§4141a Foreign Service Internship Program

Summary

The Secretary of State must set up a Foreign Service internship program, after talking with leaders of other agencies that use the Foreign Service. The program gives students hands-on experience in diplomacy through three summer internships. Each summer assignment must be at least eight weeks long, and the three summers must be finished within no more than four years. At least 10 interns must start the program each year. The Secretary will pick the best students from groups underrepresented in the Foreign Service who have finished at least one year of college and who keep up strong academic records. The Secretary also decides the academic rules, selection standards, and how the program runs. The first summer is in Washington, D.C., studying international relations and how the Department of State and similar agencies work (the George P. Shultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center may be used). The second summer is mainly in a State Department bureau with focus on economic and political work and may include time on Capitol Hill. The third summer is at a U.S. mission overseas in political or economic work. Each intern gets a career Foreign Service officer as a mentor. Interns must be paid at least the same as similar State Department summer interns and are treated as Foreign Service employees for travel, housing, health insurance, and other benefits during each internship. The Secretary must also study whether the Foreign Service exam can be given in parts over several years and report findings to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations within 180 days after February 16, 1990.