Transatlantic Outreach Program

The Transatlantic Outreach Program (TOP) fosters dialogue and exchange between the United States, Canada, and Germany in the fields of social studies, STEM, and career and technical education.

Through high quality instructional resources, professional development workshops, and professional development study tours in Germany, TOP empowers educators to bring global perspectives into their classrooms and to explore collaborative solutions to global challenges with their students.

A TOP study tour group poses in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany. © Goethe-Institut

Study Tours

Social Studies

TOP offers fully funded professional development study tours to Germany for social studies educators from the United States and Canada.

Applications for the 2026 TOP study tours to Germany are open now!

A group of TOP teachers poses during a visit to the Reichstag building. © Goethe-Institut © Goethe-Institut

Instructional Resources

TOP Lessons Portal

TOP offers free instructional resources focused on contemporary Germany for K–12 social studies and STEM educators. Our inquiry-based, standards-aligned lessons are ready to use and designed to engage students with real-world, global topics that connect to your existing curriculum.

Visit the TOP Lessons Portal to search our collection of dynamic lessons!

Two of TOP's instructional resource books. © Goethe-Institut © Goethe-Institut

Professional Development

Germany Today

TOP offers free professional development opportunities for social studies and STEM educators in the United States and Canada.

Find out more about our upcoming sessions and view recordings of past workshops!

A group of TOP Fellows at a workshop. © Goethe-Institut © Goethe-Institut

TOP Fellows and Alumni

TOP Alumni Network

Almost 2,000 educators have traveled to Germany as fellows of the Transatlantic Outeach Program!

Learn more about our offerings for Alumni, including mini-grants for class projects, continuing professional development opportunities, student exchanges through GAPP, and upcoming Alumni Network meet-ups.

About TOP

The Transatlantic Outreach Program (TOP) fosters transatlantic dialogue and exchange between the United States, Canada, and Germany in the fields of social studies, STEM, and apprenticeship. Through high quality curriculum and instructional resources, professional development workshops, and professional learning study tours in Germany, TOP empowers educators and workforce development leaders to bring global perspectives into their work and to explore collaborative solutions to global challenges.

Founded in 2002, the Transatlantic Outreach Program is a public-private partnership between Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Goethe-Institut, and Deutsche Bank AG. 

An external evaluation of the Transatlantic Outreach Program found “strong evidence that TOP positively impacts students’ knowledge, impressions, and interest in Germany and Germans. Compared to their peers who have not been exposed to Modern Germany lessons, TOP students in this study know consistently more about Germany and have more positive and less negative impressions of Germans. They also perceive greater similarity between Germany and the U.S. than comparison students and are more interested in learning more about Germany and Germans.”

2024 quick facts

50

Study tour participants
2023: 38
 

1.916

TOP Alumni Network (including VIPS)
2023: 1.857

80

Professional development workshops
2023: 83

46

46 states + DC: U.S. educator engagement
2023: 46

Our Team

Contact

Transatlantic Outreach Program (TOP)
Goethe-Institut Washington
1377 R Street NW, Suite 300
Washington, DC 20009-6294
+1 202 847 4700
top@goethe.de

www.goethe.de/top

Our Partners

The Transatlantic Outreach Program (TOP) is a public/private partnership

  • Foreign Office
  • Goethe-Institut
  • Deutsche Bank

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