1946. Today the program continues to award approximately 4,500 new grants each year. (U.S. Department of State, 2002). Although the program was build with the mission of promoting capacity for empathy and understanding among nations its launch was also prompted by a very practical purpose, namely the need to deal with the millions of pieces of war surplus equipment that remained overseas after the war. II. The Historical ContextExchange of Scholars in early U.S. Higher EducationThere is no record of any state or federally funded scholar exchange program until the twentieth century. However, it wasnt uncommon for American students and scholars to study in educational institutions abroad even early in the history of U.S. higher education. German universities were usually the early favorites. Benjamin Franklin had become the first American to visit a German university, when he went to Gottingen in 1766. In the 19th century many professors in the American universities, including the ones that had German origin had studied in Germany and most of them had received their doctoral degrees from German universities.Number of students who were officially enrolled in German Universities between 1815 and 1870 is estimated to be 640 (Goldschmidt, 1991). Although the number of students enrolled slightly diminished towards the First World War, there were 255 American students enrolled in a German university or other higher education institute in the winter semester of 1911-1912. In comparison, the number of German students studying in the U.S. at the same year was estimated as 143 (Goldschmidt, 1991). Although there were a number of students who went to study in other European countries like England and France, they were considerably fewer in numbers compared to the scholars who studied in Germany. Rhodes ScholarshipThe oldest program that awarded international study grants to American students was created when a British philanthropist and colonia...
