Calling aspiring Foreign Service Officers

Future Foreign Services Officers, this post is for you! Now is the time of year to be aware of three major fellowships for those interested in Foreign Service careers, two of which have recently announced their upcoming application cycles.

We often counsel applicants against holding out hopes of finding a “magic bullet” in grad school financial planning, i.e. a single giant scholarship or other funding source that covers the full cost of attendance. There are a few exceptions to that otherwise good advice, though, and the Pickering, Rangel, and Payne Fellowships come about as close as one can get. Sponsored by the State Department (Pickering and Rangel) and USAID (Payne), these fellowships offer significant tuition support, stipend funding for living expenses, and career placement in the ranks of these agencies’ Foreign Service corps (in fact, each fellowship requires a five-year commitment to the Foreign Service from its recipients).

Each of these programs encourages applications from historically underrepresented groups in international affairs careers and those with significant financial need. The Rangel and Pickering Fellowship programs in recent years unveiled a considerable expansion of their programming, increasing the number of fellowships they award and raising the level of funding they provide to recipients.

All applicants with an interest in the Foreign Service are strongly encouraged to investigate these fellowship opportunities! See application deadlines and links to the program pages below:

• Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Graduate Fellowship – September 29, 2022
• Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Graduate Fellowship – September 22, 2022
• Donald M. Payne International Development Graduate Fellowship – TBD