James C. Gaither Junior Fellows Program

Overview

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. As one of the world’s leading think tanks specializing in international affairs, the Endowment conducts programs of research, discussion, publication and education.

Each year, through the James C. Gaither Junior Fellows program, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace offers approximately 11-13 one-year fellowships to graduating seniors and individuals who have graduated during the past academic year. (Students who have begun their graduate studies are not eligible.) Fellows work as research assistants in Washington, D.C., to the endowment’s senior associates (academics, government officials, lawyers) on projects such as nonproliferation, democracy building, trade policy, China-related issues, Russia-U.S. relations, and terrorism.

The program generally sends information to participating universities by the first week of October each year. Information is updated annually and essay topics change from year to year.

Application Information

ASSIGNMENTS FOR 2020-2021 PROJECTS

James C. Gaither Junior Fellows spend their year working with Carnegie’s senior scholars in the following fields:

  • Democracy, Conflict, and Governance
  • U.S. Foreign Policy and Diplomacy—The Junior Fellow will support Carnegie Endowment President Ambassador William J. Burns on research and writing that seeks to shape American diplomacy. Applicants should have coursework in U.S. foreign policy, broad-gauged regional lens, an interest in policy analysis and formulation, and superb writing skills.

  • Nuclear Policy
  • Technology and International Affairs (including the Cyber Policy Initiative)
  • Middle East—Strong reading fluency and the ability to do academic as well as online research in Arabic essential. Strong background in Middle East politics and/or history is a huge plus.
  • South Asia—A strong academic background in international relations theory, political theory, or international political economy is essential, along with an interest in military issues. The ability to perform quantitative data manipulation is required and a strong mathematical background is a plus.
  • China (Asia Program)—Mandarin Chinese reading skills a huge plus.
  • Japan (Asia Program)—Japanese reading skills required.
  • Economics (Asia Program)—Mandarin Chinese reading skills a huge plus. Strong background in economics essential. Please note: Applicants for the Asia program with skills in two or more of the above areas (Chinese language skills, Japanese language skills, strong economics background) will be at an advantage when applying, regardless of their essay selection.
  • Russia and Eurasia—Excellent Russian reading skills required.
  • Geoeconomics and Strategy—The Junior Fellow will support the senior fellows with research and writing that seeks to shed light on how the future of U.S. foreign policy is shaped by economic challenges at home and abroad. The Junior Fellow will also provide program coordination support, including budgets, travel, and events. Applicants should have coursework related to U.S. foreign policy and international economic policy, as well as a strong interest and skills in research, data collection and analysis, and program coordination/administration.

QUALIFICATIONS

Applicants must be nominated by an official of their university who has been designated for this purpose (usually the career placement officer or academic department chairperson). Applications are accepted only from graduating college seniors or individuals who have graduated within the past academic year. No one will be considered who has started graduate studies. Applicants should have completed a significant amount of course work in international affairs, political science, economics, history, Russian, Chinese or Middle East studies. Language and other skills may also be required for certain assignments. The selection process for the Junior Fellows Program is very competitive. Accordingly, applicants should be of high academic quality.

SALARY: Positions are paid, full-time positions for one year. The current salary is $1,666.67 per semi-monthly pay period ($40,000 per year). A full benefits package is also provided.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, YOU CAN REACH OUT TO:

Prof. C. Roberts, Political Science, croberts@hunter.cuny.edu.

Hunter's Office of Prestigious Scholarships and Fellowship https://ops.hunter.cuny.edu/program/james-gaither-fellowship/ or send an e-mail to ops@hunter.cuny.edu

Visit https://carnegieendowment.org/about or send an e-mail to jrfellowinfo@ceip.org for more information.