stakeholders.

Featured Programs

Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES): An exchange program for high school students from Muslim majority countries to live and attend school in the United States. It is currently the largest program supported by AC Albania. Since 2009, 75 high school students from Albania have participated. Alumni facilitate community projects, including a clean-up project funded by U.S. Embassy in Tirana, and several projects benefiting the elderly and children with special needs.

Balkan Language Initiative: Intensive Albanian language training for college and graduate students. Through homestays, conversation partners, in-class instruction, and a wide range of extracurricular activities, participants are immersed in daily local life in a region largely un-served by study abroad.

Master's and Internship Program (MIP): MIP was established in 2016 by the Albanian–American Development Foundation (AADF), to provide young Albanian professionals, future leaders, and managers a unique opportunity for master's degrees and professional internships in the fields of agriculture, business administration, heritage, eco-tourism and hospitality, education, information technology and computer science, public health, public policy, and public administration. 

Title VIII Research Fellowships: Scholarship support for independent, in-country research for three to nine months.

Overseas Professional and Intercultural Training Program: Six-week, English-language internships for students and professionals.