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Fellowship Opportunity for Graduate Funding as a Foreign Service Officer

The Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Program Graduate Fellowship and the Thomas R. Pickering Graduate Fellowship programs have both been available for many years, with many UW students and alumni selected as Fellows. Both programs encourage the application of members of minority groups historically underrepresented in the Foreign Service, women, and those with financial need. The big news this year is that both programs are now housed at Howard University, though still operating separately and independently of each other; and both programs now have application deadlines in September (rather than January). These changes will hopefully encourage and make it easier for interested students to apply for both!

Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Program Graduate Fellowship: http://www.rangelprogram.org/
Applications due Sept. 17, 2018 (for graduate studies starting fall 2019)

Thomas R. Pickering Graduate Fellowship Program: https://pickeringfellowship.org/
Applications due Sept. 20, 2018 (for graduate studies starting fall 2019)

These fellowship programs seek to attract and prepare outstanding youth people, who represent ethnic, gender, social, and geographic diversity, for careers in the Foreign Service of the US Department of State in which they can help formulate, represent and implement U.S. foreign policy. Both programs select fellows annually in highly competitive nationwide processes and supports them through two years of graduate study, internships, mentoring, and professional development activities. These programs both encourage the application of members of minority groups historically underrepresented in the Foreign Service, women, and those with financial need. Fellows who successfully complete either of these programs and Foreign Service entry requirements will receive appointments as Foreign Service Officers, in accordance with applicable law and State Department policy.

Although these programs are separate and independent of each other, the basic program structures, benefits, and eligibility are essentially the same. Students can and should apply for both!

Each program plans to award 30 fellowships of up to $37,500 annually for a two-year period for tuition, room, board, books, and mandatory fees for completion of two-year master’s degrees. This includes up to $21,500 per year for tuition and mandatory fees and an academic year stipend of $16,000.

Eligibility requirements applicable to both:

· Applicants must be U.S. citizens.

· Applicants must be seeking admission to enter graduate school in the fall of 2019 for a two-year program at a U.S. university in an area of relevance to the Foreign Service. They can be in their senior year of their undergraduate studies, graduating by June 2019, or they can be college graduates.

· Applicants must have a cumulative grade point average of 3.2 or higher on a 4.0 scale at the time of application.

Undergraduates and alumni are encouraged to connect with our office for support in applying for these competitive programs.