Paola Bobadilla, who emigrated from Colombia to the United States at age 11, had an incredible opportunity this year. She left her small liberal arts college in Arkansas to study at Oxford University. How? Through the Institute for International Public Policy (IIPP) Fellowship, which provides underrepresented minority undergraduates with the skills, specialized training and education, and support networks needed to gain access to the elite and mostly white world of international affairs.
The program is unique and comprehensive. Its five-year sequence includes two summer policy institutes, a study-abroad semester/year, and either intensive language training or an internship. It also includes funds for graduate study and career advisement.
The IIPP is administered by the United Negro College Fund Special Programs Corp., in partnership with the Hispanic Scholarship Fund Institute and the Association of Professional Schools of International Affairs (APSIA).
Qualifications for Applicants
In order to apply, students must be in their sophomore year in a four-year college, enrolled full-time. They must be US citizens or permanent residents and show academic achievement (3.2 minimum GPA). They must be an underrepresented minority and demonstrate, through coursework or activities, a strong interest in international affairs. The application deadline is generally March 1 each year.
“We look for an interest in world events, foreign cultures and languages, politics, overseas study and travel -- often pointed up by course selection and co-curricular activities in high school and college,” says Mark Chichester, director of the IIPP program. Beyond that, strong leadership skills are valued, along with “an ability to articulate one's place in the broader context of an increasingly globalized environment.” Finally, and perhaps most interestingly, Chichester notes that the program seeks individuals with a “tendency to take the path less traveled.”
Gaining International Experience
Study abroad is a major component of IIPP. “The most significant way that IIPP has opened doors for me was their ability to fund a great deal of my study-abroad experience in Oxford,” says Bobadilla, the current Fellow.
A Support Network
The opportunity to spend the summer with students from a variety of underrepresented backgrounds in the international arena is both a supportive and culturally enriching experience for students. “The experience with other students (in the institutes) has opened me to cultural issues that I would have never considered or knew existed. Finally, IIPP has made me think more about the innumerable career paths I can pursue,” says Bobadilla.
Real-World Experience and a Path to Graduate Study
IIPP Fellows who already have achieved competency in a second language have an opportunity to participate in a summer internship to gain relevant work experience. They may extend that internship to up to one year to gain additional experience and strengthen their applications for graduate school. IIPP provides a modest cost-of-living stipend.
When students complete all of the fellowship components, they may receive a portion of their graduate school tuition at an international affairs program. Institutional members of the APSIA, as partners in the IIPP effort, provide matching fellowship support as available.
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