USA Exchange 2026
A unique Exchange programme building education partnerships between universities and colleges in the UK and USA
The Queen Elizabeth Prizes for Education: USA Exchange
The year 2026 will mark the 100th anniversary of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, the founding patron of the Royal Anniversary Trust and champion of the Queen Elizabeth Prizes for Education, the highest honour awarded to universities and colleges in the United Kingdom. 2026 is also the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in the USA.
In this special year, the Royal Anniversary Trust is launching the Queen Elizabeth Prizes for Education: USA Exchange, to celebrate and commemorate both Her Majesty’s dedication to education and her tireless commitment to international diplomacy — in particular, the UK’s special relationship with the USA.
The Exchange will bring representatives from six Prize-winning alumni institutions to Washington DC for a three-day programme to meet with selected US academics who work in similar fields. It is designed to provide opportunities for new transatlantic collaborations and partnerships to be forged between UK and US universities and colleges that will have a beneficial legacy in the long term.
During the Exchange, the delegates and their US counterparts will be based at host universities and community colleges within Washington DC. All delegates will travel to Washington DC as guests of the Royal Anniversary Trust.
Following the conclusion of the Exchange, UK delegates will be asked to report back to the Trust on collaborations or partnerships forged with US institutions or other legacies of the Exchange, and how these are furthering the work of the university or college.
How to Apply
The Trust will be running a competition to select six Prize-winning institutions that best represent the breadth of three decades of the Prizes, and who have the most compelling vision of and commitment to the opportunity that this Exchange offers. There will be one winner selected in each of the following subject categories:
» Arts and Humanities
» Education and Training
» Engineering and Technology
» Environment and Conservation
» Medicine and Health
» Science and Mathematics
Application for the Queen Elizabeth Prizes for Education: USA exchange is via a short online form; a link will be posted here on 4th July 2025 when the competition opens for entries. The closing date for entries is 3rd October 2025. Please note that this competition is exclusively open to former winners of the Queen Elizabeth Prizes for Education (formerly the Queen’s Anniversary Prizes).
As part of the application process, Prize-winning alumni will be invited to identify a US university or college they would like to connect with, ideally one that has comparable expertise in their subject area, with a view to meeting representatives from that institution in Washington DC during the Exchange. The university or college can be located anywhere in the US; the Trust will then work with its Exchange partners to invite those chosen peers to Washington DC. Applicants who do not have a specific US institution in mind can instead indicate an aspect of their work that they would like to explore through the Exchange and, if selected to take part, the Trust will work with them to identify a suitable US counterpart.
Each of the six Prize-winning alumni institutions selected to take part will be represented in Washington DC by two delegates. The Trust would like these to include a senior delegate who is able to speak authoritatively in the field of the Prize-winning work and to initiate potential collaborations or partnerships with your US counterparts in their specialist field. The second delegate should be an early career academic or senior student in the same field, who has taken part in or benefited from the Prize-winning programme, and for whom this Exchange could be a transformational opportunity.
The Royal Anniversary Trust is grateful for the support of its primary sponsor, Amazon Web Services, in this endeavour. We are also pleased to have the support of the British Council and the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.