Gaither Junior Fellows Program

About the program

Each year, through the James C. Gaither Junior Fellows program, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace offers approximately 12-14 one-year fellowships to uniquely qualified graduating seniors and individuals who have graduated during the past academic year. They are selected from a pool of nominees nominated by several hundred participating universities and colleges. James C. Gaither Junior Fellows work as research assistants to Carnegie’s senior scholars.  Positions are paid, full-time positions for one year. A full benefits package is also provided.

James C. Gaither Junior Fellows spend one year (beginning August 1st) at Carnegie in Washington, DC working with Carnegie’s senior scholars in the following fields:

  • Democracy, Conflict, and Governance
  • American Statecraft
  • Nuclear Policy
  • Technology and International Affairs – Strong writing skills and research skills are essential.
  • Middle East – Strong reading fluency and the ability to perform academic as well as on-line research in Arabic essential. Strong background in Middle East politics and/or history is a huge plus.
  • International Security and Political Economy [to work with the International Security and South Asia Programs] – Quantitative data analysis and GIS skills are required. A strong mathematical background is a plus. An academic background in international relations theory or international political economy along with an interest in military issues is essential.
  • Asia Program – Mandarin Chinese language skills, particularly reading comprehension, are essential. An additional foreign language is a plus.
  • Russia and Eurasia – Excellent Russian and/or Ukranian reading skills required.
  • Africa Program
  • Global Order and Institutions
  • Sustainability, Climate and Geopolitics – Data skills (such as helping create graphs or tables for Carnegie publications) are a plus. Applicants should have completed coursework related to sustainability and climate issues. A foreign language or regional expertise is a plus—the program seeks to bring an international perspective into US debates on climate change.
  • Europe – Fluency and the ability to perform research in a European language other than English are a plus. Background knowledge of European politics is essential.

Eligibility

  • U.S. citizenship is not required for this program (but you must be eligible to work in the US for the duration of the fellowship)
  • Graduating seniors or recent alumni. Students who have already started a graduate program are not eligible to apply.
  • Strong academic credentials and co-curricular involvement  (independent research, research assistantships, student organizations, etc.)  in areas relevant to the chosen assignment field.
  • Foreign language competency or even fluency is required for some of the project areas (as noted above)

Selection criteria

Applications are judged on the quality of the written essays, related academic study and, work experience, research experience, grades, strong letters of recommendation, and interviews (for national finalists).  The nomination committee will look for strong evidence of the applicant’s preparedness to conduct research in the proposed field.  Excellent writing skills are essential, along with the specific criteria listed in the various programs described above.

Application procedures

The Gaither Junior Fellows requires institutional nomination.  For consideration, please submit the following materials to our James C. Gaither Junior Fellows Program application portal by December 10th, 12 noon EST. 

We will need the following by the deadline above:

  • Application Materials (for BU Internal Deadline: 12/10):
    • Personal statement 1-2 pages, double spaced: The personal statement should discuss why you are applying for this job, what you hope to learn from it, how you think your experience and working style would serve you well as a research assistant, and why you have chosen to apply for the program you are applying for.
    • Resume/C.V 1-2 pages
    • Two letters of recommendations. These recommendations can come from anyone the student feels can best speak to their abilities as a potential Gaither Junior Fellow.
      • Students must specify their recommenders’ details and request recommendation letters through the application portal.
        • *Recommendation letter requests can be sent through Infoready after saving your application as a DRAFT*
      • Once the official letter request is sent, recommenders will receive a link through which they should submit their signed letters on institutional letterhead directly to the application portal by the deadline above.
    • Transcript of undergraduate records. The transcript may be unofficial. (We prefer unofficial)
    • A writing sample of three to five pages, double spaced. This sample may be either a full-length piece that falls within the size range or an excerpt from a longer work.
      • The writing sample must be accompanied by a brief explanation of no more than half of one page explaining why the student chose that sample. The explanation is not included in the three to five page limitation noted above.
      • The writing sample can be on any topic. However, we recommend that the student choose a writing sample that is relevant to the program they are applying for, either in subject matter or style of analysis. For more information on what each Carnegie research program is working on, we recommend visiting https://carnegieendowment.org/programs-and-projects.
      • A works cited page is not required. However, in-text citations (either footnotes/endnotes or parenthetical) should be included with the writing sample.
    • While candidates may indicate a second research program choice on the application, we strongly encourage candidates to tailor their application towards only their first choice