The Junior Faculty Development Program (JFDP) is a program of Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) of the U.S. Department of State. JFDP is administered by American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS. JFDP is a non-degree, professional development program that provides promising junior university faculty with the opportunity to:

• expand knowledge and expertise in their respective academic fields by attending classes and working with faculty members at universities in the United States;
• garner new educational perspectives with exposure to U.S. educational philosophy and methods;
• gather new academic materials and resources, and;
• forge relationships between U.S. universities and their home universities, in order to support ongoing contact and collaboration.

Since its inception in 1994 under the auspices of the United States Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA-formerly the United States Information Agency), the JFDP has been building a community of educators to lead the charge for educational reform in Eurasia and Southeast Europe. By bringing professors and lecturers into university classrooms across the United States, the JFDP engages educators from Eurasia and Southeast Europe in the American academic environment and affords U.S. scholars the opportunity to learn more about higher education in regions of the world previously isolated from the West. Through the JFDP, faculty from Eurasia, Southeast Europe and the United States work together on curriculum development and research projects. While in the United States, JFDP Fellows develop and revise courses; learn new teaching methodologies; establish networks of professional contacts; and work to expand their knowledge in their fields of study. Fellows also co-teach courses at their host schools, give lectures and presentations, and collaborate on research and writing projects with their advisors and colleagues.

Though the JFDP originally only operated in Russia, it has since changed its area of operation significantly. JFDP currently recruits in Eurasia in the following countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan. JFDP also includes countries of Southeast Europe in its scope, including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia.

The program is administered by ACCELS (www.actr.org)