Fast Train (The Foreign Affairs Spouses Teacher Training Program) began in the fall of 1990 as a partnership between the U.S. Department of State's Office of Overseas Schools, the State of Virginia's Department of Education and George Mason University. The partnership stemmed from an interest in training foreign affairs spouses to become competent candidates for teaching positions in international schools. For this reason, the Fast Train Program was created.

Since 1990, more than 400 participants have completed the Fast Train Program and are now teaching all over the world. As Fast Train still keeps a formal relationship with the U.S. Department of State's Office of Overseas Schools, the program has now developed and is open to all applicants who would like to educate overseas.

Fast Train is one of the academic programs related to the Center for International Education at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.
Fast Train offers housing for students attending the intensive summer sessions who want to live on campus.

Fast Train Programs are exclusively designed for future teachers and instructors who are working overseas or who plan on going abroad to teach and want a license and/or Master’s degree or further training in certain fields.