Archer Fellowship Program Application Guidelines
Thank you for your interest in becoming an Archer Fellow. The Archer Fellowship Program offers unparalleled academic and professional experiences to University of Texas System students. To ensure you have a strong application for the program, please read and follow all of the application guidelines below.
The 2025-2026 Archer Fellowship Program application is now open November 15, 2024, and it will close on Saturday, February 15, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. CT.
Candidates are able to access and edit their application as often as they wish until the deadline or until their application is submitted, whichever comes first. Please see our recommended application timeline for more guidance on completing this application.
The 2025-2026 Archer Fellowship Program application is now open November 15, 2024, and it will close on Saturday, February 15, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. CT.
Candidates are able to access and edit their application as often as they wish until the deadline or until their application is submitted, whichever comes first. Please see our recommended application timeline for more guidance on completing this application.
Applicants are required to submit the following application materials:
Recommendation Letters
Provide two letters of recommendation, at least one of which must be an academic recommendation. The academic recommendation must be from a UT System professor or lecturer in whose course you have been enrolled (letters from teaching assistants, graduate students, or anyone without a faculty appointment will not be accepted). The second letter may also be from a UT System professor (following the same criteria as above) or it may be a professional recommendation from a supervisor (on or off campus) who can speak to your professional qualifications. We discourage recommendation letters from family members or personal friends. Together, your two recommendation letters should address your academic skills as well as qualities, such as responsibility, analytic ability, leadership, maturity, work ethic, commitment to public service, and your ability to work well with others. Letters should be addressed to the Archer Fellowship Program Selection Committee.
We recommend that you create your application account and enter your recommender information long before the deadline so that your recommenders have ample time to complete the Archer Fellowship Program student evaluation survey and upload a letter on your behalf. Once you submit your recommender information through the online application, we encourage you to confirm with your recommender that they received an email with instructions for completing the recommendation. If your recommender does not receive a confirmation email, please verify that you submitted the correct email address on the application portal. If problems persist, contact the Archer Center at [email protected].
Resume
Please submit a resume in PDF format that describes your education, employment history and leadership, volunteer, and extracurricular activities. Resume must NOT be more than one page, front side only and should be reviewed by the career services office on your campus prior to submission. We encourage you to use one of the following resume templates for your application:
Provide two letters of recommendation, at least one of which must be an academic recommendation. The academic recommendation must be from a UT System professor or lecturer in whose course you have been enrolled (letters from teaching assistants, graduate students, or anyone without a faculty appointment will not be accepted). The second letter may also be from a UT System professor (following the same criteria as above) or it may be a professional recommendation from a supervisor (on or off campus) who can speak to your professional qualifications. We discourage recommendation letters from family members or personal friends. Together, your two recommendation letters should address your academic skills as well as qualities, such as responsibility, analytic ability, leadership, maturity, work ethic, commitment to public service, and your ability to work well with others. Letters should be addressed to the Archer Fellowship Program Selection Committee.
We recommend that you create your application account and enter your recommender information long before the deadline so that your recommenders have ample time to complete the Archer Fellowship Program student evaluation survey and upload a letter on your behalf. Once you submit your recommender information through the online application, we encourage you to confirm with your recommender that they received an email with instructions for completing the recommendation. If your recommender does not receive a confirmation email, please verify that you submitted the correct email address on the application portal. If problems persist, contact the Archer Center at [email protected].
Resume
Please submit a resume in PDF format that describes your education, employment history and leadership, volunteer, and extracurricular activities. Resume must NOT be more than one page, front side only and should be reviewed by the career services office on your campus prior to submission. We encourage you to use one of the following resume templates for your application:
Transcript
Instructions:
Please note:
If you have difficulty obtaining an official transcript, please contact the Archer Center at [email protected]. If obtaining an official transcript places an undue financial burden on you, please email the Archer Center at [email protected].
Personal Statement
Write an original personal statement (maximum of 500 words) that explains why you seek to be an Archer Fellow and addresses the following questions:
Policy Paper
Write a short essay (maximum of 500 words) using the prompt below:
You are a high-level analyst in the federal government. Your job is to identify an important domestic or foreign policy problem facing our nation. In a short policy memo, please briefly describe the problem, explain why it is important and who is affected by the problem, and recommend a policy solution. Your memo should be addressed to a U.S. policymaker who has jurisdiction over the problem that you have identified. Examples of such a policymaker include: a federal legislator, the head of a federal executive branch department (e.g., the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, the National Security Advisor, the White House Counsel), etc.
Essay must include supporting evidence using MLA or APA formatted citations. Citations are not included in the 500-word limit for the policy paper. Please note that we will accept footnotes (in lieu of traditional in-text citations) for the policy paper. You may submit extra pages to accommodate your citations.
For more guidance on writing a policy paper, please download the outline below:
Instructions:
- Attach an unofficial transcript (or academic summary for UT Austin students) from your UT System home institution.
- Attach an official transcript from all previous colleges and universities attended.
Please note:
- If your current university transcript contains all course information from past institutions, you only need to submit your current university transcript.
- If any academic work is not included on your current transcript, you must submit an additional transcript that reflects this coursework.
- Screenshots of course records or course summaries will not be accepted.
- Please submit all transcript(s) as a single PDF document
If you have difficulty obtaining an official transcript, please contact the Archer Center at [email protected]. If obtaining an official transcript places an undue financial burden on you, please email the Archer Center at [email protected].
Personal Statement
Write an original personal statement (maximum of 500 words) that explains why you seek to be an Archer Fellow and addresses the following questions:
- Elaborate on your commitment to public service, policy and/or politics, including any background or training, and/or skills that have prepared you to be an Archer Fellow.
- Elaborate on how this program will advance your educational and professional goals. Why do you want to live, learn, and intern in Washington, D.C.?
- The Archer Fellowship Program is a cohort experience where students learn from each other in addition to their coursework and internships. What qualities, experiences, and perspectives would you bring to the cohort learning environment and how do these align with the Archer Center’s mission and vision?
Policy Paper
Write a short essay (maximum of 500 words) using the prompt below:
You are a high-level analyst in the federal government. Your job is to identify an important domestic or foreign policy problem facing our nation. In a short policy memo, please briefly describe the problem, explain why it is important and who is affected by the problem, and recommend a policy solution. Your memo should be addressed to a U.S. policymaker who has jurisdiction over the problem that you have identified. Examples of such a policymaker include: a federal legislator, the head of a federal executive branch department (e.g., the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Defense, the National Security Advisor, the White House Counsel), etc.
Essay must include supporting evidence using MLA or APA formatted citations. Citations are not included in the 500-word limit for the policy paper. Please note that we will accept footnotes (in lieu of traditional in-text citations) for the policy paper. You may submit extra pages to accommodate your citations.
For more guidance on writing a policy paper, please download the outline below:
| policy_statement_outline_2021.pdf |
List of Potential Internship Sites
Research and compile a list of three potential internship sites in Washington, D.C., that align with your personal and professional goals. Include a short paragraph for each internship opportunity explaining why you have chosen it and how you would benefit from interning there as an Archer Fellow. Please note that if selected as an Archer Fellow you are not required to intern at one of these three sites. The selection committee wants to understand what types of internships interest you. Please submit in PDF format.
The List of Potential Internship Sites should not exceed 350 words.
To explore potential internship sites, please visit our internship webpage.
Disclosure Statement
Please disclose the following:
NOTE: Disclosure of this information does not automatically disqualify you from the Archer Fellowship Program; however, nondisclosure of this information is considered falsification of your application.
If you have nothing to disclose, you must still indicate this on the Archer Fellowship Program application.
All application materials must be submitted in PDF format.
Research and compile a list of three potential internship sites in Washington, D.C., that align with your personal and professional goals. Include a short paragraph for each internship opportunity explaining why you have chosen it and how you would benefit from interning there as an Archer Fellow. Please note that if selected as an Archer Fellow you are not required to intern at one of these three sites. The selection committee wants to understand what types of internships interest you. Please submit in PDF format.
The List of Potential Internship Sites should not exceed 350 words.
To explore potential internship sites, please visit our internship webpage.
Disclosure Statement
Please disclose the following:
- Criminal convictions and/or deferred adjudications, as well as any pending criminal charges against you. A conviction includes the initial plea, verdict, or finding of guilt, plea of no contest, or pronouncement of sentence by a trial court, even if that conviction may not be final or sentence actually imposed, until appeals are exhausted. Only minor traffic infractions may be excluded.
- Student disciplinary actions which have been imposed against you in the past, and any current or pending student disciplinary actions at a UT System institution or any other institution of higher education that you have attended.
NOTE: Disclosure of this information does not automatically disqualify you from the Archer Fellowship Program; however, nondisclosure of this information is considered falsification of your application.
If you have nothing to disclose, you must still indicate this on the Archer Fellowship Program application.
All application materials must be submitted in PDF format.
