Preparing a successful Boren Scholarship competition requires intensive work with the Office of Merit Awards during the months of November and December.

Attend this session to find out what steps you need to take in order to develop a competitive application. The presentations will be led by Dr. Paula Warrick, Director, Office of Merit Awards, who has mentored dozens of successful candidates. You should attend a session even if you went to the General Information Session hosted by the NSEP/Boren program officer.

All prospective applicants should attend a workshop before Thanksgiving. One-on-one consultations will be available only to students who have attended one of the orientation sessions.

The Boren Undergraduate Scholarship mandatory campus deadline is January 9th, 2006. Several months of intensive, part-time work are required to develop a successful application. Scroll down to view the description of the scholarship.

NSEP / David L. Boren Undergraduate Scholarships
www.iie.org/nsep/
NSEP was designed to provide American undergraduates with the resource encouragement they need to acquire skills and experience in countries and areas of the world critical to the future security of our nation. The NSEP has four principal objectives:

• Equip Americans with an understanding of less commonly taught languages and cultures and enable them to become integrally involved in global issues.
• Build a critical base of future leaders, both in the marketplace and in government service, who have cultivated international relationships and worked and studied alongside foreign experts.
• Develop a cadre of professionals with more-than-traditional knowledge of language and culture, who can use this ability to help the United States make sound decisions and deal effectively with global issues.
• Enhance institutional capacity and increase the number of faculty who can educate U.S. citizens toward achieving these goals.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to focus their studies on one of the geographic areas, languages and/or fields listed on the Web site. NSEP also encourages applications for study in other countries where a compelling argument can be made that an increased understanding and appreciation represents an important contribution to U.S. national security. All recipients of NSEP awards are required to seek employment with a federal agency or office involved in national security affairs. Study of a foreign language appropriate to the identified country must be part of each proposal.

As a U.S. undergraduate student, you are eligible to apply for an NSEP Boren scholarship if you are:

• A U.S. citizen at the time of application.
• A high school graduate, or have earned a GED, and are matriculated as a freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior 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 that meets home institution standards.
• Planning to use the scholarship for study abroad and the study abroad program ends before you graduate. NSEP undergraduate scholarships are not for study in the United States.