Projects must focus on the humanities, social sciences and languages, and must focus on one or more of the following areas: Africa, East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific, the Western Hemisphere (Central and South America, Mexico, and the Caribbean), East Central Europe and Eurasia, and the Near East. Applications that propose projects focused on Canada or Western Europe will not be funded.

The GPA program oversees two competitions. It holds an annual competition for the following:

Short-Term Seminars - A short-term seminar is designed to help integrate international studies into an institution's or school system's general curriculum. Seminars normally are five to six weeks in length and focus on a particular aspect of area studies, such as the culture of the area or a portion of the culture.

A Curriculum Development Team - A curriculum development team, composed of several faculty members or teachers or administrators, may spend four to six weeks in a foreign country or region acquiring resource materials for curriculum development in the modern foreign language or area studies programs. Resource materials may include artifacts, documents, books, educational films, museum reproductions, recordings, and other instructional materials. The project shall provide a systemic use and dissemination in the US. of the acquired materials.

Group Research or Study Projects -- A group research or study project is designed to permit a group of faculty from institutions of higher education and graduate and undergraduate students to undertake research or study in a foreign country or region for a period of three to twelve months. The institution should make arrangements for any clearances or affiliations necessary for conducting research in the host country.