The Boren Scholarship provides funding for study abroad in areas of the world that are deemed critical to US national security interests and/or are underrepresented as study abroad destinations. Countries/regions include Africa, Asia, Central & Eastern Europe, Eurasia, Latin America, and the Middle East.
In addition to the traditional Scholarship (semester, summer + semester combinations, 2 semesters), Boren offers special initiative programs including:
South and Central America are included if the applicant has advanced Spanish language skills. If a student is going to Francophone Africa and is not studying an indigenous language, the student should possess advanced French language skills.
The only countries/regions that are explicitly excluded are Canada, Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Iceland, Greenland, and the UK.
The program draws upon 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 US well-being, but also the challenges of global society, including but not limited to sustainable development, environmental degradation, global disease and hunger, population grown and migration, and economic competitiveness.
In exchange for scholarship funding, Scholars fulfill the NSEP (National Security Education Program) service requirement by working for the federal government (including the Peace Corps; Depts. of State, Defense, Homeland Security, Commerce, Intelligence Community, EPA, etc.).
Boren Scholars are eligible for non-competitive hiring for federal/government jobs. That means, as a Scholar you “jump the queue”.
Eligibility and Selection Criteria:
For sample essays, please see Dean Goldberg.