22 U.S.C. § 2737 — Department of State paid Student Internship Program

(a) In general. The Secretary must establish the Department of State Student Internship Program, called the “Program” in this section. The Program must offer internship opportunities at the Department to eligible students. It must raise awareness of diplomacy’s essential role in United States foreign policy and in achieving United States foreign policy objectives.

(b) Eligibility. (1) In general. An applicant is eligible to participate if the applicant is enrolled at (A) an institution of higher education, as that term is defined in section 1002(a) of title 20; or (B) an institution of higher education outside the United States, as determined by the Secretary of State. (2) Additional eligibility criteria. An applicant in the Program should be enrolled at least half-time in an institution described in paragraph (1), or should have graduated from such an institution during the six months before applying to the Program. The applicant should also be eligible to receive and hold an appropriate security clearance.

(c) Selection. The Secretary must establish selection criteria for admitting students to the Program. The criteria must include a demonstrated interest in a career in foreign affairs. They must give appropriate preference to people who have not previously completed internships at the Department of State or the United States Agency for International Development.

(d) Outreach. (1) The Secretary must widely advertise the Program, including (A) on the internet; (B) through the Department’s Diplomats in Residence program; and (C) through other outreach and recruiting efforts aimed at undergraduate and graduate students. (2) The Secretary must conduct targeted outreach to encourage participation by (A) people belonging to an underrepresented group; and (B) students enrolled at minority-serving institutions. “Minority-serving institutions” includes every institution listed in section 1067q(a) of title 20. This section does not otherwise define that term.

(e) Compensation. (1) Housing assistance. (A) Abroad. The Secretary must provide housing assistance to a student participating in the Program if the student’s permanent address is in the United States and the internship location is outside the United States. (B) Domestic. The Secretary may provide housing assistance to a student if the student’s permanent address is in the United States and the domestic internship location is more than 50 miles from that address. (2) Travel assistance. The Secretary must give a student whose permanent address is in the United States enough financial assistance to cover the travel cost of one round trip by air, train, bus, or other appropriate transportation between the student’s permanent address and the internship location if that location is (A) more than 50 miles from the student’s permanent address; or (B) outside the United States.

(f) Working with institutions of higher education. To the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary must structure internships so that they satisfy the requirements for academic credit at the institutions of higher education where the participants are enrolled.

(g) Transition period. (1) In general. Except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3), no later than two years after December 23, 2022, (A) the Secretary must convert the Department’s unpaid internship programs, including the Foreign Service Internship Program, into programs that offer compensation; and (B) after being selected as a candidate for entry into a Department internship program, a participant may refuse compensation, including when refusing it allows the participant to receive college or university curricular credit. (2) Exception. The transition required by paragraph (1) does not apply to unpaid Department internship programs that are part of the Virtual Student Federal Service internship program. (3) Waiver. (A) In general. The Secretary may waive the requirement in paragraph (1)(A) for a particular unpaid internship program if the Secretary determines that converting it into a compensated internship program would not be consistent with effective management goals. No later than 30 days after making that determination, the Secretary must submit a report explaining it to (i) the “appropriate congressional committees”; (ii) the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and (iii) the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives. This section does not define “appropriate congressional committees.” (B) Report. The report required by subparagraph (A) must (i) describe why converting the Department’s unpaid internship program into a program that offers compensation would not be consistent with effective management goals; and (ii) either (I) justify keeping the program unpaid indefinitely; or (II) identify the additional authorities or resources needed to convert the program to one that offers compensation in the future.

(h) Reports. No later than 18 months after December 23, 2022, the Secretary must submit a report to the committees referred to in subsection (g)(3)(A)—the “appropriate congressional committees,” the Senate Committee on Appropriations, and the House Committee on Appropriations. The report must include (1) data, to the extent collecting it is allowed by law, on the numbers of students who applied to the Program, were offered a position, and participated, respectively, broken down by race, ethnicity, sex, institution of higher education, home State, the State where each student graduated from high school, and disability status; (2) data on the number of security-clearance investigations started for the students described in paragraph (1), including the timeline for those investigations, whether they were completed, and when an interim security clearance was granted; (3) information about Program expenditures; (4) information about the Department’s compliance with subsection (g); and (5) the number, if any, of internship participants later employed by the Department after participating in the Program.

(i) Voluntary participation. (1) In general. Nothing in this section may be understood to require a student participating in a Department internship program to take part in collecting the data or to disclose personal information. The students must be told that taking part in the data collection under this section is voluntary. (2) Privacy protection. Any data collected under this section is subject to the relevant privacy-protection statutes and regulations that apply to Federal employees.

(j) Special hiring authority. Despite any other law, the Secretary, consulting with the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, may, for the number of interns to be hired each year (1) select, appoint, and employ people for up to one year through compensated internships in the excepted service; and (2) remove any compensated intern hired under paragraph (1) without regard to the laws governing appointments in the excepted service.

(k) Work hours flexibility. Students participating in the Program may work fewer than 40 hours per week, but at least 24 hours per week, to accommodate their academic schedules. The total length of the internship must still comply with the Program’s requirements.

(l) Mentorship program. The Secretary and the Administrator are authorized to establish a mentoring and coaching program that pairs Foreign Service or Civil Service employees with interns who choose to participate for the entire duration of their internship.