Diplomacy Fellows Program

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We are not currently accepting applications for the 2011 Diplomacy Fellows Program.  Please subscribe to receive email updates regarding this position.

The Diplomacy Fellows Program (DFP) is designed to advance eligible candidates to the Foreign Service Oral Assessment for the competitive selection of entry level Foreign Service Officer Candidates. The DFP is open only to those who have participated in one of the approved programs listed below and who have successfully completed all program requirements within five years of the application deadline date and have successfully completed a master’s degree program in a field relevant to the Foreign Service.

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Diplomacy Fellows Qualifications/Eligibility +

General Qualifications for the DFP Program:

  • You must be a U.S. citizen
  • You must be at least 20 and not more than 59 at the time of application
  • You must be available for worldwide assignment
  • You may not have been separated from the Foreign Service under certain sections of the Foreign Service Act
  • You must have participated in one of the 9 eligible Fellowship programs listed below in the section titled Eligible Candidates, and you must have successfully completed all program requirements within 5 years of the vacancy announcement closing date. For example: program requirements must have been completed between January 1, 2006 – September 26, 2011 to be eligible for the 2011 Diplomacy Fellows Program. Additionally, you must provide evidence of successful completion of an advanced degree. You are still eligible to apply to the 2011 DFP even though you may have obtained your advanced degree prior to January 2006.

Eligible Candidates

  • American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Diplomacy Fellows
  • Boren Graduate Fellowship Fellows (National Security Education Program) (Note: This is the only Boren/NSEP program currently eligible for the DFP.)
  • Fascell Fellows
  • Institute for International Public Policy Fellows (IIPP)
  • Pickering Fellows (Pickering undergraduate fellows are not eligible until they have completed all program requirements at the graduate level.)
  • Presidential Management Fellows, who have fulfilled their program obligations prior to registration through service at the Department of State or the Agency for International Development.
  • Truman Scholars
  • Jack Kent Cooke Graduate Scholars
  • Rangel Fellows

Presidential Management Fellows

If you have an interest in, and commitment to, excellence in the leadership and management of public policies and programs, consider exploring the possibilities of becoming a Presidential Management Fellow (PMF) at the U.S. Department of State.

Since 1977, the Presidential Management Fellows (PMF) Program, formerly known as the Presidential Management Intern (PMI) Program, has been utilized by federal agencies to attract outstanding graduate students from a wide variety of academic disciplines to public service. Recognized as one of the most prestigious and effective training and development programs available in the Federal Government, the PMF Program hones the skills and competencies, as well as cultivates the management and leadership potential, of the Fellows by providing them with a two-year fellowship that offers extensive formal classroom training and rotational assignment opportunities.

Among federal agencies, the U.S. Department of State is one of the top participants in the PMF Program and possesses one of the most sought-after PMF Programs, with more than 65% of each PMF Finalist class applying for DOS positions each year. Since 1997, the Department has hired hundreds of many successful Fellows and the majority of these Fellows have successfully converted into permanent civil service positions. Demonstrating success in both recruitment and retention, the Department's PMF Program continues to channel a stream of exceptional future leaders and managers, whose qualifications align with the Departments workforce needs, to the Civil Service thus enhancing the Departments succession planning objectives.

PMF Application/Assessment/Eligibility +

How to Apply

To apply for this highly competitive fellowship, you first must be nominated by a dean, director, or chairperson of your graduate academic program. Beginning in September, nominations are reviewed and presented to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) which administers finalist selections for the PMF Program. After further review by OPM (e.g., verification of nomination), applicants are then invited to participate in a structured assessment at the assessment site of their choice.

Assessment Process

OPM administers a rigorous assessment process during which candidates are evaluated based on critical competencies. The following selection criteria are used in the PMF assessment process:

  • Analytical Problem Solving
  • Selected OPM Leadership Competencies
  • Written Communication

Applicants will complete an objectively scored assessment that focuses on the areas listed above during the months of January and February in the following year after applying. Based on their scores, and any veterans’ preference adjudication, nominees are ranked and notified of their selection as Finalists in early or mid March in the following year after applying.

If selected for employment by the U.S. Department of State, your appointment will begin after successful completion of your graduate school program and the successful completion of a Top Secret security clearance background investigation. You will be appointed to a paid, two-year probationary fellowship, which will include rigorous formal classroom training and rotational assignments.

Fellows will receive the opportunity to work in varying offices, bureaus, overseas embassies/consulates, agencies, and even in other branches of government. Upon the successful completion of the two-year fellowship, you will become eligible for conversion to a permanent position in the competitive service and obtain career or career-conditional status.

More detailed information, including nomination guidelines, forms and deadlines, can be found at www.pmf.opm.gov.

Eligibility requirements

Students who are in the final year of a graduate program at an academic institution formally accredited by an accrediting organization recognized by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education are eligible to be nominated by their schools if they demonstrate the following:

  • breadth and quality of accomplishments,
  • capacity for leadership, and
  • interest in/commitment to excellence in the leadership and management of policies and programs.

To be eligible for placement with a Federal agency through the Presidential Management Fellows Program applicants must successfully defend and complete any required thesis or dissertation.

Students who wish to be considered for the PMF Program must be nominated by their school's Nomination Official (Dean, Chairperson, or Program Director, or their designee, such as a Nomination Coordinator) of their graduate program.

Each school conducts a competitive screening process to evaluate its graduating PMF applicants based on the above eligibility criteria, and makes its final determination of nominees by late October. Students must first check with their school's Nomination Coordinator to confirm the school's process and deadlines for nomination into the PMF Program. To find out more and to apply to the PMF Program, go to: www.pmf.opm.gov.