Please note, this fellowship is not currently being offered.
The Donald M. Payne International Development Graduate Fellowship Program seeks to attract outstanding young people who are interested in pursuing careers in the Foreign Service of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Each Payne Fellowship provides generous benefits over two years to fund a two-year master’s degree, arranges internships on Capitol Hill at USAID missions overseas, and provides professional development and support activities. At the conclusion of two years of study, the Payne Fellow is expected to obtain a degree in international development or another area of relevance to the work of the USAID Foreign Service at a U.S. graduate or professional school approved by the Payne Program. Fellows who successfully complete the Payne Program and USAID Foreign Service entry requirements will receive appointments as Foreign Service Officers with the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Fellows may use the fellowship to attend a two-year master’s program in a U.S. institution to study an area of relevance to the USAID Foreign Service, including international development, international relations, public policy, business administration, foreign languages, economics, agriculture, environmental sciences, health, or urban planning at a graduate or professional school approved by the Payne program.
Applicants must be college seniors or graduates looking to start graduate school in the fall of the year in which they apply, must have GPAs of at least 3.2 on a four-point scale, and must be U.S. citizens. The program welcomes candidates from any undergraduate major and encourages applications from members of minority groups historically underrepresented in the USAID Foreign Service and those with financial need.