<P> In 1948, the Smith - Mundt Act sought to "promote a better understanding of the United States in other countries, and to increase mutual understanding ." The educational and cultural exchange aspects of the State Department were removed from the Bureau of Public Affairs and entered the newly created Bureau of Educational and Cultural Relations (CU) in 1959 . </P> <P> In 1961, Congress passed the Fulbright - Hays Act to establish a program to "strengthen the ties which unite us with other nations by demonstrating the educational and cultural interests, developments, and achievements of the people of the United States and other nations". In 1978, the United States International Communication Agency (USICA) absorbed the bureau with the understanding that USICA was in charge of United States public diplomacy . Ronald Reagan renamed USICA to the United States Information Agency in 1982, and in 1999, USIA was absorbed by the State Department . </P> <Ul> <Li> Congress - Bundestag Youth Exchange </Li> <Li> Cultural Heritage Center </Li> <Li> Edmund S. Muskie Graduate Fellowship Program (the program was cancelled in 2013) </Li> <Li> EducationUSA </Li> <Li> Fulbright Scholarship </Li> <Li> Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX) </Li> <Li> Gilman Program </Li> <Li> Hubert Humphrey Fellowship </Li> <Li> International Visitor Leadership Program </Li> <Li> TechWomen </Li> <Li> Youth Exchange and Study (YES) </Li> </Ul> <Li> Congress - Bundestag Youth Exchange </Li>

U.s. department of state’s bureau of educational and cultural affairs