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Title 20, EducationRelease 119-110

§1131c Internships

Title 20 › CHAPTER 28 — HIGHER EDUCATION RESOURCES AND STUDENT ASSISTANCE › SUBCHAPTER VI — INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION PROGRAMS › Part C — Institute for International Public Policy › § 1131c

Last updated Sep 23, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Institute must make agreements with certain colleges and universities to give students internships. These schools include historically Black colleges and universities, tribally controlled colleges, Alaska Native‑serving and Native Hawaiian‑serving schools, Hispanic‑serving schools, other colleges with many minority students, and schools that train future foreign‑service workers. The internships include academic‑year placements during the junior and senior years and summer internships after the sophomore and junior years. Students will work with international, volunteer, or government organizations, including agencies like USAID, the State Department, the IMF, the National Security Council, regional and international banks, the United Nations, and similar bodies. The Institute must also set up internships for students who have finished a bachelor’s degree to help them prepare for a master’s program. Those post‑baccalaureate internships must include work experience, help students get ready for graduate study, and be run with help from the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. An Interagency Committee on Minority Careers in International Affairs must be created with at least seven members, including specific officials (or their designees) from Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, State, and USAID. Each year the Committee must advise the Secretary and the Institute on career guidance, find federal internship slots in international affairs, and promote policies across agencies to support the program.

Full Legal Text

Title 20, §1131c

Education, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)In general
The Institute shall enter into agreements with historically Black colleges and universities, tribally controlled colleges or universities, Alaska Native-serving, Native Hawaiian-serving, and Hispanic-serving institutions, other institutions of higher education with significant numbers of minority students, and institutions of higher education with programs in training foreign service professionals, to provide academic year internships during the junior and senior year and summer internships following the sophomore and junior academic years, by work placements with international, voluntary or government organizations or agencies, including the Agency for International Development, the Department of State, the International Monetary Fund, the National Security Council, the Organization of American States, the Export-Import Bank, the United States International Development Finance Corporation, the Department of State, Office of the United States Trade Representative, the World Bank, and the United Nations.
(b)Postbaccalaureate internships
The Institute shall enter into agreements with institutions of higher education described in the first sentence of subsection (a) to conduct internships for students who have completed study for a baccalaureate degree. The internship program authorized by this subsection shall—
(1)assist the students to prepare for a master’s degree program;
(2)be carried out with the assistance of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars; and
(3)contain work experience for the students designed to contribute to the students’ preparation for a master’s degree program.
(c)Interagency Committee on Minority Careers in International Affairs
(1)Establishment
There is established in the executive branch of the Federal Government an Interagency Committee on Minority Careers in International Affairs composed of not less than 7 members, including—
(A)the Under Secretary of Agriculture for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs, or the designee of that Under Secretary;
(B)the Assistant Secretary and Director General, of the United States and Foreign Commercial Service of the Department of Commerce, or the Assistant Secretary and Director General’s designee;
(C)the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness of the Department of Defense, or the Under Secretary’s designee;
(D)the Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education in the Department of Education, or the Assistant Secretary’s designee;
(E)the Director General of the Foreign Service of the Department of State, or the Director General’s designee; and
(F)the General Counsel of the Agency for International Development, or the General Counsel’s designee.
(2)Functions
The Interagency Committee established by this section shall—
(A)on an annual basis inform the Secretary and the Institute regarding ways to advise students participating in the internship program assisted under this section with respect to goals for careers in international affairs;
(B)locate for students potential internship opportunities in the Federal Government related to international affairs; and
(C)promote policies in each department and agency participating in the Committee that are designed to carry out the objectives of this part.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Prior Provisions

A prior section 625 of Pub. L. 89–329 was renumbered section 626 and is classified to section 1131d of this title.

Amendments

2018—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 115–254 substituted “United States International Development Finance Corporation” for “Overseas Private Investment Corporation”. Subsec. (c)(1)(A). Pub. L. 115–334 substituted “Under Secretary of Agriculture for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs, or the designee of that Under Secretary” for “Under Secretary for Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services of the Department of Agriculture, or the Under Secretary’s designee”. 2008—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 110–315, § 616(1), struck out “as defined in section 1061 of this title” after “Black colleges and universities” and substituted “tribally controlled colleges or universities, Alaska Native-serving, Native Hawaiian-serving, and Hispanic-serving institutions” for “tribally controlled Indian community colleges as defined in the Tribally Controlled Community College Assistance Act of 1978”, “international,” for “an international”, and “the Department of State” for “the United States Information Agency” after “Development,”. Subsec. (b)(2) to (4). Pub. L. 110–315, § 616(2), inserted “and” after semicolon at end of par. (2), substituted a period for “; and” at end of par. (3), and struck out par. (4) which read as follows: “be assisted by the Interagency Committee on Minority Careers in International Affairs established under subsection (c) of this section.” Subsec. (c)(1)(E) to (G). Pub. L. 110–315, § 616(3), inserted “and” after semicolon at end of subpar. (E), substituted a period for “; and” at end of subpar. (F), and struck out subpar. (G) which read as follows: “the Associate Director for Educational and Cultural Affairs of the United States Information Agency, or the Associate Director’s designee.” 1998—Pub. L. 105–244, § 603(d), designated existing provisions as subsec. (a), inserted heading, and added subsecs. (b) and (c). Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 105–277, which directed the amendment of “section 624 of Pub. L. 89–329 (20 U.S.C. 1131c)” by striking “the United States Information Agency,” after “Agency for International Development,”, could not be executed because of the intervening amendment by Pub. L. 105–244 which renumbered section 624 of Pub. L. 89–329 as section 625.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 2018 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 115–254 effective at the end of the transition period, as defined in section 9681 of Title 22, Foreign Relations and Intercourse, see section 1470(w) of Pub. L. 115–254, set out as a note under section 905 of Title 2, The Congress.

Effective Date

of 1998

Amendments

Amendment by Pub. L. 105–277 effective Oct. 1, 1999, see section 1301 of Pub. L. 105–277, set out as an

Effective Date

note under section 6531 of Title 22. Amendment by Pub. L. 105–244 effective Oct. 1, 1998, except as otherwise provided in Pub. L. 105–244, see section 3 of Pub. L. 105–244, set out as a note under section 1001 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

20 U.S.C. § 1131c

Title 20, Education

Last Updated

Sep 23, 2026

Release point: 119-110