News Release

BOISE STATE NEWS RELEASE / September 25, 2008

Boise State Students to Join Prestigious New State Department Internship Program

Up to four Boise State University students will be among a select group of interns chosen to participate in a new U.S. State Department program starting during the summer of 2009.

Boise State is one of 15 colleges and universities personally selected by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to take part in the Internship Fellows Program, which was created to identify talented students from higher education institutions that have not traditionally been the focus of State Department recruitment efforts.

“Secretary Rice believes that America’s foreign service should look like America,” said Ross Burkhart, chairman of Boise State’s Department of Political Science. Burkhart represented Boise State at a State Department luncheon last week where Rice announced the program and its participants. “This program has the potential to raise the profile and prestige of Boise State as an internationalizing campus devoted to providing students with an education of distinction and an incubator of the next generation of global leadership.”

The State Department will select up to four Boise State students for 10-week paid internships for summer 2009, and up to four more for fall 2009. The interns may be assigned to the State Department in Washington, D.C., or to consulates overseas.

Applicants must be juniors, seniors or first-year graduate students by the time the internship begins (at least 60 credit hours completed), with a minimum 3.2 GPA and an expressed desire for a career in international relations or diplomacy. Applications must be submitted by Oct. 15. Those interested should contact Burkhart at (208) 426-3280 or rburkha@boisestate.edu to get information about the application process and format.

Burkhart said the program is part of an ongoing effort to create diversity in the U.S. diplomatic corps. Other institutions involved in the program include the Rochester Institute of Technology, University of South Dakota and Wayne State University.

“The State Department is convinced that they are not tapping into the country’s talent pool for the foreign service very well, and I agree,” Burkhart said. “In my experience, there are students here at Boise State that are every bit as qualified for an experience like this as students from the Ivy League schools. These internships are an opportunity for them to seize.”

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Media Contact: Mike Journee, University Communications, (208) 426-1517, mikejournee@boisestate.edu
 
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Last reviewed on Thursday, September 25, 2008