Selection Criteria

General Requirements

To be eligible for participation in the Mansfield Fellowships, applicants must be:

U.S. citizens; and
current federal government employees with at least two consecutive years of service immediately preceding the application deadline.

Service providers under contract to the federal government are not eligible.

General Criteria

Successful candidates for the Fellowships will demonstrate the following:

a strong career interest in areas important to the U.S.-Japan relationship (Professional and personal involvement with U.S.-Japan issues will be considered by the selection committee.)
the ability to articulate in a placement plan clear goals and objectives and placement preferences for the year in Japan.
their agencies' interest in U.S.-Japan issues and how participation in the Fellowships will contribute to their agencies' missions.
service in agencies that have jurisdiction over issues of importance to U.S.-Japan relations.
a willingness and openness to learning about Japan.
an interest in living and working in the Japanese cultural context.
a broad range of knowledge about issues affecting the U.S. and Japan and an interest in expanding that knowledge.
the willingness to study long hours in a potentially stressful office environment.
the willingness to learn a difficult language and to take risks to communicate in Japanese. (Applicants are not required to have Japanese language proficiency, and no preference will be given based solely on language proficiency.)
a commitment to continuing service in the federal government for a minimum of two years after the Fellowship Program.
self-discipline, tenacity and a willingness to work hard.
a willingness to work long hours under stress in an office whose functioning differs from their home agency and where Japanese is the only language used.
the capacity to deal with ambiguity.
collegiality and the ability to work successfully as a member of a team.
a willingness to meet new people and build professional relationships.
the ability to adjust to the unexpected in placements, personal situations and logistical arrangements in order to meet challenges and achieve goals.
moral integrity.
tact, decisiveness and independence.
sociability, curiosity, adaptability, flexibility, resourcefulness and self-reliance.
good health.

Preference will be given to applicants with at least three years of government service.

Consistent with the authorizing legislation, which requires two further years of federal service on completing the Fellowship, preference will be given to candidates whose positions are not time-limited and who are neither Schedule C employees nor presidential appointees.

Consistent with the authorizing legislation, which specifically prohibits the Fellows from engaging in intelligence or intelligence-related activity on behalf of the U.S. government, preference will be given to candidates whose official responsibilities do not include intelligence-gathering or intelligence-related activity.

Preference may be given to candidates whose agencies are involved in timely issues deemed central to the U.S.-Japan relationship.

The Mansfield Foundation will comply with relevant civil rights laws prohibiting discrimination and will make efforts to recruit applicants reflecting the cultural, racial and ethnic diversity of the United States.