Carnegie Endowment Junior Fellowship Program*Gustavus Fellowships Office

Initial Gustavus Deadline: December 4, 2009 (noon)
Campus Interview: December 11, 2009
Final Gustavus Deadline: January 11, 2010 (noon)
Web site: www.carnegieendowment.org
Campus Contact: Alisa Rosenthal, Fellowships Coordinator

Description

The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing cooperation between nations and promoting active international engagement by the United States. Founded in 1910, its work is nonpartisan and dedicated to achieving practical results. Carnegie Junior Fellows provide research assistance to the senior associates working in one of the Endowment’s ten program areas (i.e., China; Democracy and the Rule of Law; Energy and Climate; International Economics; Trade, Equity and Development; Nonproliferation; Russia and Eurasia; South Asia; Middle East; and the US Role in the World). Junior Fellows have the opportunity to conduct research for books, co-author journal articles and policy papers, participate in meetings with high-level officials, contribute to congressional testimony and organize briefings attended by scholars, activists, journalists and government officials.

Benefits

Each year the Endowment offers 8-10 one-year fellowships selected from a pool of nominees from close to 300 colleges. These are one-year (August 1 through July 31) full-time, paid positions. Junior Fellows for the 2009-09 year were paid a gross salary of $2,916.66 per month ($35,000 per year). (The compensation package for Fellows who apply during the 2010-10 cycle was not available at the time of publication.) A full benefits package is also provided.

Eligibility

• Applicants must be graduating seniors or students who have graduated during the last academic year. No one who has started graduate studies is eligible for consideration.
• Applicants need not be U.S. citizens if they attended a university located in the United States. However, all applicants must be eligible to work in the United States for a full 12 months from August 1 through July 31 following graduation. Students on F-1 visas who are eligible to work in the U.S. for the full year (August 1 through July 31) may apply for the program.
• Applicants must have attended one of the approximately 300 participating schools. (Gustavus is a participating school.)
• Applicants should have completed a significant amount of course work in international affairs, political science, economics, history or Russian, Chinese or Middle East studies.
• Applicant should have a strong academic record.

Gustavus’ Internal Selection Process

To obtain a Carnegie Endowment Junior Fellows Program application form, interested students should contact the Gustavus Fellowships Office after the third week in October, at which time the forms should be available. Applications for the Carnegie Endowment Junior Fellows Program are not available online.

Gustavus is allowed to nominate two students annually to the Carnegie Endowment Junior Fellows Program. To be considered, applicants must submit five collated packets of the materials listed below to the Gustavus Fellowships Office by the INITIAL GUSTAVUS DEADLINE (see above). Gustavus’ Selection Committee will review these materials and those applicants determined to be most competitive will be contacted to schedule a campus interview. Based on these materials and the campus interview, the Committee will determine which students will receive Gustavus’ nomination.

• A completed Carnegie Endowment Junior Fellows Program application form
• Essay (one page or less) on why the student would like to become a Junior Fellow
• Unofficial transcript (print off of WebAdvisor)
• Current resume
• The names of the two people who will be submitting letters of recommendation and their relationship to you
• An essay of not more than three typewritten, double-spaced pages on one of the topics provided in the application form

Materials for Final Consideration

If you receive Gustavus’ nomination, it is your responsibility to continue revising and collecting your materials. By the FINAL GUSTAVUS DEADLINE Gustavus’ nominee must submit the items listed below to the Gustavus Fellowships Office, which will send all materials directly to the program for further consideration.

• Application form
• Essay (one page or less) on why the student would like to become a Junior Fellow.
• 1 – 2 page resume (including telephone number, address, extra-curricular activities and work experience).
• Two recommendations, at least one of which should be from a professor of the student’s major department.
• Transcript of undergraduate records. The transcripts may be unofficial.
• An essay of not more than three typewritten, double-spaced pages on one of the topics provided in the application form. The essay should be a thoughtful piece, not a research paper. Students should indicate their name on each page of their essay. (Note: The topics are not necessarily indicative of the issues that a Junior Fellows will research at the Carnegie Endowment, but they are intended to test skills in analysis, logic, and written expression.)

More about the Selection Process

The application process is highly competitive. Approximately 5% of the applicants are ultimately selected for positions. The Carnegie Endowment’s Selection Committee chooses approximately 25 applicants for interview. Those not selected for interviews will be notified during the month of February. “Finalists” are interviewed in February or early March and will be notified of selection/non-selection before April 15. Applicants are judged on the quality of the written essay, related academic study and/or work experience, grades, recommendations, and personal interviews.

Please note that applicants are responsible for all photocopying needed for the internal selection process and as required by the Endowment.