The Donald M. Payne International Development Graduate Fellowship Program seeks to attract outstanding individuals who are interested in pursuing careers in the Foreign Service of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). USAID Foreign Service Officers work on the front lines of some of the most pressing global challenges of our times — poverty, hunger, injustice, disease, environmental degradation, climate change, conflict and violent extremism. The Payne Fellowship is a unique pathway to the USAID Foreign Service that provides up to $104,000 in benefits over two years for graduate school, internships, and professional development activities.