Presidential Fellows Program
Overview
The Presidential Fellows Program features several components including written and oral assignments; virtual programming; and an in-person conference. The program takes pride in its combination of strong academic work and practical experiences for your careers—the former is often an extension of the quality work you already undertake at your home school and the latter driven by your interactions with your mentors, peers, and conference speakers.
Please see the information below for the 2024-2025 Fellowship year. You can find all of this information in one document here: Program Overview. You can find a complete timeline of the program year here: Timeline.
The research paper is the cornerstone of your Fellowship. You will work on it throughout the program and will have several opportunities to receive feedback from your peers and mentors. Part of this review process includes a three-minute speech about your topic in a small group. Listed below is a brief description of the assignments and when they are due. In-depth information and all requirements for the assignments are provided on the “Assignments” page of the Current Fellows section of the CSPC website.
Please keep in mind, all assignments must be submitted as a Microsoft Word document.
September 27, 2024 – Two-Page Research Paper Proposal
Submit to Sydney Johnson - sydney.johnson@thepresidency.org.
December 6, 2024 – Research Paper Outline
Submit directly to your mentor for review (copy Sydney Johnson on your submission email)
January 17, 2025 – First Draft of Research Paper
Submit directly to your mentor for review (copy Sydney Johnson on your submission email)
February 28, 2025 – Final Research Paper
Submit directly to Sydney Johnson (copy your mentors on your submission email)
May 1, 2025 – Op-ed
Submit to Sydney Johnson.
Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
CSPC understands that AI can be a useful tool in academic settings, and we support students in the journey to understand the benefits and limitations of AI language models. While the research paper must be the original work of the author and Fellows are prohibited from using AI to draft any portions of their papers, Fellows are permitted to use generative AI tools, like ChatGPT, to assist with more limited tasks including creating reading lists, identifying useful academic sources, and correcting grammar errors. All users should be aware of the limits of AI tools that have been found to make up information (including fake news stories from seemingly legitimate sources) or provide inaccurate results. Plan to double-check any information or resources provided by an AI tool.
Use of Translation Tools
CSPC recognizes that for our Fellows from international schools, English is not your first language. There is a requirement to speak English fluently in this program, but that being said we understand that there might be instances when writing your paper that you need additional help with translation. CPSC authorizes the limited use of Google Translate to help with minor translation questions. ChatGPT or similar tools should not be used for translation guidance. We also encourage students to utilize help from professors or other academic advisors when it comes to writing your papers.
The virtual program sessions are an opportunity for you to engage with your peers as well as participate in discussions with subject matter experts and practitioners. This year, the theme for the virtual sessions is Elections. All virtual sessions will be held on Zoom and take place at 6:00 p.m. EST. The schedule is as follows:
September 18, 2024 - Program Overview and Fellows Introduction
This will be a chance to meet your peers and ask any questions you have about the program.
October 17, 2024- Peer Review Session
You will be divided into groups based on your proposed research paper topic to discuss that topic and present your paper proposal. During this session, you will prepare and deliver a three-minute speech to present the proposal for your paper.
November 13, 2024- “2024 Election Re-Cap”
December 2-13, 2024- Individual Check-In Meeting (By appointment)
January 23, 2025- “History of Presidential Transitions”
February 19, 2025- Conference Preview
April 17, 2025- Op-ed Q&A
Mentorship
As a participant in the CSPC Fellows Program you will have the opportunity to be matched with a mentor. The main responsibility of a mentor is to assist the Fellows in the development and research of their papers. Mentors can be great sources of information, both on your papers, and on future careers. Our mentors include academics, professionals, alumni of the Fellows Program, and CSPC staff.
Mentor Matching- Once CSPC receives each Fellow’s two-page paper proposal, the proposed paper topics are sent to the volunteer mentors. The mentors then decide which topics match their areas of expertise and select their Fellows.
Mentor Communication- Mentors are kept apprised of the Fellowship timeline by CSPC and are accessible to their Fellows via e-mail or phone throughout the year. Fellows are responsible for making initial contact in the fall and are expected to keep the lines of communication open with e-mail updates. Please keep in mind that the Mentors are busy individuals, please give them time to respond to questions and inquiries. On rare occasions, a Mentor may become too busy to complete his or her duties. Please let CSPC staff know as soon as possible if this is the case.
One of the highlights of the Fellows program is the Presidential Fellows Leadership Conference. This year the conference will be held:
March 19-26, 2025, for international students
March 22-26, 2025, for domestic students
The conference will take place in person in Washington, D.C. In the multi-day conference, you can expect several opportunities to engage on today’s most pressing challenges while interacting with national policymakers and leading experts. To better understand the types of programming you would enjoy participating in, we will send out a poll that will include several options of topics and themes for you to give feedback on.
Fellows will have the opportunity to present their research on posters to their peers and alumni of the Fellows program during our annual Alumni and Friends Reception. Instructions will be provided closer to the conference.
The conference is also where Fellows will receive awards for their research papers. Five awards are given out annually for outstanding research papers. The award-winning papers are published in the Fellows Review alongside other additional exceptional Fellows papers. Additional information about each award can be found on the Assignment page.
The David M. Abshire Award for Most Outstanding Paper by an International Fellow- $1,000 Prize
The Robert A. Kilmarx Award for Best Military, Intelligence, or Advanced Technology Analysis - $1,000 Prize
The Donald B. Marron Award for Best Historical Analysis - $1,000 Prize
The James R. Moffett Award for Most Original Paper on the Modern Presidency or Congress - $1,000 Prize
The Richard H. Solomon Award for the Most Original Paper on Foreign Policy or Diplomacy - $1,000 Prize