Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress - Thomas R. Pickering Presidential Fellowship

The program was first started in 1970 and since then over 1,500 alumni have completed the program. 

Bowdoin's CSPC Thomas R. Pickering Presidential Fellow will:

• engage in monthly virtual seminars in the evenings on topics related to research or the research writing process. Alternatively, monthly meetings may include presentations from external speakers on topics ranging from how to run for office to policy issues.
• write a ten- to fifteen-page research paper on the key issues of the past, present and/or future as they relate to the Presidency and Congress. To assist in the writing of this paper, fellows will be paired with an alum of the CSPC Presidential Fellowship program who will serve as a mentor but are also expected to be guided by a faculty member at their home institution.
• travel to Washington, D.C. for a multi-day leadership conference in March or April.
• present their research at the leadership conference and be eligible to receive one of five monetary awards for their papers while competing for publication in CSPC’s journal, The Fellows Review.
• have the chance to network with peers from across the globe through the International Presidential Fellows program. 
• attend special in-person events like CSPC’s Annual Awards Dinner, which is held each spring in Washington, D.C. and honors leading public servants.

To be eligible, applicants must:

• be a rising Bowdoin junior or senior
• plan to be on campus for the entire 2023-2024 academic year
• have a minimum GPA of 3.3

In addition, applicants:

• can come from any major or specialization
• can hold citizenship from any country
• should have a demonstrated interest in an aspect of the American government
• should be comfortable speaking, presenting, and writing specifically about the American Presidency or Congress
• should have a demonstrated interest in the institutions of the Presidency and Congress, and a desire to make public service a part of their careers. 

The phase one online application (see deadline above) will require you (the student) to provide:

• contact information for your faculty recommender

• an uploaded PDF of your unofficial academic history from Polaris

• a brief description (one paragraph) about the 10 to 15-page research paper that you will write during your time as a Presidential Fellow. Please note that the majority of papers fall into one of the following categories: 1) foreign policy and national security, 2) domestic policy, 3) economics and finance, 4) campaigns, communications, and elections, 5) the Constitution and the Supreme Court. A topic may lie outside of these bounds but should be connected to Congress or the presidency in some way. (This will not be considered during the evaluation process; it is simply a communication between you and your faculty recommender.)

When you submit your phase one online application, your recommender will receive an e-mail explaining how to submit a recommendation by the phase two deadline, and you will receive a confirmation email with a link to your phase two application. In selecting your recommender, know that any Bowdoin faculty member can write on your behalf. In some instances, if you are selected for the award, your recommender will also serve as your mentor during your fellowship, but your recommender (for the application) and mentor (for the fellowship) need not be the same person. 

The phase one deadline pertains to student applicants only; the recommendation from your faculty recommender is due by the phase two deadline. 

When you submit your phase one online application, your recommender will receive an e-mail explaining how to submit a recommendation by the phase two deadline, and you will receive a confirmation email with a link to your phase two application.

For the phase two application, you will be asked to upload a resume along with a single PDF addressing the following seven prompts. Please label each prompt and put your name in the header of each page.

1. What is your research question? (75 words)
2. Please indicate which of the following categories your paper will fall into: 1) foreign policy and national security, 2) domestic policy, 3) economics and finance, 4) campaigns, communications, and elections, 5) the Constitution and the Supreme Court. (Note: A topic may lie outside of these bounds but should be connected to Congress or the presidency in some way. If your topic does not fit neatly into one of these four categories, please explain.)
3. Describe the 10–15-page research paper that you will write during your time as a Presidential Fellow. (250 words)
4. Please provide an annotated bibliography of no more than three sources that have informed your understanding of your research question to date or that you expect to draw from going forward.
5. How does this Fellowship align with or further your future plans? (150 words)
6. Participating the CSPC Presidential Fellowship will place additional responsibilities on the selected student. Please describe what other responsibilities you will have during the 23-24 academic year and what sort of time commitment those responsibilities will entail. (150 words)
7. Is there anything else you would like to share with the selection committee about your candidacy for the CSPC Pickering Presidential Fellowship?