About

Ambassador Donald F. McHenry

Ambassador Donald F. McHenry served as Ambassador and US permanent representative to the United Nations from September 1979 to January 1981, and concurrently as a member of President Jimmy Carter’s Cabinet. He joined the School of Foreign Service as Distinguished Professor in the Practice of Diplomacy in 1981 and taught at Georgetown until 2014. Ambassador McHenry undertook a number of high level assignments on behalf of the US government during his tenure at SFS. The Donald F. McHenry Chair in Global Human Development was established upon his retirement in recognition of his contribution to the School and its students. In addition to his board and trustee positions, he is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a member of the Board of Advisers of the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, American Academy of Diplomacy and the Association of Black American Ambassadors.

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The Program

The Donald F. McHenry Global Public Service Fellows Program seeks to enhance Georgetown University School of Foreign Service’s (SFS) recruitment of exceptionally qualified graduate students from widely diverse backgrounds and experiences who are committed to careers in transformational global public service. It is open to students accepted by any of the eight SFS Master’s degree programs and is conferred at the time of acceptance.

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The Fellowship program features activities for the development of the fellows’ abilities to integrate lessons and tools from across disciplines and to develop strategic intellectual skills. These skills in turn empower McHenry graduates to tackle both emerging and, as yet, unknown global challenges holistically.

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The Fellowship provides a scholarship that covers full tuition and all mandatory fees. The program welcomes both American and international students to apply coincident with their applications to SFS Master’s degree programs. 

 

             Eligibility

• Acceptance and enrollment in the desired SFS Program* and

• Commitment to a career in transformational global public service.

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Students must be in the process of applying to a SFS Masters program to be eligible for consideration, applications from students already enrolled in a graduate program will not be considered.

 

Program Benefits

• A scholarship covering full tuition and mandatory fees

• Individual mentoring to enhance analytic writing, oral briefing, professional, and personal skills 

• Inter-disciplinary exchanges on creative solutions to public service problems

• Interaction with senior practitioners at the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy and larger SFS community

• Events to complement and expand the fellows’ Master’s degree academic learning

• Assistance with internship search for practical experience and networking 

• Counseling on career employment search 

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*The SFS Masters and McHenry Fellows application cycles occur concurrently. As such, students should submit both applications at the required dates, though only those accepted into an SFS program will ultimately be eligible for consideration.