This donation is the largest of some 450 commitments made to the GSA five-year initiative so far, which was launched by the Institute of International Education (IIE) earlier this year with the goal of doubling the number of US students abroad by 2020.

CIEE is also arranging for its staff to be sent across the country to supervise around 10,000 students in applying for passports and it will also pay for their travel documents.

“While this is CIEE’s first pledge to the effort, since its founding in 1947, CIEE has been committed to tackling the major barriers that keep US students from studying abroad – cost, curriculum, and culture,” CIEE President and CEO James Pellow told The PIE News.

“CIEE has been committed  to tackling the major barriers that keep US students from studying abroad – cost, curriculum, and culture”

“This pledge is consistent with CIEE’s commitment to study abroad and encourage purposeful, innovative action to get more Americans to undertake a meaningful international experience through academic study abroad programmes, as well as internships, service learning, and non-credit educational experiences.”

CIEE’s scholarships will be awarded to students for academic achievement, economic need, and to support students while on of the organisation’s 200 international programmes in over 40 countries.

CIEE is the oldest and largest nonprofit study abroad and intercultural exchange organisation in the US, serving more than 340 US colleges and universities, 1,000 high schools and more than 35,000 international exchange students each year.

Further details of its pledge will be announced at the CIEE Annual Conference in Baltimore on November 19-22.

The latest figures released this week from the IIE Open Doors report show that US students studying overseas were up 2% in 2013 to 289,408 students. Most students study short-term courses and the UK, Italy and Spain are the top destination countries.

Aside from CIEE, other partners involved in the GSA project include around 298 US colleges and universities, educational associations, government entities, overseas universities and study abroad organisations.