International Agricultural Internship Program

Open to graduate students interested in international agriculture!

Interested in a career in international agricultural trade? Read on.

The International Agricultural Internship Program (IAIP) gives graduate students a chance to gain first-hand experience working at one of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service (USDA/FAS) overseas post in U.S. Embassies and Consulates around the world.

Interns will get the opportunity to work in a FAS Office of Agricultural Affairs or Agricultural Trade Office located in a U.S. Embassy or Consulate. Interns will carry out tasks in support of the Agricultural Counselor, Agricultural Attaché, and/or Agricultural Trade Officer in connection with USDA’s agricultural trade policy, analysis, and market development programs.

About FAS

  • Mission: Links U.S. agriculture to the world to enhance export opportunities and global food security
  • Location: Washington, D.C. + nearly 100 global offices covering 180 countries
  • Staff: 850+ people stationed in Washington, D.C. and overseas offices, including 300+ locally employed staff overseas
  • In Short: Facilitating trade and international cooperation, which are critical to the vitality of the U.S. agricultural sector.
  • How: FAS staff identify problems, provide practical solutions, and work to advance opportunities for U.S. agriculture and support U.S. foreign policy around the globe.

About the FAS Foreign Service

  • Foreign Agricultural Service is one of six Foreign Affairs Agencies in the U.S. government
  • Location: U.S. Embassies and Consulates worldwide.
  • Staff: A team of Foreign Service officers who are front‐line professionals representing the Department of Agriculture at nearly 100 U.S. embassies and other sites across the globe.
  • In Short: Serving as the eyes, ears, and voice for U.S. agriculture on the ground worldwide.
  • How: Foreign Service Officers represent the interests and needs of American agriculture at U.S. diplomatic missions abroad.

As an International Agricultural Intern

Interns in the IAIP have varied duties based on the mission of the specific FAS overseas office. Responsibilities may include, but are not limited to:

  • Compiles, edits, formats, and transmits information required for the execution of USDA programs
  • Assists in researching and drafting agricultural reports
  • Solicits and compiles in-country agricultural trade intelligence
  • Monitors trade policy developments for food and agricultural products
  • Represents U.S. agriculture and promotes the interest of the U.S. food and agriculture product exports overseas
  • Travels, as necessary, to complete assigned tasks

Eligibility

The IAIP is open to students who:

  • Are enrolled full-time or part-time in a graduate program or are accepted to graduate programs for the spring or fall of 2023, majoring in an agricultural or related field. Acceptable fields of study include agricultural economics, agricultural business, agricultural journalism, international economics, and international finance, business, or marketing.
  • Are at least 18 years of age.
  • Demonstrate a minimum grade point average of 3.3 at the graduate level (or at the undergraduate level if accepted to graduate school).
  • Have some experience (paid or volunteer) in agriculture; international affairs; international trade, business or marketing; agricultural development; and/or biotechnology
  • Are a U.S. Citizen or U.S. National.
  • Subject to satisfactory adjudication of FBI National Criminal History Check (fingerprint check) and a background investigation before June 2023.

To Apply

Applications for the Summer 2024 Internship will be available in Fall 2023.

2023 Summer Interns

Ledeebari D. Banuna is a graduate student in the dual title Rural Sociology and International Agriculture and Development programs at The Pennsylvania State University. She holds undergraduate degrees in Business Administration and Political Science. Her interests are interdisciplinary and include agri-food systems, agroecology, plant biodiversity conservation, sustainable development in Africa, and international relations. Her research focuses on addressing the viability of indigenous African crops for improving hunger, poverty, and socioeconomic conditions as well as reframing the current discourse on food security and agricultural policy. Her MS thesis project examines Oryza glaberrima, “African Rice”, research and development. She is a fellow in the Penn State LandscapeU National Science Foundation Research Traineeship (NRT) Program, a graduate research traineeship on regenerative landscape science and transdisciplinary practice. She is a member of The National Society of Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences (MANRRS) and serves as the current President of the International Agriculture and Development (INTAD) Graduate Student Association at Penn State.

Elena Clark is an agricultural policy professional with more than five years of combined legislative and multilateral experience. Elena worked for multiple Members of Congress on Capitol Hill before transitioning to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the U.N. (FAO), where she served as the sole legislative affairs officer for FAO North America. Concurrently, she studies International Economic Policy with a focus in Agricultural Trade and Development at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Elena hails from a farming family in Northwestern Pennsylvania and grew up beekeeping with her grandfather from an early age. She is eager to deepen her agricultural trade and markets expertise in Tokyo and looks forward to contributing to FAS’ essential role of championing American farmers on a global scale.

Breanne Cubrilovic currently resides in Maui, Hawai’i, where she is a field manager at a small regenerative farm, a pathways soil conservation student trainee with USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service, and a graduate student at the University of Missouri, pursuing a MS in Natural Resources with an Emphasis in Agroforestry. In her free time, Breanne enjoys day hiking, backpacking, swimming, and playing strategy board and card games. Breanne’s least favorite question is, “Where are you from?” because of her nomadic tendency. She grew up in rural Northern California and then moved to Las Vegas, Nevada and Shanghai, China for her undergraduate studies. Breanne received her BSBA in International Business with a minor in Economics, and a BA in Asian Studies with a minor in Chinese from University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Her dedication to service and farm work has provided her opportunities to live and travel around the globe. She has served in AmeriCorps VISTA, Peace Corps Jamaica, and AmeriCorps RARE. Bree became a farmer after her service in Peace Corps to improve her understanding of the agricultural industry, with the goal of being able to better serve farmers in her future work. Her farming experience has varied from a 90-acre sweet potato farm in New Zealand to a 20-acre organic farm in Virginia, USA. Bree is looking forward to utilizing her breadth of educational background, service program experience, and agricultural work knowledge to serve with the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service this summer.

Clare McGrady is a first-year master’s student in the Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics at Michigan State University. She grew up in rural Indiana, where her family has been farming corn and soybeans for many years. She received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics (with a minor in economics) from Texas Christian University. She studied abroad for a semester in Nepal, where she researched rural agricultural development in a small village in the Palpa province. Clare enjoys learning about different agricultural systems, how economies develop and evolve, and agricultural sustainability. In her free time, she likes to take pottery classes, read, hike, and care for her two cats.

Alexander Robinson is a second-year Master’s student studying Agricultural Economics at Purdue University, with a focus on agricultural credit and farmers’ purchasing preferences. He graduated from Prairie View A&M University in 2021 with a Bachelor’s in Agriculture and a concentration in Agribusiness. Alex has a passion for understanding the ways in which economic principles could be applied to the agriculture industry, and this interest has ultimately led him to pursue a career in agricultural policy. After completing his Master’s degree, he hopes to make significant contributions to the field of agricultural economics. Alex is particularly interested in exploring the intersections between economics, environmental sustainability, and social justice to promote more equitable and sustainable food systems.

Ivan Thompson is a master’s student in the Agriculture, Food, and Environment division of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University in Boston, Massachusetts. He specializes in international agricultural studies and focuses on agroecological farming, smallholder farmer advocacy, and political ecology/economy. Ivan completed his undergraduate studies in Environmental Sciences at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, and he hails from Dothan, Alabama. After graduation, Ivan aspires to support African-American farmers and other marginalized agriculturists as they face a myriad of challenges in the 21st century, and one day he hopes to own and operate a family farm himself.

Gary Wynne is a graduate student at Oklahoma State University pursuing master’s degrees in global studies and agricultural economics. His areas of interest include agricultural trade, national security, and rural development. He is also a member of the Jamestown Foundation’s Young Professionals Program, “Policymaking and Statecraft: Responding to National Security Threats.” Prior to graduate school, Gary worked on Capitol Hill where he specialized in agriculture, trade, and foreign affairs policy. He served on Senator Chuck Grassley’s agriculture and trade policy team, and later joined Congressman Randy Feenstra’s office to lead the Agriculture Committee portfolio. Originally from Illinois, Gary grew up on a family farm and received his bachelor’s degree in agricultural business and international agriculture from Iowa State University.

Resources

Questions?

Please direct any questions to Holly Enowski, IAIP Program Administrator, henowski@mail.missouri.edu.