The Boren Awards provide unique funding opportunities for U.S. citizens to add an important international and linguistic component to their educations by studying abroad. The award focuses on geographic areas and languages that are critical to U.S. national security and underrepresented in study abroad. The Boren website offers complete lists of eligible countries and eligible languages.
- Boren Scholarships are awarded to undergraduate students for one semester or a full academic year (students in STEM disciplines, including Public Health Studies, can also propose summer study abroad).
- Boren Fellowships are available to graduate students and those applying to graduate school, who may combine their language study abroad with research, an internship, or other projects related to their graduate work.
For both awards, preference is given to applicants proposing a full-year rather than a semester-long study plan.
Applicants must be U.S. citizens who are planning an overseas program in a country outside of Western Europe, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand and of which they are not a citizen. Boren grantees need to be matriculated for the duration of their Boren Awards–funded program in an undergraduate or graduate degree program in the U.S. As federal service is the cornerstone of the Boren Awards program, in exchange for scholarship funding, all Boren grantees agree to a one-year post-graduation service requirement during which they work for the federal government in the national security arena. Boren grantees receive assistance and hiring preference in securing federal employment to fulfill the service requirement.
The Boren application is open now; fellowship applications are due Jan. 25, and scholarship applications are due Feb. 1.
For more information, please visit the National Fellowships Program's Boren Awards webpage, and contact us at nfp@jhu.edu.
Undergraduate applicants for the Boren Scholarship should also consult with the Global Education Office in selecting a study abroad program.
