WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement (OPPE) is accepting applications for the 2025 USDA E. Kika De La Garza Fellowship Program. These fellowships introduce faculty and staff from Hispanic-Serving Institutions and Hispanic-Serving School Districts to the vast array of USDA resources available to them. The fellowships take place during the summer of 2025, and applications are due by March 6, 2025.

“This fellowship was designed to introduce faculty and staff from Hispanic-Serving Institutions to the many USDA programs and resources available to them and their students,” said Dr. Lisa Ramirez, director of USDA’s Office of Partnerships and Public Engagement. “More than 400 fellows have participated in the E. Kika De La Garza Fellowship Program, bringing back the knowledge they’ve acquired to share with their institutions and communities.”

The USDA E. Kika De La Garza Fellowship Program offers faculty and staff the opportunity to work collaboratively with USDA to gain insight and understanding of the federal government. Fellows receive access to long-term collaboration opportunities with USDA agencies, and then share what they have learned with students and colleagues at their home institutions and in their communities.

Education fellowships are for faculty and staff at Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs). High School Fellowships are for secondary education superintendents, principals, agricultural and/or district level teachers working at Hispanic-Serving School Districts (HSSDs). Participants attend a one-week program in Washington, D.C. (July 7-11, 2025).

Science fellowships are for science faculty at Hispanic-Serving Institutions. Science fellows not only attend the one-week program in Washington, D.C. (July 7-11, 2025), but also spend an additional week collaborating with leading scientists at a USDA research facility (July 14-18, 2025).