Background: Boren Scholarships provide up to $20,000 to U.S. undergraduate students to study abroad in areas of the world that are critical to U.S. interests and underrepresented in study abroad, including Africa, Asia, Central & Eastern Europe, Eurasia, Latin American, and the Middle East. The countries of Western Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are excluded.

Boren Scholars study less commonly taught languages, including but not limited to Arabic, Chinese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, and Swahili.

Boren Scholarships are funded by the National Security Education Program (NSEP), which focuses on geographic areas, languages, and fields of study deemed critical to U.S. national security. Applicants should identify how their study abroad program, as well as their future academic and career goals, will contribute to U.S. national security, broadly defined.  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.

The Scholarships: Boren Scholarships provide American undergraduate students with the resources and encouragement they need to acquire skills and experiences in areas of the world critical to the future security of our nation, in exchange for their commitment to seek work in the federal government.
Award Amounts

Maximum scholarship awards are:

    * $10,000 for a semester
    * $20,000 for a full academic year

Length of Study: Boren Scholarships promote long term linguistic and cultural immersion, and therefore study abroad proposals for two or more semesters are strongly encouraged. Preference will be given to undergraduate applicants proposing a full-year academic study. Summer-only programs are limited to science, technology, engineering and mathematic students. Applications for summer-only programs will be considered if the program is eight (8) weeks or more.

Special note: In some cases, applicants may not be able to find appropriate full academic year programs.

If full year opportunities in the same program are unavailable, students may submit two separate, but related, applications for study on two different programs. we encourage consecutive programs of study; these applications could be for summer and year programs; fall and spring semesters; or for summer and fall semesters. These applications would then be considered together and receive preference as a year-long proposal. Applications for two different consecutive study abroad programs should entail study in the same region and in the same language.

Successful applicants for study on two programs in the past have included: two semester-long programs in Vietnam, one in Hanoi and one in Ho Chi Minh City; two separate semester-long programs in China, one in Beijing and one in Shanghai; and a summer intensive language program in Russia, followed by a fall semester program of coursework in Russian. Applicants proposing study in two different regions or two different languages will not be funded.

National Security
The program focuses on geographic areas, languages, and fields of study deemed critical to U.S. national security. It 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. All applicants must demonstrate how their study programs and future goals are connected to this broad understanding of national security.

The Application: All applications must be submitted online.  The national application deadline is typically the second Wednesday in February. Please see the Office of Fellowships.

Who Should Apply: Boren Scholarships allow U.S. undergraduate students to study less commonly taught languages in world regions critical to U.S. interests but underrepresented in study abroad. 
Boren Scholarship applicants must be:
    * A U.S. citizen at the time of application.
    * A high school graduate, or have earned a GED, and are matriculated in an undergraduate degree program in a U.S. post-secondary institution, including universities, colleges and community colleges accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
    * Applying to engage in a study abroad experience in a country outside of Western Europe, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand that meets home institution standards.
    * Planning to use the scholarship for study abroad, and the study abroad program ends before you graduate. Boren Scholarships are not for study in the United States.

Campus Procedure: Applicants should speak with the Office of Fellowships.

Interviews: no.

Campus Deadline: Third Wednesday in January.

Also visit the website: http://www.borenawards.org/