Boren Awards (Scholarships & Fellowships)

About this scholarship

The Boren Awards, an initiative of the U.S. National Security Education Program, fund American students to study less commonly taught languages in world regions critical to U.S. interests — areas outside Western Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Boren Scholarships support undergraduates and Boren Fellowships support graduate students. The funding is designed to cover the majority of an awardee's overseas expenses, including tuition and fees, room and board, books, insurance, local transportation, and round-trip airfare on a U.S. carrier, with the total amount based on the duration of overseas study. A defining requirement is intensive language learning: every Boren-funded program must include classroom language study as a core element for the duration of the grant, with a minimum of roughly 15–20 contact hours per week. Applicants must be U.S. citizens at the time of application; Scholarship applicants must be matriculated undergraduates at an accredited U.S. institution, and Fellowship applicants must be in or applying to a U.S. graduate program. In exchange for funding, recipients commit to a federal service requirement — working for the U.S. federal government for a period after the award. National deadlines fall in late January.

Eligibility

• Be a U.S. citizen at the time of application
• Be a matriculated undergraduate (Scholarship) or graduate student/applicant (Fellowship) at a US institution
• Plan an overseas program outside Western Europe, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand
• Include intensive classroom language study (≈15–20 contact hours/week)
• Agree to the Boren federal-service requirement after the award