The Program Code defines the year, cycle, and program through a series of two-character codes that looks something like YPscNH19. These terms are used internationally.
You can learn about other AFS-USA acronyms and abbreviations here.
Program Length
YP - Year program
SM - Semester Program
IP - Intensive programs (Summer, 4-8 weeks)
VS - Very short programs (Summer, 4 weeks or less)
Program Content
ar - Arabic language study
bp - BP/AFS Global Citizens of Tomorrow
cb - Congress Bundestag Youth Exchange (CBYX) program
cc - Community College
cl - Culture Immersion Program
cs - Community service
fr - French language Study
fx - Future Leaders Exchange Program (aka FLEX)
gp - Global Prep
hs - Homestay
ja - Japan language study
ns - NSLI-Y program
sc - School program
so - Soccer program
sp - Spanish language study
ss - Green Summer School Hamburg, Germany
st - CRC Summer Program (6 weeks, school and bus trip)
sw - New Zealand Global Choice
ta - Teaching Assistant Program
tm - Team Mission (Ghana Summer Program)
uy - Uruguay (Country code will be ARG, Program Content code will be uy)
xc - Green Camp (Bremen, Germany)
xe - Beginners Language and Culture (Karlsruhe, Germany)
xf - Intermediate/Advanced Language and Culture (Essen, Germany)
ys - Youth Exchange & Study (YES) program
Program Cycle
NH = programs that start in the summer or fall (June-December - the same time of year as schools start in the Northern Hemisphere (NH)).
SH = programs that start in the winter or spring (January-May - the same time of year as schools start in the Southern Hemisphere (SH))
Program Year
The final two digits of the Program Code indicates the year the program started.
Click here to learn more about the status of service cases. And here to learn about country codes.