Carnegie Junior Fellows Program
The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace is a private, nonprofit organization that focuses on international public policy and the forces that drive global change. Each year the endowment offers approximately 10-12 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 from close to 400 participating colleges. Carnegie junior fellows work as research assistants to the endowment’s senior associates.
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 (except in cases where the student has completed a joint bachelor’s/master’s degree program). The Carnegie Endowment accepts applications only through participating universities via designated nominating officials.
You need not be a U.S. citizen if you attend a university located in the United States. However, all applicants must be eligible to work in the United States for a full twelve months from approximately August 1 through July 31 following graduation. Students on F-1 visas who are eligible to work in the United States for the full year may apply for the program.
If you attend a participating school outside of the United States, you must be a U.S. citizen (due to work permit requirements).
Application Process
University nomination is required. Students interested in the James C. Gaither Junior Fellows Program should register their interest and submit application materials via this Google form by December 1, 2023 at 12:00 PM (noon not midnight).
Deadlines
University Endorsement Deadline: December 1, 2023
External Fellowship Deadline: January 15, 2024
Application Material
- Resume/C.V. (preferably 1-2 pages). Should reflect your research and writing experience as much as possible
- Unofficial transcript
- Two letters of recommendations– can come from anyone the student feels can best speak to their abilities as a potential Gaither Junior Fellow.
- Personal statement- of one page or less, double-spaced, describing why you are applying to their particular research program and how being selected by the junior fellows program would fit into your career aspirations
- Substantive analytical essay- A 3-page (no longer) double spaced analytical essay (not research paper) related to your primary research interest. Select your topic from the list of provided prompts below:
- Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program. Choose any two countries in the world, from
two different regions, including at least one from the Global South. Explain how political
developments in those countries in the past five to ten years embody what you believe are
some of the most important elements of the global democratic recession. Be sure to give some
indication why you have chosen the countries you focus on.
- American Statecraft Program. America’s role in the world is changing, whether it likes it or not.
What are the 3-5 most important factors that will shape the context in which America conducts
its foreign policy in the next two decades? - Nuclear Policy Program. Which state without nuclear weapons do you believe is most likely to
acquire them? - Technology and International Affairs Program (Please respond to just ONE of the two following
questions). When you read or hear discussions about ‘risks of AI’ what questions do you have
that you do not think are being answered well? OR What technology issue will have the greatest
impact on international stability in the coming decade, and why? - Middle East Program. The Middle East region is going through a huge, agonizing and protracted
transformation characterized by dwindling oil revenues, rising populations, failing governance
structures and government services, rising extremism and sectarianism, and high youth
unemployment. The current situation has enabled regional powers to intervene in each other’s
affairs as well as non-state actors such as the self-proclaimed Islamic State to emerge and
spread new toxic ideologies. What do you see as one of the most difficult threats facing the
region today and the underlying drivers of turmoil? Discuss the impact this has had on two
countries in the region and strategies that will help move these countries toward a better
future. - International Security and Political Economy [to work with the International Security and
South Asia Programs] (Please respond to just ONE of the two following questions). Many
scholars argue that the world is experiencing a worrying period of democratic backsliding, while
skeptical voices suggest that backsliding concerns are overblown. With reference to existing
data sources and democracy ratings, which position do you find more compelling and why? OR
Should the United States end its ambiguity over defending Taiwan? - Asia Program. To what extent are states in Asia “forced to choose” between the US and China?
Consider political, economic, security, and other factors to substantiate your analysis. - Russia and Eurasia Program. The U.S.-Russia relationship has plummeted to unprecedented
post Cold War lows amid the war in Ukraine. Can this downward trajectory be arrested? What
are the key dangers in the current situation and how might the White House seek to prevent
things from getting out of hand? - Africa Program. Narratives about Africa’s future often oscillate between unrealistic optimism
and blanket pessimism. Clearly the truth lies in a more nuanced middle. Compare and contrast
the recent trajectories of two African countries—including both their economic and political
dimensions—to help illuminate a nuanced picture of Africa’s current direction. - Global Order and Institutions Program. The UN Secretary-General has depicted the world as
“gridlocked in colossal global dysfunction.” What accounts for the failures of many multilateral
institutions, and what—if anything—can be done to improve international cooperation in
addressing major global challenges? - Sustainability, Climate and Geopolitics Program. (Please respond to just ONE of the two
following questions). After 30 years of UN climate conferences, the multilateral approach to
climate mitigation has a poor record by the most important metric: global greenhouse gas
emissions continue to rise each year, even as climate impacts become more noticeable and
severe. This poor record raises doubts about the “bottom-up” logic of voluntary, national
climate pledges as embodied in the 2015 Paris Agreement. Has this bottom-up logic failed, and if
so, what should replace it? OR Imagine it is the year 2040 and you are working for a major
international organization. Your teenaged niece, who is about to begin studying for a bachelor’s
degree in Climate & Geopolitics, asks you to summarize how the climate James C. Gaither Junior
Fellows Program Application Process and Procedures 2024-2025 crisis and the responses to it
have transformed international affairs since you were a student. In the interest of time, she asks
you to focus on 2-3 of the most important developments. What do you tell her? - Sustainability, Climate and Geopolitics Program. (Please respond to just ONE of the two
following questions). After 30 years of UN climate conferences, the multilateral approach to
climate mitigation has a poor record by the most important metric: global greenhouse gas
emissions continue to rise each year, even as climate impacts become more noticeable and
severe. This poor record raises doubts about the “bottom-up” logic of voluntary, national
climate pledges as embodied in the 2015 Paris Agreement. Has this bottom-up logic failed, and if
so, what should replace it? OR Imagine it is the year 2040 and you are working for a major
international organization. Your teenaged niece, who is about to begin studying for a bachelor’s
degree in Climate & Geopolitics, asks you to summarize how the climate James C. Gaither Junior
Fellows Program Application Process and Procedures 2024-2025 crisis and the responses to it
have transformed international affairs since you were a student. In the interest of time, she asks
you to focus on 2-3 of the most important developments. What do you tell her?