What is the Bill Archer Fellowship?

The Archer Fellowship was launched in 2001, as an experiential education program designed to provide University of Texas undergraduates with an intense semester of learning and exploration in Washington, D.C. Each spring and fall between 20 and 24 students competitively selected from UT campuses travel to our nation’s capital to participate in full time internships and 12 hours of rigorous academic courses. Our goal is to create the next generation of public servants from Texas. Since its inception nearly five years ago, the Archer Center has matriculated nearly 170 intelligent, ambitious, well-rounded students with a substantive understanding of the intricacies of American politics and policymaking, and a desire to make a difference in our world.

Where are they now?

Graduates of our program go on to graduate or law school to enhance their opportunities, or they immediately embark upon public service careers.  Archer Fellows are currently enrolled at Baylor, Columbia, Harvard, UT Austin, SMU, Ohio State and NYU law schools, one student is at the London School of Economics, one is studying at the Kennedy School at Harvard and another at UT Southwestern Medical School in Dallas.

Those that are in Washington are in a variety of government and public service careers. Students who have graduated from the Fellowship now work full time in the following places, to name a few:

• The White House

• U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security

• The Democratic Leadership Council

• Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute

• U.S. Senators Cornyn and Hutchison

• The Brookings Institution

Those in public service careers around the globe are:

• Special education instructor through Teach for America in Los Angeles

• Working in the executive branch of the Mexican government

• Teaching high school math in Dallas

• Running a non-profit for youth outreach in Africa

Funding:

The Center is funded by a private endowment managed by the University of Texas Foundation. The endowment was started by the generosity of our namesake, Chairman Bill Archer, upon his retirement from Congress in 2000. Since that time a number of corporate and private donors have contributed to the endowment enabling us to fund our basic operating budget. However, we are currently unable to fund any portion of the student experience. Students pay for 12 hours of tuition and fees at their home campus, as well as the cost of books. In addition to those regular academic expenses, costs are estimated at $6,000 for a four-month semester to include housing, transportation, meals and incidentals.

In the future, the Archer Center hopes to provide fully funded fellowships to eliminate the financial barriers to participating in the Fellowship. Until that point, students and their respective campuses must cover all aspects of the D.C. experience.

For more information on the Archer Center, please visit us online at: www.archercenter.org