Paused
The 2026 Pickering Fellowship application cycle was POSTPONED pending updates from the U.S. Department of State, and no restart has been announced as of August 2026. Separately, onboarding of already-selected fellows into the Foreign Service stalled: 12 fellows were onboarded in September 2025 and 12 in January 2026, with 28 accepting invitations for an April 2026 class, prompting congressional inquiry. The State Department has said it will meet its contractual obligations to remaining fellows.
Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Graduate Fellowship
U.S. Department of State (administered by Howard University)
Pays you
Amount varies
Historically provided academic funding (tuition, room, board, books, fees) up to an annual cap for two years, plus stipends for two summer internships — one domestic at the State Department, one overseas at a US embassy. Exact current figures not confirmed; program is paused.
Funds a two-year master's degree in a field relevant to the Foreign Service, plus paid summer internships, in exchange for a multi-year service commitment as a US Foreign Service Officer. The application cycle has been POSTPONED pending direction from the State Department.
- Term
- 24 mo
- Housing
- Not provided
- Airfare
- Covered
- Selectivity
- Highly competitive
- Citizenship
- U.S. citizen
Deadlines
- none-opennationalRolling / no fixed deadline
No open cycle. Historically the deadline fell in September. The program advises signing up for its email list for announcements.
Verified 8/26/2026 · apply.pickeringfellowship.org