缅北禁地

This page is a section-by-section overview of the application for the graduate-level Boren Fellowships. Program design and strong essays are critical to a successful application, so be sure to review the sections on Selecting an Eligible Study Abroad Program and writing the Essays.

Applicants should notify their 缅北禁地 campus representative as early as possible in the application process. They have a wealth of experience advising applicants and assist in crafting a strong application. They may also have set on-campus deadlines -- please respect these, as they have been set to provide you with feedback ahead of the national deadline.

Applicants not supported by a campus representative may still apply without penalty. Contact the 缅北禁地 team at 1-800-618-NSEP (6737) or boren@iieus.org for any questions not answered on this website.

Application System Tips

• The Boren Fellowships application includes twelve sections, as well as a section at the end to review and submit the application.
• To view the entire application in order, click the "Continue" button听at the bottom of each page.
• You may only use the left navigation to skip from section to section once you have saved at least one field in a particular section. The application saves automatically. You can always change your response later, as long as you have not submitted your application.

1 - 缅北禁地 Determination

You must respond to all of these questions in order to proceed with the application.

• U.S. Citizenship - Only U.S. citizens are eligible for the fellowship.
• I will be a matriculated in a graduate degree program at a U.S. college or university as of the Boren Fellowships start date 鈥� You do not have to be matriculated in a graduate program at the time of application. You MUST be a matriculated graduate student at the time your Boren-funded study begins in order to be eligible and maintain your Boren Fellowship.
• Level of graduate study as of application deadline 鈥� Select the graduate degree you are currently pursuing. If you are not yet enrolled, select that option.
• Current Institution as of Application Deadline 鈥� Choose your current U.S. graduate institution. (If you said that you are not currently enrolled, this question will not appear.)
• Proposed Language 鈥� Choose your language of study at this time. You may return to change it later.
  • If your proposed language is French, Spanish, or you are applying for the Persian Master's program at University of Maryland, you will be tested to ensure you meet the minimum proficiency requirement听ahead of notifications.听听
• Proposed Destination of Overseas Study 鈥� Choose a destination of overseas study at this time. You may return to change it later.
• Are you a citizen of this location? - Boren recipients may not study overseas in a location in which they are a citizen.

2 - Personal Information

• Name 鈥� Enter your complete and legal name. You may include a preferred first name and former last name if applicable.
• Permanent Address 鈥� Enter your complete permanent address and phone number.
• Mailing Address 鈥� Enter the address and phone number where you can be reached when you are not at college. If this address is the same as your permanent address, you will need to re-enter the information
• Email Address 鈥� Enter the email where you would like Boren to contact you.
• Telephone Number 鈥� The country code for the United States is +1, so a U.S. number would be entered +1-202-555-1234.
• Biographical Information 鈥� Enter your Sex (as it appears on your passport), Birthdate, and Country of Residence.
• Additional Information 鈥� Enter the state and Congressional district where you are registered to vote. Visit to look up your Congressional district if you do not know. Choose yes or no on the question asking whether you are a veteran or in active service to the U.S. military.
• Voluntary Information 鈥� The questions regarding community college and on race/ethnic origin is optional. If you choose not to answer, you can select "Prefer Not To Say." This information is never showed to the review committee and will not affect your application.

3 - Academic Information

• On this page, your current institution of higher education and your level of study听should already be listed from the 缅北禁地 Determination page.
  • Enter the academic level (Undergraduate or Graduate), degree type,听major (+ double major and minor if applicable), GPA, and the maximum possible GPA at your institution, the institution's location, as well as the date attended from, and date attended to/graduation date.听Note: the 鈥淒ate/Expected Date Attended to鈥� field for your current institution should be after the completion of your Boren-funded program.
  • If your exact major does not appear in the drop-down list, choose the closest listed major.
• You may list up to two additional institutions where you obtained or pursued a previous degree.
• You must include an UNOFFICIAL transcript from your current institution and from any institution where you received a credit. If transfer credit is listed on your current transcript, you do not need to request an additional transcript.听
  • Unofficial transcripts MUST include your name, the name of the institution, titles of the courses, and the grades obtained in each.
  • Transcripts that include sensitive personal identifying information (PII) such as your social security number or your date of birth are NOT ALLOWED. If this information appears, you must redact the identifying information before you upload your transcript.
• You must submit an unofficial transcript for your current or most recent institution in order to submit your application.
  • You may submit unofficial transcripts from other institutions you listed after you submit your application but they MUST be received BEFORE the national application deadline.听听

4 - Employment History

• Relevant Employment History 鈥� You may list up to three current or former jobs relevant to your Boren-funded overseas study or your post-Boren career. In 50 to 100 words, use the Position Title and Summary of Responsibilities box to highlight the elements of the position that are most relevant to future study or career plans.

5 - Activities

• Relevant Activities 鈥� You may list up to three extracurricular activities relevant to your Boren-funded overseas study or your post-Boren career. In 50 to 100 words, use the Description and Significance of Activity box to highlight the elements of the activity that are most relevant to future study or career plans.

6 - Program Information & Budget

Study Plan Summary

• Your Overseas Destination听and Proposed Language will be auto-populated from the 缅北禁地 Determination听page. You must return to that page if you wish to change either.
• Study Abroad City听- Type in the city where your proposed program is listed.
• Study Plan Summary 鈥撎鼼ive a brief description (max 250 words) of your proposed program, giving particular focus on the language acquisition aspects.
• Type of Overseas Program 鈥� Language study is the only required element, so please be sure to check that box at least.
• Proposed Overseas Affiliation Type 鈥� Select the option(s) that best describe your overseas host(s).
• Primary Proposed Overseas Affiliation or Institution Name听鈥� Choose the name of the primary overseas host institution from the drop-down menu. If your sponsor is not listed, enter the most accurate name for the overseas host.
• Weekly contact hours of formal language acquisition听- The 缅北禁地 requires that overseas programs contain听at least听15-20 weekly language hours.听
• Are you planning on participating in subsequent overseas programs in the same overseas destination听-听If the program sponsor and overseas institution are the same each term, answer no. If either differs, answer yes. You are expected to remain in the same overseas destination for the full program.
• NOTE the following regarding your proposed overseas program plans:
  • You may adjust the program(s) indicated on your application at any time, as long as your adjusted program is for the same language in the same country that you originally proposed. It must also be of roughly the same language acquisition intensity (i.e. you cannot propose a program with 30 weekly contact hours of language acquisition and then change it to a program with only 15 weekly contact hours of language acquisition.
  • If selected for a Boren Fellowship, all overseas program proposals will be reviewed and approved by your Boren Program Advisor to ensure that the program meets Boren Award requirements and is in compliance with Executive Orders. You may be asked to adjust your overseas plans to ensure you are meeting all requirements for Boren funding.听This includes the number of weekly language hours, internship(s) and/or research performed during your Boren funded overseas program.
• Other or Additional Proposed Overseas Affiliation(s) 鈥� List the names of all other overseas affiliate institutions, such as internship hosts or other academic institutions.

Affiliation(s)

• Letter of Affiliation 鈥� Upload letter(s) from overseas host institutions, especially those related to major research projects. You may include multiple letters of affiliation but will need to combine them into a single PDF document.

Program Length

• Program Information 鈥� Select whether your program is overseas-only, or is an overseas program preceded by an intensive domestic course of language study (domestic language programs are optional).
  • If selecting a overseas program with a preceding domestic course of language study, enter the听Domestic Program Name, Basic Structure of the domestic program,听Domestic Start Date and End Date,听
• The application will calculate the length of听your overseas program based on every overseas program dates you indicated above and show the maximum award amount for which you are eligible. Domestic programs do not count towards the overall program length听that determines overseas Boren funding.听

Budget

• 听If selected, the Boren Awardees are eligible to receive the full funding amount associated with their time on the program. The funding a Boren receives must only be used for Boren eligible costs such as:
  • Tuition and Fees 鈥� Includes cost of tuition required to maintain matriculation at home institution.
  • Room and Board 鈥� Includes room and board during program breaks spent in destination.听
  • Visa and Visa Related Travel听- Visa and necessary overseas visa-related travel (e.g. renewals for long-term visas).
  • Airfare 鈥� All Boren Fellowship recipients must comply with the Fly America Act, which requires that all travel supported by federal government funds be on a U.S.-flag carrier departing from the United States to the foreign destination and returning to the United States. This includes code-share tickets on foreign carriers if they are purchased through and issued by the U.S. carrier. The only circumstance in which an award recipient can use a foreign-flag carrier is when an origin or interchange point is not served by a U.S.-flag carrier. An award recipient can use the foreign-flag carrier to the nearest interchange to connect with a U.S. carrier. All Fellowship recipients will be required to send a photocopy of the passenger receipt page(s) to their airline tickets to show compliance with the Fly America Act. Boren Fellows who are funding their airfare through other means do not need to comply with the Fly America Act.
  • Other Costs 鈥� Should include cost of books, local transportation, and insurance for time spent overseas.
  • We recommend you visit the budget guidelines here.

Alternate Study Abroad Program

• Alternate study abroad programs are optional (with a few exceptions, see below) and must be for the same language in a different destination from the initially proposed Boren program.
• An alternate study abroad program is REQUIRED if you have chosen a destination with听an asterisk or a language with an asterisk (Arabic, Mandarin & Russian).听听
  • See list of preferred Boren Overseas Destinations

7 - Essays

• The application includes two essays. The first essay has an 800 word maximum and the second essay has a 1000 words maximum. Review the extensive essay guidelines to increase your chances of success.
• Executive Orders (EOs) Disclaimer听-听In compliance with the听Executive Orders, the 缅北禁地 may not fund coursework, research, or educational activities (such as internships) that focus on the prohibited topics of gender ideology, diversity equity, and inclusion; and environmental justice. Essays one and two should likewise not propose career goals that relate听to those prohibited topics.
• Language Plans听- You should describe your plans for continuing to study and/or speak the language following the Boren Fellowship听
• Career Plans - Briefly summarize your plans to fulfill federal service and how it relates to your proposed Boren plans.听You should also discuss your post-Boren career plans in detail in your second essay.

8 - Language Self-Assessment

• Native Language 鈥� Choose your native language.
• Boren Language 鈥� This will auto-populate from the 缅北禁地 and Basic Information page.
• Numbers of years studied or spoken 鈥� Enter the number of years you have studied or spoken the Boren language.
• Language Self-Evaluation 鈥� Rate your abilities in listening, reading, speaking, and writing the Boren language. See the for an explanation of the scoring system.
• You may add the same information for up to four additional languages you have studied or spoken.

9 - Additional Information

• Overseas Experience 鈥� List up to three non-U.S. countries where you have lived, traveled, or studied. List the three most relevant to your Boren-funded overseas study or your post-Boren career. Please do not double-count time lived, traveled, or studied. If the answer is none, you may leave this blank.听
• Honors and Awards 鈥� List up to five relevant honors or awards and the year you received them. If the answer is none, you may leave this blank.听
• Other Scholarships or Fellowships (optional) 鈥� List up to five additional scholarships for which you have applied that will cover the 2026-2027听academic year. The answer to this question does not impact your Boren application review.
• ROTC Information - indicate if you are currently an ROTC cadet or midshipman on track to commission in the U.S. military. If you were in ROTC at the undergrad level but not at the graduate level, indicate No.
• Additional Information 鈥� Please let us know about how you learned about Boren.
• DLNSEO Programs - Indicate whether you鈥檝e participated any other NSEP-funded programs.

10 - Recommendations

• The Boren Fellowships application requires three Letters of Recommendation.
• Applicants are also encouraged to include a Language Evaluation of the Boren language, which should be filled out by a recent instructor in that language.
• Visit our page for more information about the guide on selecting strong recommenders.
• Click 鈥淎dd Recommender鈥� to enter information on each recommender and select the type of recommender (Letter of Recommendation or Language Evaluation).
• If you are not ready to notify your recommender, you may select 鈥淪ave鈥� and come back to the page when you are ready.
• Once you are ready to notify your recommender, select 鈥淪end to Recommender鈥�.
• If a recommender is no longer able to submit a letter for you, or you entered their information incorrectly, you may click the 鈥淓xclude鈥� button on their entry. Doing this will allow you enter a new recommender in their place.
• If you wish to reinstate a recommender after clicking 鈥淓xclude鈥�, you may click the 鈥淩einstate鈥� button on their entry.
• If your recommender has lost track of the link to submit a recommendation, you may click the 鈥淪end Reminder鈥� button on their entry.
• Please note that the recommendation letter will not be visible to you -- you will only be able to see whether or not it has been submitted.
• Recommendations or Language Evaluations from a parent, sibling, or other relative will not be accepted.

11 Submission Agreement

• Read this section thoroughly.
• Important Boren policies are outlined in this section. This is not inclusive of the full Terms and Conditions you will be required to follow should you receive a Boren Award.
• This does NOT submit your application.
• In order to actually submit the application, you must agree to the policies listed on this section.

12. Review

• This section allows you to see what fields are missing, blank, or not filled out correctly. If any required fields are missing, there will be a link to take you the part of the application to fix the information.
• If you see the warning: "We have detected the following errors with your application. These errors must be corrected before submission.";听you MUST fix these errors before you will be allowed to submit your application.
• If you see the warning: "We have detected the following problems with your application"; the application has detected potential issue with your application, but you MAY still submit your application.
  • Examples of potential issues include:
    • Missing certain uploads
    • Blank Activities or Employment History sections听
• If you are experiencing errors that you are not able to resolve, please contact us boren@iieus.org. We appreciate detailed explanations and/or screenshots of the issue.
• You MUST听click the "Submit Application" button in this section in order for your application to be considered.

Submit Application

• When your application is complete, click on 鈥淪ubmit Application鈥� button on the Review section.
• If you submit your application in error and would like to have it made editable again, please contact us boren@iieus.org .