Donald Payne International Development Fellowship

Donald Payne International Development Fellowship | Now Accepting Applications

The Donald Payne International Development Fellowship is now accepting applications for the 2020 Fellow Cohort!  The Payne Fellowship is a U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Program, administered by Howard University, which seeks to attract and prepare outstanding individuals for careers as USAID Foreign Service Officers.  Candidates can be graduating seniors or college graduates with strong academic records and a desire to promote positive change in the world. The Payne program encourages the application of members of historically  underrepresented  groups in  the  Foreign  Service  and those  with  financial  need.  Selected  fellows  will  receive support  for  graduate  school  and  gain  employment  with USAID in an exciting and rewarding career in  the  Foreign Service. 

Program Benefits

• An orientation to the Program and the Foreign Service at Howard University in Washington, D.C. in late spring 2020
• Two summer internships, one on Capitol Hill in summer 2020 and one overseas at a USAID Mission in summer 2021.
• Up to $22,000 annually toward tuition, fees and living expenses for a two-year master’s degree in fields related to the Foreign Service such as development, economics, public administration, business administration, global health, agriculture, or environmental science  at a U.S.-based institution.
• Mentoring from a Foreign Service Officer throughout the duration of the fellowship.
• Employment in the USAID Foreign Service for those who successfully complete the program and meet Foreign Service entry requirements, in accordance with applicable law and USAID policy, with each Payne Fellow committing to a minimum of five years of service.

 Eligibility requirements

• U.S. citizenship
• Seeking admission to graduate school in fall 2019 for a two-year program in an area of relevance to the Foreign Service at a U.S.-based institution
• Cumulative grade point average of 3.2 or higher on a 4.0 scale at the time of application

Application

Application info can be found at https://www.paynefellows.org. Applications are due on November 1, 2019. 

About the USAID Foreign Service

USAID Foreign Service Officers work on the front lines of some of the most pressing global challenges of our times, including poverty, hunger, injustice, disease, environmental degradation, climate change, conflict and violent extremism. They are part of a corps of officers who have worked for more than fifty years to make lasting improvements to the lives of millions of people around the globe. USAID Foreign Service Officers are stationed in Washington and in more than 75 countries in five regions worldwide – Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe and Eurasia, Asia, and the Middle East. They work alongside colleagues from other U.S. government agencies to achieve our country's foreign policy objectives in democracy and governance, economic growth and trade, peace and security, education and health, conflict mitigation and humanitarian response.