The Harold W. Rosenthal Fellowship offers qualified students pursuing a career in international relations the opportunity to spend a summer in professional fellowship positions with a Member of Congress or in the State Department.
In the past several years between 9 and 13 fellows have been selected, each
receiving a stipend.
The Fellowship is in honor of Harold Rosenthal, a Senate staff member who was a victim of international terrorism, killed in 1976 at the age of 29. He had already begun a successful career in international relations. The fellowship celebrated its
30th anniversary in 2006, memorialized by a legacy of ninety-two outstanding fellows to date.
Fellows are selected based on their commitment to public service, their education and interest in international relations as well as their experience and their dedication to values held and pragmatism demonstrated by Harold Rosenthal. Those include a professional commitment to conflict resolution, governance, and multi-culturalism.
The fellowship positions chosen are carefully chosen to ensure that the fellows have the opportunity to perform substantive work in international relations and security policy.
At least one fellow a year also participates in the European Union's Visitors Program.
The Application Process
Candidates for the fellowship must be either graduate students in international relations or, in special cases, college seniors.
In each case, the candidate must be planning to continue his or her education after the summer internship.
Students may obtain applications through the Dean's office of participating schools. Each applicant must submit biographical information, transcripts,
one reference, and a two-page essay on foreign relations to his or her school's Dean. Each Dean then nominates up to three candidates to the Fellowship board, which reviews the candidates and selects semi-finalists to interview.
Applications for the 2008 program will be due on February 8, 2008.
Once selected by the Fellowship board, semifinalists will be invited to come to Washington, D.C. for interviews. No funds are available to cover travel expenses. At least two finalists are selected to be interviewed by each sponsor.
All finalists will be notified of selection within one week of the interviews.
The Support of the European Union
Before his death, Harold Rosenthal participated in what was then called the European Community's Visitor's Program. The Program invites young leaders from countries outside the European Union to visit Europe to gain a firsthand appreciation of the EU's goals, policies, and peoples, and to increase mutual understanding between professionals from non-EU countries and their EU counterparts. As a tribute to Harold, each year the EU invites one Rosenthal fellow to participate in the EU Visitors Program. For more information on the EU program, see: http://www.eurunion.org/delegati/ppa/euvp.htm
Upon selection, finalists must provide the Delegation of the European Commission with additional information on their objectives for a European tour under the European Visitor Program Fellowship.