Call for Applications 

The John Quincy Adams Society invites mid-career foreign policy practitioners to apply for its third annual Strategic Leaders Fellowship.  

This professional development program provides participants with opportunities to deepen their expertise in grand strategy. Fellows will dive deeply into prudent approaches to U.S. defense and foreign policy by hearing from top scholars in academia and think tanks together with a community of peers. 

Our previous fellows participated in a week-long study trip to Finland and Estonia in the midst of the former’s bid for NATO membership. Fellows also held salon dinners with experts discussing topics like grand strategy, nuclear weapons, power projection, and European security, and participated in a day-long crisis simulation testing scenarios for the future of the Ukraine conflict. 

The program lasts the 2024 calendar year and requires only a part-time commitment. Fellows can expect to join their cohort at exclusive roundtable dinners in the DC area, at least one weekend retreat, and an international study trip. Program events will take place about once per month. Participants are expected to attend each session, including those on evenings and weekends, and to complete assigned readings. Programming will take place between March and December 2024. We will release a full program schedule to fellows. 

The Strategic Leaders Fellowship is open only to United States citizens. Applicants should have between 5 and 15 years of foreign or defense policy experience. Relevant experience may include but is not limited to service in the armed forces, private sector, federal or state government, international work, and internships.  

There is no cost to program participants other than the costs of travel to the DC area if necessary. Fellows do not need to be based in the DC area but are expected to join the cohort for any in-person sessions.  

Please fill out the application below to apply for the 2024 Strategic Leaders Fellowship. Application materials must not include any classified information. Letters of recommendation will not be accepted with applications at this time.  

Applications close at the end of the day on Sunday, January 28. We expect to announce the cohort of fellows in March 2024. Please direct any questions to Scott McCann at Scott.McCann@JQAS.org. If the application form below does not load, you may access it directly here.

The Strategic Leaders Fellowship is made possible by a generous donation from Stand Together Trust and other U.S. donors.  

The John Quincy Adams Society welcomes all qualified applicants regardless of color, race, religion, religious creed, sex, gender or gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, national origin, ethnicity, ancestry, age, physical ability, mental ability, medical condition, pregnancy (including medical needs which may arise from pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions), military and veteran status, genetic information, marital or familial status, political affiliation, or any other legally recognized protected basis under federal, state or local laws, regulations or ordinances.