Formation | 1977 |
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Purpose | A paid two-year fellowship at a U.S. government agency for U.S. citizens with advanced degrees. |
Affiliations | Office of Personnel Management, President of the United States (E.O. 13562) |
Website | https://www.pmf.gov/ |
Formerly called
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U.S. Presidential Management Internship (1977–2003) |
The U.S. Presidential Management Fellows (PMF) program is a highly selective, prestigious two-year training and development program at a United States government agency, administered by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM), for U.S. citizens with a recent graduate degree. Applicants undergo an arduous multistage assessment and testing process. After completing the program, agencies may place PMFs as permanent federal civilian employees.
The PMF Program was established by Executive Order in 1977, and amended by Executive Order in 2003 to attract to the Federal service outstanding citizen-scholars from a variety of academic disciplines and career paths who have a clear interest in, and commitment to, excellence in the leadership and management of public policies and programs. Program regulations were amended again in December 2010 by Executive Order establishing the PMF program as one of the three student Pathways to federal employment. By drawing graduate students from diverse social and cultural backgrounds, the PMF Program provides a continuing source of trained men and women to meet the future challenges of public service. The PMF program was formerly referred to as the Presidential Management Internship (PMI) program. In September 2013, OPM added a new STEM track to the PMF process to increase opportunities for science and technology students and meet the demand for qualified candidates for these roles in government.
There are two situations where graduate students may be eligible to apply to the PMF program. Graduate students from all academic disciplines who expect to complete an advanced degree from a qualifying college or university by August 31 of the academic year in which the competition is held are eligible to become Fellows. Alternatively, those who have completed an advanced degree (masters or professional) from a qualifying college or university during the previous 2 years from the opening date of the PMF Program's application announcement are eligible. Individuals who previously applied for the program, but were not selected as a Finalist, may reapply if they meet eligibility requirements. Finalists come from a diverse range of graduate institutions, but the schools with the most PMF Finalists in 2014 include American University, Harvard University, Georgetown University, George Washington University, Columbia University, and Johns Hopkins University.