The collection includes correspondence, memoranda, reports, minutes, publications, program proposals, and other records documenting the program histories of participating countries in six geographical areas (Africa, East Asia and the Pacific, Eastern Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, Middle East-South Asia, and Western Europe) from 1947 to 1988. The collection also contains CIES publications and outreach materials; lists and log books concerning visiting and American scholars receiving awards under the Fulbright, Smith-Mundt, and Fulbright-Hays acts; the early files of the Conference Board of Associated Research Councils; and files pertaining to the Asian Professor Project, Asian Scholars-in-Residence, the NATO Visiting Professorship Program, the Occasional Lecturer Program, the American Council on Education, and the Board of Foreign Scholarships. The collection also includes fiscal and budget materials and the minutes of the CIES annual board meetings for the years 1948-1991.

The collection includes materials pertaining to programs in specific regions and countries, as well as to scholars with Fulbright (or Fulbright-Hays) grants. Such materials were usually separated on a year-by-year basis. The apparent original arrangement has been maintained with one exception: similar materials (from all years) available at the time of processing were consolidated (and divided by region or country when appropriate) and then arranged by year.

The collection is organized by geographical area (Series 2-7), and grantee reports are filed by county within each geographical region. Grantee reports are also located in Box 32 of Series 1, Organizational Files.

NOTE on names: We attempted to determine the correct surname (especially of Visiting Scholars) for filing purposes. Some Visiting Scholars apparently wrote their names according to U.S. custom; others filled in their names according to their own customs. For example, in many Asian countries, the surname comes first, and in many Spanish-speaking countries, two surnames are used (the father's, followed by the mother's maiden name, the former being the correct surname for filing purposes). There was frequently no indication as to which name was appropriate for filing. In addition, sometimes the order was altered in the CIES offices, with the result that it is sometimes impossible to tell which is the surname. Therefore, when searching for a particular scholar, it is imperative to search all names that might possibly be used as the surname for filing purposes.

Some applications included a photograph of the applicant. Other photographs in the collection are in Box 12 (Folders 4, 5, 7, and 8), Box 13 (Folders 2, 3, 5, 11, and 13), Box 14 (Folder 7), Box 17 (Folder 2), Box 28 (Folder 6), Box 30 (Folders 4 and 5), Box 32 (Folder 8 [slides]), Box 307 (Folder 5), Box 308 (Folders 4, 5, 7, and 8), Box 309 (Folders 2, 3, 5, 9, 11, and 13), Box 310 (Folder 7), Box 311 (Folder 2), and Box 313 (Folder 2).