The Council on Graduate Schools has reported that on September 1, the U.S. Department of State (DOS) announced an expansion of two flagship fellowship programs, the Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Graduate Fellowship Program and the Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Graduate Fellowship Program.
Reflecting the department’s commitment to creating a more diverse and inclusive workforce, and noting that the Pickering and Rangel programs each “consistently attract highly talented and qualified candidates who represent ethnic, racial, gender, social, and geographic diversity to the Foreign Service,” DOS has announced that it will increase both programs’ graduate fellowships by 50 percent, for a total of 90 fellows per year.
These fellowship programs provide an array of support to students to ensure a diverse group of individuals is entering into Foreign Service careers. The fellowship expansions follow a June report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office that identifies potential barriers to increasing diversity at DOS; racial and ethnic minorities are widely underrepresented in the agency’s senior positions.
October 01, 2020
