AGNR students of all majors are welcome to participate in the Federal or Global Fellows Program in Washington, D.C.
These year-long programs combine a fall academic course taught by industry experts with a spring internship in the D.C. metropolitan area. Students engage in competitive internships at sites such as the World Resources Institute, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Environment America, Climate Action Campaign, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of State, and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. Throughout the year, fellows are supported with site visits, professional development workshops, one-on-one resume and interview coaching, and more. The programs aim to prepare talented, diverse undergraduate students to excel in their spring internships and pursue careers of influence and impact.
Explore the highlighted concentrations below. Additional concentrations include U.S Dipomacy and Public Policymaking, Critical Regions and International Relations, Political Engagement and Advocacy, Homeland and National Security Policy, and Public Health Policy.
Federal Fellows: Energy and Environmental Policy
This course, taught by an expert from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, explores issues of environmental sustainability through an investigation of federal policymaking in energy, climate change, and sustainable development. Students will examine efforts of the U.S. government to respond to linked challenges of increasing energy demand, climate change, growing population, and poverty alleviation. Guest speakers from Congress, federal agencies, and the non-governmental sector highlight domestic initiatives as well as the role of the U.S. government in international agreements related to climate change and sustainable development.
Global Fellows: Water Security and Global Health Challenges
This course, taught by Department of State and World Bank experts, will examine water challenges and health threats, the major actors as well as mechanisms and initiatives involved in responding, and the factors that governments need to consider as they develop global water and health strategies. Water scarcity, inadequate sanitation, infectious disease outbreaks and other global health emergencies also pose threats not only to human health but to broader social, economic and political goals. Students will learn, through case studies and guest lecturers from Washington’s national and international policymaking, think tank, and NGO communities, how the inter-connectedness between water and health, energy, food security, ecosystems, and climate change makes water a key foundation for achieving country-level sustainable development goals.
Global Fellows: Science Diplomacy- Foreign Policy and Science, Technology, and Innovation
This course, taught by U.S. Department of State experts, explores issues such as energy and climate change, public health, space and innovation, and economic development from the intersection of science and international policy. Students, through expert speakers, presentations, readings, and negotiation exercises, will explore the critical roles scientific knowledge and technological innovation play in the formation and implementation of foreign policy issues.
Global Fellows: Responses to Global Challenges
This course will examine global issues and responses primarily from the perspective of the practitioner, as a means of providing students with practical insight into the challenges and crises that exist worldwide. Class topics may include humanitarian assistance and international humanitarian law, refugees and vulnerable populations, human rights, global health, environmental and human security policy, the role of Congress and the Executive branch, U.S. and U.N. relations, and good governance initiatives. Students will analyze public documents, hear the experience of multiple guest practitioners, and gain practical knowledge and expertise needed for careers in the international arena.