The Council on Foreign Relations runs this fellowship with sponsorship from Carnegie Corporation of New York. It places tenured academics whose research and teaching concern international relations, U.S. foreign policy, or related fields in a policymaking environment for twelve months.
Fellows work full time at a U.S. federal agency, in Congress, or with an international organization on peace and security issues. CFR is not accepting applications for the 2026–27 fellowship year.
Benefits & funding
- CFR matches 50 percent of the fellow’s base academic-year salary, up to $80,000 for the year.
- Fellows who must relocate may receive modest moving assistance.
- CFR helps identify a suitable placement, but the host institution makes the placement decision and no specific placement is guaranteed.
- Fellows are independent contractors and do not receive CFR employment benefits, including health insurance.
Eligibility
- Applicants must be U.S. citizens.
- Applicants must be full-time tenured professors at a U.S. college or university whose research and teaching focus on international relations, U.S. foreign policy, or a related field.
- Applicants must hold a PhD and have an approved paid sabbatical from their home university.
- Applicants must propose a year of work on peace and security issues in the U.S. government or at an international organization.
- The fellowship does not support predoctoral or postdoctoral research, degree work, or completion of a project already substantially underway.
- Preference goes to candidates without significant prior work in the U.S. government or an international organization.
Can you apply?
Here's who can apply
Decoded from the official rules. A free account checks them against your passport, degree and age in seconds.
Eligible nationalities
USA
Education required
PhD
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Application process
- 1Subscribe to CFR’s International Affairs Fellowship application alerts while the 2026–27 cycle remains closed.
- 2When a future cycle opens, verify the current form, deadline, and submission route on the official program page.
- 3As historical preparation only, CFR’s archived form requested a completed application, CV, a policy proposal of no more than 500 words, two recommendation letters, and a chair or dean letter confirming the paid sabbatical and base salary.
Program timeline
Most recent exact application deadline located in official CFR material.
Oct 31, 2023
CFR is not accepting applications.
2026–27 fellowship year
Selected fellows normally begin their twelve-month placements within this window.
June–September