National Security Education Program (NSEP)

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, NSEP 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.

The National Security Education Program includes three components:

The National Security Education Program David L. Boren Undergraduate Scholarships for Study Abroad offers opportunities for U.S. 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 Graduate Fellowships encourage U.S. graduate students to add an important language component to their educations.

The National Flagship Language Program offers advanced language training in Arabic, Korean, Mandarin, Persian, or Russian.