Eligibility Questions
No. The FAIT Fellowship program is funded by the U.S. Department of State and is open to U.S. citizens only. If you become a U.S. citizen, then you will be eligible to apply for the FAIT Fellowship program. You must submit documentation of your U.S. citizenship by the application deadline.
Yes. The State Department requires that you be at least 21 years old and no older than 60 on the day you are appointed as a Foreign Service DTO. Since the FAIT Fellowship is a two-year program, you should be at least 19 years old and no older than 58 when you are selected as a FAIT Fellow.
No. You must have at least a 3.2 cumulative GPA, which includes all courses taken at all institutions you attended at a college/university level.
Applicants who attend schools that do not provide formal GPAs must provide, on official school letterhead, a signed statement from their university’s registrar, academic advisor or other similarly ranked university official. This letter should state that the school official has reviewed the applicants’ transcript/coursework/evaluations, etc. and has determined, to the best of their ability, the applicant’s equivalent GPA on a 4.0 scale. The letter must specify the GPA equivalent. In such circumstances, applications without this written record are ineligible.
No. The clearance processes and investigations do not begin until a person is selected for the fellowship. You should read about the clearance processes and the minimum medical qualification standard on the FAIT Fellowship website before deciding to apply.
Most IT-related majors are eligible for the FAIT Fellowship, such as, computer science, information technology, cybersecurity, computer engineering, IT services administration, and computer systems networking. Online degree programs from an accredited institution are also eligible. If you aren’t sure if your degree program is eligible, email us at FAITFellowship@twc.edu.
Yes. You can apply before you are accepted into a bachelor’s degree program, but you will need to provide information on the school(s) you plan to apply to. Also, you should make sure that your credits will transfer so that you’ll earn your bachelor’s degree by the end of the two-year FAIT Fellowship program.
No. Based on graduate school deadlines, most applicants will not yet know where they will be attending graduate school before submitting their FAIT Fellowship application. You should list all the schools and programs you are applying to and be mindful that the program should be IT-related, start in the fall, and require four semesters of full-time coursework.
Yes. If you meet the other requirements, such as the minimum GPA and U.S. citizenship. Be sure that you are meeting the timeline requirements for the cohort that you are applying for.
Yes, if you are planning to change careers and go into the IT field, you may apply for the FAIT Fellowship. Your IT-related degree program would need to start in the fall of the cohort year, plus you would need to meet all other eligibility requirements, including the minimum GPA and U.S. citizenship.
Yes. If you are applying to enter graduate school and earn a master’s degree in an IT-related field, you are eligible to apply.
You may be eligible, depending on your expected graduation date. Please contact FAITFellowship@twc.edu to discuss the timeline of your program.
Application Questions
You can check the status of your application, including uploaded materials, in your online application. You will also be able to check whether we have received your letters of recommendation. You may e-mail FAITFellowship@twc.edu if you have any questions.
You must submit your application online through the application website, which you can access from the Apply page here.
You must submit unofficial transcripts from all colleges and universities you have attended for two or more semesters. You do not need to send transcripts for courses taken in high school (such as dual enrollment and AP classes) for which you received college credit.
Let us know and we’ll reach out to them to ensure they get the email notification. Please email us at FAITFellowship@twc.edu.
If you are unable to provide a letter from an academic professional, choose someone who is familiar with your academics, professional work, or volunteer/community activities. Your recommender should be someone who can explain why you are uniquely qualified for the FAIT Fellowship.
Yes. All applicants must provide their FAFSA Submission Summary for the current academic year as part of their FAIT Fellowship application. If you have not completed the FAFSA for the current academic year, you must do so in order to generate a FAFSA Submission Summary. We recommend that you complete the FAFSA at least one week before the FAIT Fellowship application deadline to ensure that you receive the FAFSA Submission Summary in time.
Selection Process Questions
The program will invite those selected as finalists to participate in a final round, which includes an interview with three selection panel members and a one-hour essay writing exercise. Finalists will also participate in discussions with State Department and program alumni who will talk more about the Foreign Service, program benefits and obligations, and the FAIT Fellowship experience.
The program will select about 30 finalists to participate in the final round of selections, which includes an interview and a writing exercise. The selection panel will choose 15 Fellows based on the final round assessments.
The Program will select and advise finalists in March and advise all applicants of the decisions by email. Those selected as finalists will participate in the interviews and writing exercises in Washington, D.C. Decisions on selected Fellows will be made within one week of the interviews, and all finalists will be notified by email.
