Fellowships

Turn your academic research into foreign policy. Republican staff for the Committee on Foreign Relations in the House of Representatives are seeking doctoral students who can use their research knowledge and insights to help us write a comprehensive vision of how American diplomats should execute the nation’s foreign policy. In calendar year 2026, the Committee intends to review all authorities governing recruitment, training, and the careers of State Department personnel. By midyear, the Committee will consider a bill that updates authorities that the Department uses to sculpt America’s diplomatic workforce. The Committee is especially interested in prospective PhD Fellows whose research focuses on organizational culture and predictors of outcome in bureaucratic structures.

Duties will include researching existing laws and regulations, advising Committee staff and Members, and drafting legislation. Fellows can expect to participate in meetings, brief key decisionmakers, and gain valuable experience in the congressional policy process. This is a paid Fellowship to work in Washington DC for up to four months on a schedule that is flexible to the Fellow’s commitments to their institution. Fellows must be an American citizen and enrolled in a PhD program. Applicants should submit their resume, an abstract of their research (up to one page, single-spaced), and a one- to two-paragraph description of how their work would be useful in setting statutory authorities for the State Department to HFACGOP.Resumes@mail.house.gov by December 1, 2025. Please include “2026 PhD Fellow” in the subject line of the email submission.

Postdoctoral Fellowship at the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Republican staff for the Committee on Foreign Relations in the House of Representatives are seeking doctoral candidates and recent graduates for postdoctoral research that informs the drafting of foreign policy laws. In 2025, the Committee produced the first comprehensive authorization of the State Department in nearly a quarter-century, primarily addressing macro-level organizational structure of the bureaus. The next phase will focus on authorities governing recruitment, training, and the careers of State Department personnel. In 2026, the Committee will consider a second comprehensive authorization, this time addressing micro-level tools that the Department uses to sculpt America’s diplomatic workforce. We want that process to be informed by the best social science research available.

Duties will include analyzing workforce norms and practices under existing laws and regulations, theorizing more efficient workforce management models, and drafting legislative solutions to achieve a higher probability of favorable outcomes. Postdoctoral Fellows can expect to initiate collaborative research, brief key decisionmakers, and gain valuable experience in the congressional policy process. The work will be onsite in the House of Representatives (Washington, DC) and those selected will receive competitive congressional staff pay and benefits for up to one year from their start date. Postdocs must be an American citizen and have completed all comprehensive exams and coursework for a PhD, but are not required to have completed their dissertation. Applicants should submit their resume, an abstract of their research (up to one page, single-spaced), and a one- to two-paragraph description of how their work would be useful in setting statutory authorities for the State Department to HFACGOP.Resumes@mail.house.gov by December 1, 2025. Please include “2026 Postdoc Fellow” in the subject line of the email submission.

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