Howard University is pleased to announce that it will administer the inaugural U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Foreign Service Fellowship Program (AFSFP). This USDA program seeks to attract and prepare outstanding individuals for careers in international diplomacy focused on protecting the health and value of American agriculture and natural resources. The program seeks qualified candidates who represent the strength and diversity of the United States, including racial, gender, social and geographic diversity. The program includes two specific graduate fellowships, one for agricultural studies and the other for veterinary medicine, with studies done at Tuskegee University. The application is now open, and more information is available at afsfprogram.org. 

The AFSF program will be the fourth U.S. government diplomatic fellowship administered by Howard University.  Howard also administers the Charles B. Rangel International Affairs Program and the Thomas R. Pickering Foreign Affairs Fellowship Program for the U.S. Department of State and the Donald M. Payne International Development Fellowship Program for the U.S. Agency for International Development.

“We are thrilled to partner with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and Tuskegee University to launch this initiative. It will create significant opportunities for outstanding individuals interested in being part of a global effort to protect U.S. agriculture and those who depend on it,” says Provost and Chief Academic Officer Anthony Wutoh, Ph.D.. “Howard University is honored to work with USDA APHIS to create these opportunities through our cooperative agreement. These programs advance the University’s mission to develop scholars and professionals who drive change and help find solutions to contemporary global problems, particularly from diverse perspectives.” 

The Agriculture Fellowship will award up to $46,000 annually for a two–year graduate program at Tuskegee University’s College of Agriculture, Environment and Nutrition Sciences (CAENS) toward tuition, room, board, books and mandatory fees for completion of their degrees. This includes up to $30,000 a year for tuition and mandatory fees and an academic year stipend of $16,000.

The Veterinary Medicine Fellowship will award up to $66,000 annually for a two-and-a-half-year period at Tuskegee University’s College of Veterinary Medicine (TUCVM) for tuition, room, board, books and mandatory fees for completion of their degrees. This includes up to $50,000 for each year of tuition and mandatory fees and an academic year stipend of $16,000.

Interested in Applying?

Those interested in either the agriculture or veterinary graduate fellowships can find more information about each program at afsfprogram.org. The programs are open to applicants that meet the eligibility requirements and encourage the application of members of minority groups historically underrepresented in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, including women and those with financial need. Upon successful completion of an agriculture or veterinary medicine degree at Tuskegee University and fulfillment of fellowship and foreign service entry requirements, fellows have the opportunity to work as foreign service officers with the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), serving in Washington, D.C. or at a U.S. embassy, consulate or diplomatic mission around the globe.

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About the Ralph J. Bunche International Affairs Center at Howard University

The Ralph J. Bunche International Affairs Center’s mission is to serve as the hub and catalyst for enhancing international engagement for the benefit of the HU community. In doing so, the center integrates global perspectives into the HU experience, promotes education abroad, facilitates deeper scholarship on global issues, supports cross-cultural dialogue and respect for cultural diversity, and prepares leaders who can find solutions to global problems. For more information about the center and other international opportunities offered at Howard University visit global.howard.edu.

About Howard University

Founded in 1867, Howard University is a private, research university that is comprised of 13 schools and colleges. Students pursue studies in more than 120 areas leading to undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees. The University operates with a commitment to Excellence in Truth and Service and has produced one Schwarzman Scholar, three Marshall Scholars, four Rhodes Scholars, 11 Truman Scholars, 25 Pickering Fellows, 21 Rangel Fellows, and more than 165 Fulbright recipients. Howard also produces more on-campus African-American Ph.D. recipients than any other university in the United States. For more information visit howard.edu.

About U.S. Department of Agriculture APHIS

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) is the lead U.S. government agency that keeps American agriculture healthy. APHIS is made up of over 8,000 employees across the country and around the world, working together to secure the future of American agriculture. APHIS values service: to customers, to the American public and each other. Since a 1982 presidential executive order was signed, APHIS foreign service officers have worked as agricultural attachés in over 28 posts internationally with administrative, policy and technical support from staffs in Washington, D.C. For more information visit aphis.usda.gov.

About Tuskegee University

Tuskegee University, an independent and state-related institution of higher education, is located in Tuskegee, Alabama. Over the past 140 years since it was founded by Booker T. Washington in 1881, Tuskegee University has become one of our nation’s most outstanding institutions of higher learning. While it focuses on helping to develop human resources primarily within the African-American community, it is open to all. The veterinary medical graduates of the TUCVM are engaged as leaders in various aspects of the veterinary profession, such as past president and a past vice president of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA); leadership roles in state veterinary medical associations; deans and associate deans of veterinary schools; leadership roles in the government, such as in the United States Department of Agriculture (APHIS and FSIS, the Food Safety Inspection Service). Tuskegee University’s College of Agriculture, Environment and Nutrition Sciences (CAENS) offers an education that prepares future professionals and leaders in the agricultural, environmental and nutritional sciences, as well as veterinary medicine through course work along with internships, research and outreach activities related to their chosen majors in FSIS, Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), agencies that promote funding for health and biomedical research, other public health agencies, and the military services; key positions in organizations that promote veterinary medical education; and as experts in biomedical research and leaders in the pharmaceutical industry.