International Friendship Program seeking new hosts for fall 2024

The Office of International Students and Scholars is preparing to welcome over 2,000 new international students to Purdue this fall semester at both the West Lafayette and Indianapolis campuses. For almost 30 years, the International Friendship Program (IFP) has recruited faculty, staff and other community members who are willing to befriend a new international student during their first semester at Purdue.

IFP host participants are encouraged to meet socially once a month with their assigned students, who are eager to get connected, make new friends and to get better acquainted with Greater Lafayette. The IFP coordinator also organizes fun events throughout the semester that hosts and students can attend together. 

To learn more about what IFP hosting will look like, faculty, staff and community members can view a host orientation online and then follow the sign-up instructions here. Interested participants can also view previous IFP newsletters to learn about past host and student experiences. 

Hosts who have participated in IFP before and would like to be matched with a new student for fall 2024 can log in to their host account to update their information and register for “Fall 2024 IFP.”

For questions about the program, please email program coordinator, Leah Bechtold, at ifp@purdue.edu.