The National Security Education Program (NSEP) - Undergraduate and Graduate Scholorships

The National Security Education Program (NSEP) provides a unique funding opportunity for U.S. students to study world regions critical to U.S. interests (including Africa, Asia, Central & Eastern Europe, Eurasia, Latin America & the Caribbean, and the Middle East). The countries of Western Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are excluded.

NSEP was designed to provide Americans 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 a commitment to seek work in the federal government. As students of other cultures and languages, Boren Scholars and Fellows begin to acquire the international competence needed to communicate effectively across borders, to understand other perspectives, and to analyze economic and political affairs

Announcement: The U.S. Congress has recently included a provision that will enable 2008 NSEP award recipients to fulfill the NSEP Service Agreement in a broader range of employment opportunities. This provision allows for an additional option -- to fulfill the service agreement in a Ïposition in the field of education in a discipline related to the study supported by the program.Ó Please note that this option will be available by petition only, and only to individuals who can demonstrate that they have exhausted all opportunities to gain federal employment. NSEP is working to develop guidelines for implementing this option. These guidelines will be available for all recipients of a 2008 award. Please also note that this provision is listed in the 2008 Defense Authorization Act, which as of mid-January has not yet been signed into law by the President, but is expected to be by early February 2008.

The National Security Education Program includes three components:

The National Security Education Program David L. Boren Scholarships for Study Abroad offers opportunities for U.S. undergraduate students to study in world regions critical to U.S. interests but generally underrepresented in study abroad.

The National Security Education Program David L. Boren Fellowships enable U.S. graduate students to add an important international and language component to their graduate education through specialization in area study, language study, or increased language proficiency.

The Language Flagship offers Fellowships for advanced language training in Arabic, Central Asian languages, Korean, Mandarin, Persian, or Russian