Training at IMF Headquarters (HQ) in Washington, D.C. is offered in four languages-Arabic, English, French, and Spanish. Much of the HQ curriculum is devoted to relatively long courses that involve many IMF staff and would be impractical to offer at the Regional Training Centers. These include the Institute's seven-week course on Financial Programming and Policies, the relatively new four- and five-week courses on Macroeconomic Diagnostics and Macroeconomic Management and Fiscal Policy, and several three- to six-week courses on macroeconomic statistics.

A proposal is currently under consideration to introduce country contributions toward participants' travel and accommodation costs for the courses that are held at the IMF headquarters in Washington, D.C. in 2009. These contributions would be levied based on the length of the course, and the country income level as defined by the World Bank classification. Once a decision is made, the information pertaining to the contribution amounts and other details will be posted promptly on this website. (Information on the proposal can be accessed by following this link.)

Selection Process: Courses are either by application or invitation. For courses by invitation, candidates are nominated by government agencies upon the request of the responsible IMF department.