The Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Graduate Fellowship Program attracts and prepares outstanding young people for Foreign Service careers in the U.S. Department of State. The program is funded by the U.S. Department of State and is collaboratively administered by Howard University and the Bureau of Global Talent Management via a cooperative agreement. It welcomes the application of members of minority groups historically underrepresented in the State Department, women, and those with financial need. Based on the fundamental principle that diversity is a strength in our diplomatic efforts, the program values varied backgrounds, including ethnic, racial, gender, social, and geographic diversity.

The Pickering Fellowship offers a unique opportunity to promote positive change in the world. Upon successful completion of a two-year master’s degree program and fulfillment of Foreign Service entry requirements, fellows have the opportunity to work as Foreign Service Officers in accordance with applicable law and State Department policy, serving in Washington, DC and at U.S. embassies, consulates, and diplomatic mission around the globe. Fellows also agree to a minimum five-year service commitment in the Department of State's Foreign Service. The five-year service commitment begins upon entry into the Foreign Service.

Pickering Program has made, and continues to make, an important contribution to the diversity of the State Department Foreign Service. Fellows currently represent the United States in countries around the world, in areas as diverse as Africa, East Asia, Latin America, South Asia, Europe and Eurasia. They are promoting human rights, assisting American citizens overseas, enhancing prosperity and development, deepening ties between the United States and people around the world, and supporting U.S. global values and interests in many different ways.

The Pickering Program provides graduate fellowships to qualified college seniors and college graduates committed to joining the Foreign Service. The fellowship helps finance two-year graduate programs, provides two summer internships, offers mentoring from a Foreign Service Officer, and provides other professional development activities. The Pickering Program continues to ensure that the Foreign Service reflects the face of America to foreign audiences and provides a source of trained women and men dedicated to pursuing Foreign Service careers with the Department of State and representing America’s interests abroad.

Dates and Deadlines

We will post specific dates for the 2025 Pickering Fellowship application, notifications and interviews as they are determined. The program follows this general schedule:

The Pickering selection panel will choose approximately 90 finalists by the early November. Program staff will communicate the Pickering selection panel's decisions by email to successful and unsuccessful applicants around that timeframe. Program staff will invite candidates selected for final consideration to participate in a virtual interview and a written exercise between December 4-5, 2024. The program will complete the selection process and make offers to 45 fellows by early December 2024.