Information for Advisors – Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Graduate Fellowship Program
How can I learn about and share information on the fellowship?
The Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Graduate Fellowship Program does not require an institutional recommendation for applicants. However, we depend on our university advisors, faculty, and staff, as well as individuals associated with different organizations throughout the country, to share information about the opportunities with students and alumni. To support these activities, we encourage you to do the following:
- Review our available resources, including a one-page flyer and our fellow directory.
- Follow us on social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn).
- Share information on the Pickering Fellowship with faculty, staff, affinity groups who work with under-represented groups, education abroad programs, student groups, participants in programs such as the Gilman Scholarship or the Critical Language Scholarship, and students considering applying for the Fulbright or other international programs.
- Check out our Frequently Asked Questions to learn more about the fellowship and the application process.
- Consider scheduling short, informational pitches to groups that support under-represented and/or first-generation students, returned study abroad students, or student honors programs; or classes in areas like international affairs, economics, or business. Templates information session flyers are available
- Request a virtual information session with a Pickering Program staff member, a current fellow or alumni. Please note that our staff is small and our alumni are often concentrated in certain areas. However, we are interested in direct conversations with interested groups.
What is the application and program timeline?
- 2024 Application launch: July 10, 2023
- Application deadline for 2024 Graduate Fellowship: September 21, 2023
- Notification to applicants of decisions on finalists: November 02, 2023
- Final Round Interviews/Writing Exercises: November 13-16, 2023 (virtual)
- Notification of fellowship award: November 17, 2023
- Orientation for 2024 Fellows: June 03, 2024 – June 7, 2024
- Domestic Internship: Summer 2025
- Graduate School: Fall 2024 to Spring 2026
- Overseas Internship: Summer 2026
- Entry into the Foreign Service: Late Summer 2026
Who Are We Looking For?
The Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Graduate Fellowship Program is a program that aims to attract and prepare outstanding young people for careers in the Foreign Service of the U.S. Department of State in which they can help formulate, represent and implement U.S. foreign policy. Eligibility criteria include:
- U.S. citizenship
- A cumulative GPA of at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale and
- Plans to start graduate school for a two-year program of relevance to the Foreign Service in fall 2024 at a U.S. based institution.
The program is open to seniors who will graduate by June 2024 and individuals with a college degree. It is open to students with any major or area of interest who want to promote positive change in the world. It encourages the application of members of minority groups historically underrepresented in the Foreign Service, women, and those with financial need. It also values
- Individuals with a commitment to public service
- Individuals from diverse areas within the United States
- Individuals interested in management, economics, and consular affairs
- Individuals interested in foreign languages and cultures
- Individuals with strong leadership and organizational skills
- First generation college students
- Individuals who want to represent the United States as diplomats
While individuals with backgrounds in international relations or political science often apply, the fellowship also welcomes applications who have backgrounds in areas such as business, organizational management, economics, social work, and science fields as the Foreign Service also has important work in these areas. As noted above, the application is open to individuals with any undergraduate academic major who are interested in a career in the Foreign Service. We would appreciate advisors’ assistance in encouraging individuals with a wide range of backgrounds to apply.
Below you will find two tables. The first a list of the institutions organized by the number of applicants from the 2023 application cycle. The second is a list of institutions organized by the number of fellows.
Applicants by Institution During the 2023 Pickering Application Cycle
| Institution Name | Number of Applicants |
| George Washington University | 19 |
| New York University | 11 |
| American University | 8 |
| Florida International University | 8 |
| University of California-Berkeley | 8 |
| Arizona State University-Tempe | 7 |
| George Mason University | 7 |
| University of Georgia | 7 |
| Duke University | 6 |
| The University of Texas at Austin | 6 |
| University of California-Los Angeles | 6 |
| University of Florida | 6 |
| University of South Carolina-Columbia | 6 |
| University of Virginia-Main Campus | 6 |
| Boston College | 5 |
| Brigham Young University-Provo | 5 |
| College of William and Mary | 5 |
| Columbia University in the City of New York | 5 |
| Howard University | 5 |
| San Diego State University | 5 |
| Seton Hall University | 5 |
| Boston University | 4 |
| CUNY City College | 4 |
| Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus | 4 |
| Michigan State University | 4 |
| New Mexico State University-Main Campus | 4 |
| Rollins College | 4 |
| University of California-Santa Barbara | 4 |
| University of Central Florida | 4 |
| University of Chicago | 4 |
| University of Denver | 4 |
| Virginia Commonwealth University | 4 |
| California State University-Fullerton | 3 |
| Colgate University | 3 |
| Colorado State University-Fort Collins | 3 |
| Dartmouth College | 3 |
| Emory University | 3 |
| Florida State University | 3 |
| Grinnell College | 3 |
| Indiana University-Bloomington | 3 |
| Kalamazoo College | 3 |
| Liberty University | 3 |
| Middlebury College | 3 |
| Ohio State University-Main Campus | 3 |
| Smith College | 3 |
| Southern Methodist University | 3 |
| Stanford University | 3 |
| SUNY College at Geneseo | 3 |
| Temple University | 3 |
| Texas A & M University-College Station | 3 |
| The California Maritime Academy | 3 |
| University of Arizona | 3 |
| University of Colorado Boulder | 3 |
| University of Massachusetts-Amherst | 3 |
| University of Nevada-Las Vegas | 3 |
| University of Nevada-Reno | 3 |
| University of Notre Dame | 3 |
| University of Pennsylvania | 3 |
| University of South Florida-Main Campus | 3 |
| University of Utah | 3 |
| University of Washington-Seattle Campus | 3 |
| Wake Forest University | 3 |
| Wellesley College | 3 |
| West Virginia University | 3 |
| Baylor University | 2 |
| Bennett College | 2 |
| Brandeis University | 2 |
| Chapman University | 2 |
| Claremont McKenna College | 2 |
| College of Staten Island CUNY | 2 |
| CUNY Hunter College | 2 |
| CUNY Lehman College | 2 |
| Davidson College | 2 |
| Dickinson College | 2 |
| Duquesne University | 2 |
| East Tennessee State University | 2 |
| Eastern Michigan University | 2 |
| Fordham University | 2 |
| Grambling State University | 2 |
| High Point University | 2 |
| James Madison University | 2 |
| Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College | 2 |
| Loyola Marymount University | 2 |
| Loyola University New Orleans | 2 |
| Morehouse College | 2 |
| New College of Florida | 2 |
| New York University Shanghai | 2 |
| North Carolina A & T State University | 2 |
| Nova Southeastern University | 2 |
| Oklahoma State University-Main Campus | 2 |
| Pepperdine University | 2 |
| Portland State University | 2 |
| Saint Edward’s University | 2 |
| St John’s University-New York | 2 |
| Stony Brook University | 2 |
| Trinity College | 2 |
| Universidad del Sagrado Corazon | 2 |
| University at Buffalo | 2 |
| University of California-Riverside | 2 |
| University of California-San Diego | 2 |
| University of Houston | 2 |
| University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | 2 |
| University of Iowa | 2 |
| University of Louisville | 2 |
| University of Massachusetts-Boston | 2 |
| University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | 2 |
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 2 |
| University of North Florida | 2 |
| University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus | 2 |
| University of the District of Columbia | 2 |
| Vanderbilt University | 2 |
| Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | 2 |
| Washington State University | 2 |
| Western Kentucky University | 2 |
| Wichita State University | 2 |
| Agnes Scott College | 1 |
| Alabama A & M University | 1 |
| Alaska Pacific University | 1 |
| Allegheny College | 1 |
| Amherst College | 1 |
| Arizona State University-Downtown Phoenix | 1 |
| Arkansas State University-Main Campus | 1 |
| Augsburg College | 1 |
| Baker University | 1 |
| Baldwin Wallace University | 1 |
| Belmont Abbey College | 1 |
| Berry College | 1 |
| Bob Jones University | 1 |
| Boise State University | 1 |
| Bowdoin College | 1 |
| Brown University | 1 |
| Bucknell University | 1 |
| California State University-Chico | 1 |
| California State University-Dominguez Hills | 1 |
| California State University-East Bay | 1 |
| California State University-Long Beach | 1 |
| California State University-Sacramento | 1 |
| Carnegie Mellon University | 1 |
| Case Western Reserve University | 1 |
| Catholic University of America | 1 |
| Chaminade University of Honolulu | 1 |
| Chatham University | 1 |
| Citadel Military College of South Carolina | 1 |
| Colby College | 1 |
| Colorado State University-Pueblo | 1 |
| Covenant College | 1 |
| CUNY Bernard M Baruch College | 1 |
| CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice | 1 |
| Delaware State University | 1 |
| DePaul University | 1 |
| Dillard University | 1 |
| Drake University | 1 |
| Drexel University | 1 |
| East Carolina University | 1 |
| Eastern Washington University | 1 |
| Elon University | 1 |
| Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Prescott | 1 |
| Erasmus University College | 1 |
| Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University | 1 |
| Florida Atlantic University | 1 |
| Florida Gulf Coast University | 1 |
| Fort Valley State University | 1 |
| Franklin and Marshall College | 1 |
| Furman University | 1 |
| Haverford College | 1 |
| Humboldt State University | 1 |
| Illinois Wesleyan University | 1 |
| Indiana University-Southeast | 1 |
| John Cabot University | 1 |
| Johns Hopkins University | 1 |
| Kennesaw State University | 1 |
| Kenyon College | 1 |
| King’s College London | 1 |
| Knox College | 1 |
| Lafayette College | 1 |
| Lebanon Valley College | 1 |
| Lewis & Clark College | 1 |
| Loyola University Maryland | 1 |
| Marymount University | 1 |
| Mercer University | 1 |
| Merrimack College | 1 |
| Morgan State University | 1 |
| National American University-Bloomington | 1 |
| National Louis University | 1 |
| National Technical University KhPI | 1 |
| National University of Mongolia | 1 |
| Northeastern University | 1 |
| Northern Arizona University | 1 |
| O.P. Jindal Global University | 1 |
| Oberlin College | 1 |
| Oklahoma Christian University | 1 |
| Old Dominion University | 1 |
| Pacific Lutheran University | 1 |
| Point Loma Nazarene University | 1 |
| Princeton University | 1 |
| Purdue University-Main Campus | 1 |
| Rhodes College | 1 |
| Rice University | 1 |
| Robert Morris University | 1 |
| Rochester Institute of Technology | 1 |
| Rutgers University-New Brunswick | 1 |
| Saint Cloud State University | 1 |
| Salt Lake Community College | 1 |
| San Francisco State University | 1 |
| Savannah State University | 1 |
| Sewanee-The University of the South | 1 |
| Southeast Missouri State University | 1 |
| Spelman College | 1 |
| St Lawrence University | 1 |
| Strayer University-Georgia | 1 |
| SUNY College at Potsdam | 1 |
| Texas Southern University | 1 |
| Texas Tech University | 1 |
| The College of New Jersey | 1 |
| The College of Wooster | 1 |
| The University of Tampa | 1 |
| The University of Tennessee-Chattanooga | 1 |
| The University of Texas – Rio Grande Valley | 1 |
| The University of Texas at Dallas | 1 |
| The University of West Florida | 1 |
| Thunderbird School of Global Management | 1 |
| Transylvania University | 1 |
| Trinity Washington University | 1 |
| Tulane University of Louisiana | 1 |
| United States Military Academy | 1 |
| Universidad Carlos III de Madrid | 1 |
| Universidad Presbiteriana Mackenzie | 1 |
| University of Alabama at Birmingham | 1 |
| University of Arkansas | 1 |
| University of California-Irvine | 1 |
| University of California-Santa Cruz | 1 |
| University of Central Arkansas | 1 |
| University of Edinburgh | 1 |
| University of Guam | 1 |
| University of Hartford | 1 |
| University of Kansas | 1 |
| University of Kentucky | 1 |
| University of Maine | 1 |
| University of Maryland | 1 |
| University of Maryland-Baltimore County | 1 |
| University of Maryland-College Park | 1 |
| University of Memphis | 1 |
| University of Miami | 1 |
| University of Michigan-Dearborn | 1 |
| University of Mississippi | 1 |
| University of Missouri-Columbia | 1 |
| University of Montevallo | 1 |
| University of Nebraska at Omaha | 1 |
| University of Nebraska-Lincoln | 1 |
| University of North Carolina Wilmington | 1 |
| University of Ouagadougou | 1 |
| University of Panama | 1 |
| University of Phoenix-Arizona | 1 |
| University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus | 1 |
| University of Puerto Rico – Arecibo | 1 |
| University of Rhode Island | 1 |
| University of Richmond | 1 |
| University of Saint Joseph | 1 |
| University of San Francisco | 1 |
| University of Southern California | 1 |
| University of Southern Mississippi | 1 |
| University of Tennessee | 1 |
| University of Vermont | 1 |
| University of Washington-Tacoma Campus | 1 |
| University of Wisconsin-Madison | 1 |
| University of Wyoming | 1 |
| Upper Iowa University | 1 |
| Ursinus College | 1 |
| Utah State University | 1 |
| Vassar College | 1 |
| Villanova University | 1 |
| Washington and Lee University | 1 |
| Wayne State University | 1 |
| Wesleyan University | 1 |
| West Texas A & M University | 1 |
| William Carey University | 1 |
| Yale University | 1 |
Individuals Awarded Pickering Fellowship by Institution (1992-2023)
| Undergraduate Institution | Number of Fellows |
| Georgetown University | 62 |
| George Washington University | 30 |
| Morehouse College | 30 |
| University of California | 27 |
| American University | 23 |
| Howard University | 22 |
| Stanford University | 21 |
| Spelman College | 16 |
| University of Chicago | 11 |
| New York University | 10 |
| Princeton University | 10 |
| Vanderbilt University | 10 |
| Dartmouth College | 9 |
| Georgetown University | 9 |
| Harvard University | 9 |
| Syracuse University | 9 |
| Tufts University | 9 |
| University of Notre Dame | 9 |
| Yale University | 9 |
| University of California-Berkeley | 8 |
| University of Pennsylvania | 8 |
| Wellesley College | 8 |
| Bowdoin College | 7 |
| Dillard University | 7 |
| Florida International University | 7 |
| George Mason University | 7 |
| University of Central Florida | 7 |
| University of Missouri | 7 |
| University of North Carolina | 7 |
| University of Southern California | 7 |
| Virginia Commonwealth University | 7 |
| Arizona State University | 6 |
| Boston University | 6 |
| Brown University | 6 |
| University of Pittsburgh | 6 |
| William & Mary College | 6 |
| Clark Atlanta University | 5 |
| Columbia University | 5 |
| Cornell University | 5 |
| DePaul University | 5 |
| Florida State University | 5 |
| Hampton University | 5 |
| Ohio State University | 5 |
| Saint Mary’s College | 5 |
| Seton Hall University | 5 |
| University of Florida | 5 |
| Arizona State University-Tempe | 3 |
| Virginia Commonwealth University | 3 |
| Rutgers University-New Brunswick | 2 |
| Seton Hall University | 2 |
| Trinity College | 2 |
| University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | 2 |
| University of Nevada-Las Vegas | 2 |
| Arizona State University-West | 1 |
| Boston College | 1 |
| Carnegie Mellon University | 1 |
| Colby College | 1 |
| Columbia University in the City of New York | 1 |
| CUNY Bernard M Baruch College | 1 |
| Duke University | 1 |
| Emory University | 1 |
| Franklin and Marshall College | 1 |
| Grinnell College | 1 |
| Illinois Wesleyan University | 1 |
| Kenyon College | 1 |
| Lewis & Clark College | 1 |
| Michigan State University | 1 |
| New York University | 1 |
| North Carolina A & T State University | 1 |
| Northeastern University | 1 |
| Oberlin College | 1 |
| Pomona College | 1 |
| Smith College | 1 |
| Southern Methodist University | 1 |
| St. Lawrence University | 1 |
| Stony Brook University | 1 |
| SUNY at Binghamton | 1 |
| SUNY College at Potsdam | 1 |
| Temple University | 1 |
| Texas Southern University | 1 |
| Texas Tech University | 1 |
| The College of New Jersey | 1 |
| The University of Texas at Dallas | 1 |
| The University of Texas at Dallas | 1 |
| University of Colorado Boulder | 1 |
| University of Hartford | 1 |
| University of Iowa | 1 |
| University of Kansas | 1 |
| University of Louisville | 1 |
| University of Nevada-Reno | 1 |
| University of North Carolina at Charlotte | 1 |
| University of North Georgia | 1 |
| University of South Carolina-Columbia | 1 |
| University of South Florida-Main Campus | 1 |
| University of Southern California | 1 |
| University of Washington-Tacoma Campus | 1 |
| Wellesley College | 1 |
| Wellesley College | 1 |