Please visit the Student Internship Program webpage to learn more about the application process and sign up to received announcements and updates to the next program cycle in 2022-2023 school year.
The Department of State Student Programs are for students who are U.S. citizens. Non-U.S. citizens may apply for the programs that are made available through the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), at exchanges.state.gov.
The Student Internship Program has three program cycles each calendar year (Fall, Spring, & Summer cycles), please visit our webpage to learn more about the call for applications and the eligibility requirements.
We recommend you visit our “Which Office is Right for You?” Here you can explore all the many different Bureaus and their internship opportunities that may align to you major and interests.
If you are already enrolled for the 2021-22 academic year and waiting to start your classes, you’re eligible. If you are taking a break or just graduated from college to decide next steps, then you are not eligible to apply and should wait if you plan to obtain another degree.
The Department of State will place competitively qualified U.S. citizens into Foreign Service Limited Non-Career Appointments (LNA) in country-specific posts with high workloads. These employees will be fully professional members of consulate and embassy teams. Limited appointments, however, cannot serve as special access or alternate entry to the career Foreign Service or the Department of State, i.e., they do not lead automatically to onward employment at the Department of State or with the U.S. government. LNAs are welcome to apply to become Foreign Service Specialists or Generalists or Civil Service employees, but they must meet the applicable qualifications and complete the standard application and assessment processes. Service time and benefits earned as a Consular Adjudicator can be credited in any subsequent federal employment.
Language proficiency tests are given as part of the Consular Fellow Program assessment process. The competitive candidates ranked by the Qualifications Evaluation Panels will be invited to take a language proficiency test with the Language Testing Institute to confirm that they have the required language skills in one of the designated foreign languages (Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, Portuguese, or Spanish). Both speaking and reading will be tested. Candidates will receive their scores from the Consular Fellows Program Unit, along with the invitation to schedule an appointment for the Foreign Service Consular Professional Assessment. Please find a description of the language proficiency test on the Language Tests page.
There is no use of pinyin in the test. Candidates may choose either traditional or simplified Chinese characters for the reading portion of the assessment.
Consular Fellows are afforded salary matching within the appropriate hiring grade, up to step 14.
Dimensions scored in this exercise: Planning and Organization, Working with Others, Judgment, Information Integration and Analysis, Resourcefulness, and Written Communication.
The foreign Service Consular Professional Assessment consists of two parts: a writing exercise and a structured interview. More information can be found at: Consular consists of two parts: a writing exercise and a structured interview. More information can be found at: Consular Fellows Selection Process