Expand Your Experience

Expand Your Experience

The Alumni Overseas Fellowships

AAAS is excited to provide STPF alumni an opportunity to expand their policy experience beyond the beltway. The Alumni Overseas Fellowships at USAID Missions allow fellows to apply the skills they gained in Washington to international development. Placements at USAID Missions provide an invaluable opportunity to witness firsthand the impact of science and technology on development goals. This program offers a unique public service, civic engagement and professional development experience for fellows, and helps strengthen the pipeline of science and engineering leaders

Being an overseas fellow has been wonderful. It's a great way to experience life overseas at a USAID mission and an opportunity to use my scientific expertise to positively influence development issues I care about. The impact of my work feels so much more tangible here in Uganda then it did in Washington.

Hadas Kushnir, 2012-14 Overseas Fellow at USAID/Uganda

What do Overseas Fellows do?

Fellows at USAID Missions serve as focal points on science, technology, innovation and partnership (STIP) related issues and help increase internal capacity in these fields. Overseas Fellows bring scientific rigor to proposal and program reviews, analyze data for decision making, convene Mission-wide S&T working groups, forge links with host-country universities and scientific communities, liaise with local scientific Ministries, and function as the Mission’s in-house scientist. They can also serve as specialized technical officers. For example, Overseas Fellows have advised Missions on the development of adaptation strategies for river deltas, assisted host countries with the establishment of effective wildlife conservation area management, and designed agricultural and biodiversity programs. In some cases, per the needs of the Mission’s programming, the fellows may be placed in U.S. Embassies, host-country Ministries, or intergovernmental organizations, subject to AAAS and Mission approval.

 

Karelyn Cruz-Martinez (2011-13 Fellow at USAID) tries her hand at processing groundnuts at Feed the Future programs in Zambia.

 

Overseas program opportunities are sent on a rolling basis. When STPF receives a position description from USAID,  STPF will email the opportunity to eligible candidates and invite them to submit the following.

 

Application Requirements

  • Biographical statement: Maximum of 200 words.
  • Candidate statement: Maximum 1,000 words, outlining your interest in the Overseas Fellowship or the GHD Fellowship, your qualifications, what you expect to contribute, and what you hope to gain.
  • Resume: Not to exceed four pages.

 

You are eligible to apply if:

  • You are a current fellow or STPF alumnus/a who served in any executive, judicial, legislative branch or Revelle fellowship under the AAAS umbrella within the past six years (currently September 2013 through August 2020).
  • You completed a full, 12-month, Washington, DC-based fellowship assignment or you completed the full commitment of a renewal assignment.
  • You submitted all fellowship impact plans (formerly called professional development plans), fellowship mid-year and year-end reports, and completed the term in good standing in accordance with the Fellowship Completion Policy. Please note: Partner society fellows are exempted from reporting requirements. 

 

Terms:

Employment:  In order to be placed at a USAID Mission, Overseas Fellows are hired as Foreign Service Limited (FSL) staff. This is a direct hire appointment, which means you will become an employee of USAID, not AAAS. This is a term-limited (maximum two year) appointment with USAID and cannot be extended beyond two years.  This designation will allow you to:

  • Be under Chief of Mission authority, including accommodations in Embassy housing;
  • Receive post differential, danger pay, and cost of living allowance, if applicable.
  • Receive a diplomatic passport for your travel;
  • Receive shipment to/from post of your personal belongings; and
  • Receive salary and benefits as an FSL staff member, including contributions to Thrift Savings Plan retirement account, health insurance, training, etc. 

 

Start Date:  Overseas Fellowships have a rolling start date depending on the completion of onboarding steps, including obtaining the appropriate security clearance level and medical clearance, as well as other hiring steps as detailed by USAID. The length of time from accepting a position to a start date will vary considerably based on your individual situation, but will likely take several months to one year. 

Clearance Requirements:  Overseas Fellowships are contingent on a fellow receiving a full Top Secret clearance.  Fellows must receive the Top Secret clearance before entering on duty at a Mission.

For more information, please contact Olivia Monahan.