1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Direct Hire of Students and Recent Graduates Act of 2017 . 2. Expedited hiring authority for college graduates and post-secondary students (a) In General Subchapter I of chapter 31 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: 3115. Expedited hiring authority for college graduates; competitive service (a) Definitions In this section: (1) Director The term Director means the Director of the Office of Personnel Management. (2) Institution of higher education The term institution of higher education has the meaning given the term in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1001(a) ). (b) Appointment (1) In general The head of an agency may appoint, without regard to any provision of sections 3309 through 3319 and 3330, a qualified individual to a position in the competitive service classified in a professional or administrative occupational category at the GS–11 level, or an equivalent level, or below. (2) Restrictions An appointment under paragraph (1) shall be made in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Director. (c) Qualifications for appointment The head of an agency may make an appointment under subsection (b) only if the individual being appointed— (1) has received a baccalaureate or graduate degree from an institution of higher education; (2) applies for the position— (A) not later than 2 years after the date on which the individual being appointed received the degree described in paragraph (1); or (B) in the case of an individual who has completed a period of not less than 4 years of obligated service in a uniformed service, not later than 2 years after the date of the discharge or release of the individual from that service