Program Preferences

NSEP gives preference to students who will study in particular countries; who will study particular languages; who will study particular fields; who will study abroad for longer periods of time; and who are highly motivated by the opportunity to work in the federal government.

Each year, NSEP publishes a list of geographic areas, languages and fields of study identified as critical to U.S. national security. This year's list includes 87 countries and 51 languages.

Countries

Africa
Angola Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Cote d'Ivoire Eritrea Ethiopia	Kenya Liberia Nigeria Rwanda Sierra Leone	South Africa Sudan Tanzania Uganda Zimbabwe

Europe/Eurasia
Albania Armenia Azerbaijan Belarus Bosnia and Herzegovina Bulgaria Croatia Czech Republic	Georgia Hungary Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Macedonia Moldova Poland Romania	Russia Serbia and Montenegro Slovakia Slovenia Tajikistan Turkey Ukraine Uzbekistan

Near East
Algeria Bahrain Egypt Iran Iraq Israel	Jordan Kuwait Lebanon Libya Morocco Oman	Qatar Saudi Arabia Syria Tunisia United Arab Emirates Yemen

East Asia and Pacific
Burma Cambodia China Indonesia	Japan Korea, North Korea, South Malaysia	Philippines Taiwan Thailand Vietnam

Latin America and the Caribbean
Argentina Brazil Chile Colombia Cuba	El Salvador Guatemala Haiti Honduras Mexico	Nicaragua Panama Peru Venezuela

South Asia
Afghanistan	India	Pakistan

Note: Boren Scholars may only study in a country with a U.S. State Department Travel warning if they are willing to sign a waiver. Students must also have a waiver signed by the director of study abroad at their universities. Students planning on applying for study in one of these countries should check with their study abroad offices to determine what the university policies are. Information about active travel warnings is available on the State Department website at http://travel.state.gov/travel/warnings.html.

Languages
Albanian Amharic Arabic (and dialects) Armenian Azerbaijani Belarusian Bosnian Bulgarian Burmese Cantonese Croatian Czech Georgian	Hebrew Hindi Hungarian Indonesian Japanese Kazakh Khmer Korean Kurdish Kyrgyz Lingala Macedonian Malay	Mandarin Moldovan Mongolian Pashto Persian Polish Portuguese Romanian Russian Serbian Sinhala Slovak Slovenian	Swahili Tagalog Tajik Tamil Thai Turkmen Turkish Uighur Ukrainian Urdu Uzbek Vietnamese

Note: NSEP cannot list all of the languages spoken in the African countries listed above. Therefore, should you wish to study in one of the above listed African countries and the language you wish to study is not listed, NSEP will consider that language as one critical to U.S. national security.

Fields of Study
Agricultural and Food Sciences Area Studies Business and Economics Computer and Information Sciences Foreign Languages Health and Biomedical Science	History International Affairs Law Mathematics Sciences and Engineering Social Sciences Political Science and Policy Studies

Exceptions to Countries, Languages and Fields of Study: NSEP recognizes that it cannot encompass all countries, languages, and fields of study critical to U.S. national security. NSEP is interested in non-preferred countries when the applicant can make a compelling argument that increased appreciation of that particular country/region through study abroad represents an important understanding and contribution to U.S. national security and the goals of NSEP. Students focusing on fields of study not preferred by the program may submit an application, provided they present a compelling case that links their field of study and future career goals to national security and the goals of NSEP. A limited number of awards will be made for study in non-preferred countries and to students majoring in non-preferred fields of study.

Length of Study

NSEP goals will be promoted most effectively if students experience cultural and linguistic immersion in the overseas program for an academic year. For this reason, undergraduate study abroad proposals based on two semesters of study are strongly encouraged. Preference will be given to undergraduate applicants proposing a full-year academic study.

Summer-only programs are limited to freshmen, sophomores, and science and engineering students, regardless of academic class. Applications for summer-only programs will be considered if the program is eight (8) weeks and is designed as a language immersion program.

Special note: In some cases, applicants may not be able to find appropriate full academic year programs. If full year opportunities in the same program are unavailable, students may submit two separate, but related, applications for study on two different programs. NSEP encourages consecutive programs of study; these applications could be for summer and year programs; fall and spring semesters; or for summer and fall semesters. These applications would then be considered together and receive preference as a year-long proposal.

Applications for two different consecutive study abroad programs should entail study in the same region and in the same language. Successful applicants for study on two programs in the past have included: two semester-long programs in Vietnam, one in Hanoi and one in Ho Chi Minh City; two separate semester-long programs in China, one in Beijing and one in Shanghai; and a summer intensive language program in Russia, followed by a fall semester program of coursework in Russian. Applicants proposing study in two different regions or two different languages will not be funded by NSEP.

Commitment to Government Service

Preference will be given to applicants who demonstrate a desire to work in the federal government.