Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Critical Language and Boren scholarship information session tomorrow, Thursday 10/20, 3:30, MGH 171

The UW Office of Merit Scholarships, Fellowships & Awards will be providing information sessions for undergraduate students interested in these opportunities to help orient them to the programs and application processes:
  • Tomorrow, Thursday, October 20, 3:30-5:00pm in MGH 171 (will cover both CLS & Boren)
  • Monday, November 14, 2:30-3:20pm in MGH 171 (will cover Boren only)
  • Wednesday, November 30, 4:30-5:20 in MGH 171 (will cover Boren only)

The Critical Language Scholarship Program (http://clscholarship.org/): this summer program provides fully-funded eight to ten week group-based intensive language instruction and extensive cultural enrichment experiences held overseas at the beginning, intermediate and advanced levels of Arabic, Azerbaijani, Bangla/Bengali, Chinese, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Punjabi, Russian, Turkish, and Urdu. Eligibility details and language levels and prerequisites are explained at http://clscholarship.org/applicants.htm.

Applications are now available online, and the national deadline is November 15, 2011.

The Boren Undergraduate Scholarship Program (http://borenawards.org/boren_scholarship) provides up to $20,000 for US undergraduate students to study abroad in areas of the world that are critical to US interests and underrepresented in study abroad, including Africa, Asia, Central & Eastern Europe, Eurasia, Latin America, and the Middle East. The countries of Western Europe, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand are excluded. Most languages are supported, except those of Western Europe. Boren Scholarships are funded by the National Security Education Program (NSEP), which focuses on geographic areas, languages, and fields of study deemed critical to U.S. national security. Applicants should identify how their study abroad program, as well as their future academic and career goals, will contribute to U.S. national security, broadly defined.  NSEP draws on a broad definition of national security, recognizing that the scope of national security has expanded to include not only the traditional concerns of protecting and promoting American well-being, but also the challenges of global society, including sustainable development, environmental degradation, global disease and hunger, population growth and migration, and economic competitiveness. Receipt of this scholarship does incur a government service requirement, which for many students provides a valuable foot in the federal employment door.

Undergraduate applicants must apply through UW to be considered for the Boren Undergraduate Scholarship Program. UW's campus deadline for undergraduate applicants at all three campuses is January 11, 2012 for study abroad programs during the 2012-13 academic year.

Both programs are also open to graduate students. CLS processes are identical for both undergraduate and graduate applicants. Boren Graduate Fellowship details are at http://borenawards.org/boren_fellowship. There is no Boren campus application process at the graduate level; the national deadline for the Boren Graduate Fellowship is January 31, 2012. Helene Obradovich in the Graduate School Office of Fellowships & Awards is the point of contact for graduate students interested in this program (helene@uw.edu).