The U.S. federal government selected 15 Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy (MPP) graduate students and graduates as finalists for the Presidential Management Fellows (PMF) program, a highly competitive leadership program for students interested in careers in public service.

The MPP’s recent finalists join the 37 graduate student finalists from the School of Foreign Service (SFS) that the PMF also selected this year. Between its different schools, Georgetown has the highest number of finalists out of any educational institution. 

Briana Green, senior director of the MPP’s Office of Career Development and Alumni Engagement, said the PMF program offers valuable learning opportunities through its in-depth application process.

“I think it’s a great testament to the high level of education and training that our students get with respect to the types of work that the PMF program does,” Green told The Hoya. 

Green said the high volume of MPP students becoming PMF finalists this year — on top of the 54 Hoyas named finalists in 2023 — demonstrates the exceptional quality of Georgetown students’ applications.

“I think it speaks to the quality of our students,” Green said. “We tend to do very well every year with having finalists selected from the McCourt School into the program.” 

PMF aims to instill a passion for public service within the nation’s future government leaders. Since 1977, the program has offered graduate students two-year, full-time, paid fellowships at federal agencies; finalists work in jobs ranging from analysts to investigators and managers. 

PMF finalist Rachel Bogdan (GRD ’24) said she is excited to join an impressive group of fellow students in the program. 

“I have wanted to work for the federal government and continue my career in federal service for a long time, so I am really just excited about the opportunity to be a part of this,” Bogdan said.

“There’s so many learning experiences and training, and the other finalists are so impressive,” Bogdan added. “It’s really an honor.”

For prospective fellows, the two-round process requires an initial application — a questionnaire based on hypothetical scenarios, meant to resemble common government workplace situations — followed by a phone interview. 

Emma Ford (GRD ’24), another PMF finalist, said that the interview process is completely blind to encourage diversity in hiring

“The structure is a double-blind interview process where the people interviewing you know nothing about you, they’re not allowed to know any of your personal characteristics,” Ford said.

Green said the MPP aims to comprehensively prepare students for the PMF application through opportunities such as webinars, alumni sessions and specific interview preparation courses.

“We make sure that students know all of the ins and outs,” Green said. “We also talk to them about the requirements and how to go about completing the application.”

Bogdan said she received helpful support from the MPP during the PMF application process. 

“The Office of Career Services was really helpful, and we had some webinars about the program,” Bogdan said. “Once we got to the semifinalist stage, they connected us with some PMF alums just to talk more about the program and the opportunity and the process.”

Green said these successful results have come at a pivotal time for the MPP, coinciding with the school’s ongoing transition to its new downtown campus, the Capitol Campus, at 125 E Street NW.

“Being able to be closer to where things are happening in Washington, D.C., our students are having more access to federal government opportunities,” Green said. “That exposure, it just adds to the excitement of all the things that are going on this year.”