Funded by the National Security Education Program (NSEP), Boren Scholarships finance undergraduate students to study language in areas underrepresented in study abroad, including Africa, Asia, Central & Eastern Europe, Eurasia, Latin America, and the Middle East (Boren Scholarships do NOT fund a study to Western Europe, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand). Boren Scholars are expected to focus on geographic areas, languages, and fields of study deemed critical to US national security and to study less-commonly-taught languages such as Arabic, Chinese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, and Swahili.
Applicants can be pursuing any academic field but should be able to identify how their study abroad program, as well as their future academic and career goals, will contribute to U.S. national security. NSEP draws on a broad definition of national security, recognizing that the scope of national security has expanded to include not only the traditional concerns of protecting and promoting American well-being, but also the challenges of global society, including sustainable development, environmental degradation, global disease, and hunger, population growth and migration, and economic competitiveness.
Preference is given to students who will study abroad for longer time periods (although this requirement can be waived for students in STEM fields) and who are highly motivated to work in the federal government.
