The Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Fellowship Program is a

fellowship A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

program that provides funding for

graduate student Postgraduate or graduate education refers to academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate ( bachelor's) degree. The organization and stru ...

s as they prepare academically and professionally to enter the

United States Foreign Service The United States Foreign Service is the primary personnel system used by the diplomatic service of the United States federal government, under the aegis of the United States Department of State. It consists of over 13,000 professionals carryi ...

History

Launched to help promote greater diversity in the U.S. Foreign Service, the Rangel Fellowship Program was announced in 2002 by Secretary of State

Colin Powell Colin Luther Powell ( ; April 5, 1937 – October 18, 2021) was an American politician, statesman, diplomat, and United States Army officer who served as the 65th United States Secretary of State from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African ...

, Congressman

Charles B. Rangel Charles Bernard Rangel (, ; born June 11, 1930) is an American politician who was a U.S. representative for districts in New York from 1971 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the second-longest serving incumbent member of the ...

, and the President of Howard University,

H. Patrick Swygert Haywood Patrick Swygert (born March 17, 1943) was the president of Howard University in Washington, DC from 1995 until 2008. Career He is a graduate of South Philadelphia High School and has been inducted into the SPHS Alumni Cultural Hall of Fa ...

. In the early years of the program, the U.S. Congress provided an appropriation for the program, and its early operations were supported by the Department of State and contributions by the

John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is a private foundation that makes grants and impact investments to support non-profit organizations in approximately 50 countries around the world. It has an endowment of $7.0 billion and p ...

and the

Una Chapman Cox Foundation The Una Chapman Cox Foundation is a non-profit organization that works to support the effectiveness and professionalism of the United States Foreign Service through various projects and initiatives. Amb. (ret.) Lino Gutierrez serves as the current ...

Program components

The program is managed by the Ralph J. Bunche International Affairs Center at Howard University and is funded by a grant from the

U.S. Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government responsible for the country's fore ...

. The Rangel Program offers forty-five graduate fellowships annually to outstanding seniors and college graduates who want to join the U.S. Foreign Service. The fellowships help finance two-year graduate programs and provide two paid summer internship opportunities, one on

Capitol Hill Capitol Hill, in addition to being a metonym for the United States Congress, is the largest historic residential neighborhood in Washington, D.C., stretching easterly in front of the United States Capitol along wide avenues. It is one of the ...

and the second at a U.S. embassy. Like the Thomas R. Pickering Fellowship Program, the Rangel Fellowship Program guarantees a five-year contract in the Foreign Service to successful Fellows. Rangel Fellows also receive mentoring from

Foreign Service Officers A Foreign Service Officer (FSO) is a commissioned member of the United States Foreign Service. Foreign Service Officers formulate and implement the foreign policy of the United States. FSOs spend most of their careers overseas as members of U. ...

throughout the duration of the program. Rangel Fellows attend a variety of graduate schools across the United States, including the

Harvard Kennedy School The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

, the

Woodrow Wilson School The Princeton School of Public and International Affairs (formerly the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs) is a professional public policy school at Princeton University. The school provides an array of comprehensive course ...

, the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, the Lyndon B. Johnson School, the Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, the

School of International Service The School of International Service (SIS) is American University's school of advanced international study, covering areas such as international politics, international communication, international development, international economics, peace and c ...

, the School of International and Public Affairs, the

Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy The Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, often referred to as the Ford School, is the public policy school at the University of Michigan. Founded in 1914 to train municipal administration experts, the school was named after University of Mi ...

, and the Elliott School of International Affairs.

References

External links

Official websiteU.S. Department of State Foreign Service Officer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rangel Fellowship Fellowships United States Department of State 2002 establishments in the United States Howard University

History

Program components

See also

References

External links