Howard University, the historically Black educational institution in Washington, D.C., has been selected to administer the 2019 Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship Program for the U.S. State Department.
The Pickering Program provides 30 graduate fellowships annually to highly qualified seniors and college graduates committed to joining the Department of State’s 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 was established in 1992 as the U.S. Department of State Foreign Affairs Fellowship Program and was later renamed the Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship to honor Career Ambassador Thomas R. Pickering.
The fellowship program is aimed at increasing diversity in State Department foreign service programs. The program encourages the application of members of minority groups historically underrepresented in the State Department, women, and those with financial need.
Anthony Wutoh, provost and chief academic officer at Howard University, stated that “we share the department’s commitment to preparing a new generation of global leaders to promote positive global change. Howard University is uniquely positioned to provide leadership in this area. We are also excited about the benefits this partnership provides to the university and its students.”
