APPLICATION INFORMATION & REQUIREMENTS

General Information
Program and Purpose
Salary and Benefits
Issue Areas Covered by the Scoville Fellowship
Selection Criteria
Application Materials
Submitting Applications
Deadlines
Selection Process
Starting Dates for Fellowship

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General Information

The Herbert Scoville Jr. Peace Fellowship Program invites recent college and graduate school alumni to apply for full-time, six-to-nine month fellowships in Washington, DC. Outstanding individuals will be selected to work with nonprofit, public-interest organizations addressing peace and security issues. Applications are especially encouraged from candidates with a strong interest in these issues who have prior experience with public-interest activism or advocacy.

Program and Purpose

Scoville Fellows will choose to work with one of the twenty-six organizations participating in the program. With the assistance of the program director, Fellows will select a placement which best matches their interests and the needs of the host organization. Participating organizations provide office space and support, supervision and guidance for Fellows’ work. With the exception of Congressional lobbying, Fellows may undertake a variety of activities, including research, writing, and organizing that support the goals of their host organization.

The purpose of the fellowship is to provide an opportunity for college graduates to gain practical knowledge and experience by contributing to the efforts of nonprofit, public-interest organizations working on peace and security issues.

Salary and Benefits

Fellows receive a salary of $2,900 per month and health insurance, plus travel expenses to Washington, DC. The program also provide $1,000 per fellow for professional development to attend relevant conferences or meetings that could cover travel, accommodations, and registration fees.

Some lenders may permit Scoville Fellows to defer college loan payments during their fellowship. Check with your individual lenders.

Issue Areas Covered by the Scoville Fellowship 

• Arms Control/Disarmament/Non-Proliferation – nuclear, biological, chemical and conventional
• Conflict Prevention/Resolution
• Defense Budget
• Dismantling Chemical and Nuclear Weapons
• Environmental and Energy Security, including the nexus of climate change and energy use,  conflict and resource scarcity
• Environmental Impact/Cleanup of Nuclear Weapons Production Complex
• Export Controls
• International Security
• Peacebuilding and peacekeeping
• Regional/Ethnic Conflicts
• Terrorism prevention, including biological and nuclear

Applicants whose area of interest falls outside of the above list are unlikely to be selected as a Scoville Fellow.

Selection Criteria

This is a highly competitive fellowship designed for people who have already demonstrated a strong interest in the field, and not intended for those who want to try a semester in Washington. Successful candidates must be good writers who are adept at working in a fast paced office environment. We are seeking people considering a career working on international peace and security issues with public-interest organizations, the Federal Government, academia, or media.

Prospective Fellows are expected to demonstrate excellent academic accomplishments and a strong interest in issues of peace and security. Graduate study, a college major, course work, or substantial independent reading that reflects the substantive focus of the fellowship is also a plus. Prior experience with public-interest activism or advocacy is highly desirable. It is preferred, but not required, that such activities be focused on peace and security issues.

Experience with public-interest activism or advocacy such as

Organizing a campus forum and/or outreach campaign, meeting with decisionmakers, or rallies
Working with or joining a campus, local, or national organization
Active participation in conferences
Writing and publication of opinion pieces in both traditional and new media

Candidates are required to have completed a baccalaureate degree by the time the fellowship commences. Preference is given to United States citizens, although a fellowship to a foreign national residing in the U.S. is awarded periodically. Non-U.S. citizens living outside the United States are not eligible to apply. The Scoville Fellowship is not intended for students or scholars interested in pursuing independent research in Washington, DC.

Preference will be given to individuals who have not had substantial prior public-interest or government experience in the Washington, DC area.

Application Materials

Applicants must email the following items to apply@scoville.org by October 1, 2015 for the spring 2016 semester. An automated email response will be sent when items are received. Applicants who do not receive the email response within 24 hours of emailing materials should re-submit their application.

1. A cover sheet that includes the following items. Do not submit a cover letter.
Name

Telephone Number

Email Address

Semester for which you are applying

Name, address, email address, and telephone number for each of your two references (whether these letters are included with your materials or will be emailed separately).

List 5-6 of our participating organizations that you would like to work with if chosen as a Scoville Fellow. Please check this list of organizations to see which are eligible to host a fellow during the upcoming term.

How you learned about the Scoville Fellowship. Please be specific about the publications, websites, professors, career advisor/career office, friend, web search, etc.

2. A full curriculum vitae. The c.v. should include complete educational and professional data, as well as information on the applicant’s extracurricular activities.

3. A personal essay of no more than 1,000 words discussing the candidate’s qualifications, interests, fellowship objectives and career goals. The essay should clearly address the candidate’s experience and interest in and passion for the area of international peace and security, particularly in public education.

4. A policy/opinion essay of no more than 1,000 words relevant to the field of peace and security taking a position on a contemporary, contentious issue addressed by the fellowship (see list of issue areas). Essays must be titled. Candidates may submit an essay (or an excerpt of one) written for a course so long as it does not exceed the 1,000 word limit.

5. Official transcript(s) detailing the candidate’s entire college academic record including undergraduate, graduate and foreign study in a single PDF, and listed in chronological order. Applicants who have attended more than one college or university must submit official transcripts from each school if the grades do not appear on the transcript of the school from which they graduated. Transcripts should have the school seal and signature of the registrar but do not need to be mailed in a sealed envelope. Photocopies of official transcripts are acceptable; web-printed transcripts lacking the proper seal and signature are not. Applicants are requested to submit high-resolution transcripts that are easy to read; those who submit difficult to read transcripts will be asked to resubmit a higher resolution version, which may delay processing of the application. Candidates whose current courses are not listed on their transcript are required to submit a list of these courses on a separate sheet of paper. When emailing applications, candidates are asked not to include the guide to grades often found on the back of the transcript.

6. Two letters of reference. Each letter should address the accomplishments and standing of the candidate; the candidate’s interest and experience in international peace and security issues; the candidate’s ability to communicate, both orally and in writing; the candidate’s maturity and judgment, and the candidate’s potential to make a significant contribution to peace and security issues. Applicants must not submit more than two reference letters. Signatures are preferred but not required. Reference letters must be submitted as an attached Word or PDF document rather than in the body of the email.

Submitting Applications

Please read the following instructions for submitting applications. Failure to comply with this request may delay the processing of your application and hinder your chances of being selected for an interview.

● All application materials must be emailed to apply@scoville.org. In the subject line write Scoville Application–Last name of applicant. Do not submit more than one copy of your application.

● Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit all application items as one compiled Adobe PDF file or Microsoft Word document in the order listed above.  Transcripts should be listed in chronological order beginning with freshman year courses and grades. We understand that some reference writers and universities prefer to send letters and transcripts directly to a potential employer. In that case these items should be emailed to apply@scoville.org. We will reluctantly accept reference letters and transcripts in paper copies if they are not available as emails.

● Items 1-4 must be emailed as a single PDF or Word document and must not exceed 10 pages. We will not accept any of these documents in paper form.

● Applicants are responsible for ensuring that all materials, including reference letters and transcripts, arrive on time. Owing to the time it takes to process applications the program will not be able to confirm the arrival of items for several weeks after the deadline. Therefore applicants should confirm with their reference writers and universities that items have been submitted. Failure to send all items on time may adversely impact a candidate’s application.

● We request that complete applications not exceed 2 MB. Applicants may need to condense items in PDF and/or scan transcripts in black and white rather than color to minimize the email space. Scanned items should not exceed 150 dpi. We only accept materials submitted in PDF or Word formats.

● Official academic transcripts should be scanned and emailed rather than sent in the mail. Applicants should scan and email multi-page transcripts as a single attachment rather than send a separate attachment for each page of the transcript. Transcripts from undergraduate, graduate, and foreign study should be submitted in chronological order in a single attachment. Do not send email copies of transcripts that need to be downloaded or that require a password to open; these transcripts are only available to be downloaded for a limited time and are difficult to merge into a PDF document. Instead print, scan, and email the transcript as an attachment. Applicants may need to rotate their transcripts 90 degrees so they can be read on the computer. Applicants are asked not to submit copies of certificates or diplomas.

● Applicants are requested to list their name on each page of the application and to number each page of a multi-page document.

● Board members reviewing applications will only read items sent as attachments. Any message to the program director may be sent in a separate email to apply@scoville.org.

● Applicants should not submit blank pages or extraneous documents.

● Applicants are requested not to submit materials more than one month prior to the deadline.

● In order to expedite the processing of the applications we request that applicants and others submitting materials on their behalf use the following titles when naming attachments:

If you are submitting all required items in a single email, including all transcripts and reference letters, title the attachment Last name of applicant-Complete

If one or both of your reference letters or your transcript is being sent separately, either by email or mail, title your attachments as follows:

● There is no need to write Scoville Fellowship or the semester for which you are applying in the title of each document.

Reference letters and transcripts that are not available by email may be mailed to
Paul Revsine
Herbert Scoville Jr. Peace Fellowship
322 4th Street, NE
Washington, DC 20002

Deadlines

The deadline for receipt of all application materials is:

Spring 2016 Fellowship–October 1, 2015
Fall 2016 Fellowship–January 4, 2016

Selection Process

The fellowship’s board of directors selects the top applicants for Washington interviews. The fellowship pays for travel and accommodations for the finalists during the interview weekend. Interviews take place approximately 12-15 weeks after the application deadline. All unsuccessful applicants will be notified at that time.

Starting Dates for Fellowship

Spring Fellowship–begin between January 15 and April 1
Fall Fellowship–begin between July 15 and October 1