2015 Donald M. Payne International Development Graduate Fellowship

The Payne Program is designed to attract outstanding young people to careers in international development as USAID Foreign Service Officers.  The Payne Fellowship Program provides benefits valued at up to $90,000 over two years toward a two-year master's degree, arranges internships in Washington D.C. and at USAID missions overseas, and provides professional development and support activities. Fellows who successfully complete the program become USAID Foreign Service Officers. 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. At the end of the two-year fellowship, Fellows enter the USAID Foreign Service.  

Applicants must be college seniors or graduates looking to start graduate school in the fall of the year they apply, have GPAs of at least 3.2 and be U.S. citizens. The program welcomes applications from those with any undergraduate major and encourages applications from members of minority groups historically underrepresented in the USAID Foreign Service and those with financial need. Information and application materials for the program are available at www.paynefellows.org. The Program is funded by USAID and managed by Howard University.