§ 4141a. Foreign Service Internship Program

Statutory text

Establishment

In consultation with the heads of other agencies utilizing the Foreign Service system, the Secretary of State shall establish a Foreign Service internship program to carry out the objectives of this subchapter in accordance with the provisions of this subchapter.

Foreign Service Internship Program

The program shall introduce interns to the practice of diplomacy and the unique rewards of the Foreign Service. The program shall consist of three successive summer internships of not less than eight weeks duration in each year to be completed over the course of not more than four years. Special emphasis shall be given to preparing the intern for the Foreign Service examination process. In each year not less than 10 interns shall enter the program.

Eligibility to participate

Students enrolled full-time in institutions of higher education from groups which are underrepresented in the Foreign Service in terms of the cultural and ethnic diversity of the Foreign Service and for whom equal opportunity and affirmative action recruitment efforts have not been successful in achieving balanced representation in appointments to the Foreign Service shall be eligible to be interns in programs under this subchapter.

An intern shall have successfully completed not less than one academic year of study at an institution of higher education to be admitted to the program. In each succeeding year of participation an intern shall have completed an additional year of undergraduate or graduate study and shall maintain an exemplary record of academic achievement.

In selecting interns, the Secretary shall consider only the ablest students of superior ability selected on the basis of demonstrated achievement and exceptional promise whose academic records reflect the requisite standards of performance necessary for the Foreign Service.

Summer internships

The primary focus of the first internship shall be the study of international relations, the functions of the Department of State and other agencies which utilize the Foreign Service system, and the nature of the Foreign Service. The internship shall be held in Washington, District of Columbia, at the Department of State. As appropriate, the Secretary shall utilize the personnel and facilities of the George P. Shultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center.

The second internship shall be, principally, an assignment to a specific bureau of the Department of State. Emphasis shall be on providing insight into the economic and political functional areas.

The third internship shall be an assignment to a United States mission abroad in the political or economic area.

The first and second internships may include a detail to the Congress.

Administration

The Secretary of State shall determine the academic requirements, other selection criteria, and standards for successful completion of each internship period. The Secretary shall be responsible for the design, implementation, and operation of the program.

Mentors

Each intern shall be assigned a career Foreign Service officer as a mentor. The mentor shall act as a counselor and advisor throughout each summer internship and as a personal Foreign Service contact throughout the period of participation in the program. In the assignment of mentors, the Secretary shall give preference to Foreign Service officers who volunteer for such assignment and who may be role models for the interns.

Compensation

Interns shall be compensated at a rate determined by the Secretary which shall not be less than the compensation of comparable summer interns at the Department of State. As determined by the Secretary, for the purposes of travel, housing, health insurance, and other appropriate benefits, interns shall be considered employees of the Foreign Service during each internship period.

Study of Foreign Service examination

The Secretary of State shall study the feasibility of administering the Foreign Service examination in separate segments over several years. Not later than 180 days after February 16, 1990, the Secretary shall submit a report summarizing the findings of such a study to the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate.

Legislative history

Reconstructed from this section’s Code source credit and amendment notes, resolved against the local Statutes at Large. Editorial notes are evidence, not the law that made the change.

1990
Pub. L. 96–465 title I § 1202 · 94 Stat. 2071
Enacted · 22 U.S.C. § 4141a
Pub. L. 96–465, title I, § 1202, as added Pub. L. 101–246, title I, § 149(b), Feb. 16, 1990, 104 Stat. 40
Source evidence
Code source credit
Pub. L. 96–465, title I, § 1202, as added Pub. L. 101–246, title I, § 149(b), Feb. 16, 1990, 104 Stat. 40
2002
Pub. L. 107–132 § 1(b) · 115 Stat. 2412
Substituted · 22 U.S.C. § 4141a(d)(1)
Pub. L. 107–132 substituted “George P. Shultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center” for “Foreign Service Institute”
Source evidence
Code amendment note
Subsec. (d)(1). Pub. L. 107–132 substituted “George P. Shultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center” for “Foreign Service Institute”.
Enacted provision · exact public law section
(b) 7 USC 1766b, 10 USC 2002, 22 USC 2056, 4001 note, 4003, 4021 note, 4171, 4171 note, 4903, 6101, 6473. Any reference in any provision of law to the National Foreign Affairs Training Center or the Foreign Service Institute shall be considered to be a reference to the “George P. Shultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center”.

1 of 2 references resolved to an enrolled provision · 1 partial

Editorial Notes

Codification

February 16, 1990, referred to in subsec. (h), was in the original “the date of the enactment of this Act”, which was translated as meaning the date of enactment of Pub. L. 101–246, which enacted this subchapter, to reflect the probable intent of Congress.

Amendments

2002—Subsec. (d)(1). Pub. L. 107–132 substituted “George P. Shultz National Foreign Affairs Training Center” for “Foreign Service Institute”.

Credits

1990–2002 · 2 acts

1990Pub. L. 96–465, title I, § 1202, as added Pub. L. 101–246, title I, § 149(b), Feb. 16, 1990, 104 Stat. 40
2002amended Pub. L. 107–132, § 1(b), Jan. 16, 2002, 115 Stat. 2412.

Show as published

(Pub. L. 96–465, title I, § 1202, as added Pub. L. 101–246, title I, § 149(b), Feb. 16, 1990, 104 Stat. 40; amended Pub. L. 107–132, § 1(b), Jan. 16, 2002, 115 Stat. 2412.)