Boren Fellowship Essays: Both Prompts and Examples

Boren Fellowship Essays: Both Prompts and Examples

Boren Fellowship applicants write two essays: Essay 1 on national security, up to 800 words, and Essay 2 on motivation and public service careers, up to 1,000 words (800 for Boren Scholarships). The national deadline is January 20, 2027, and there is no interview: "everything an applicant would want the selection committee to know should be stated clearly in the essays and other application materials."

Our view: write Essay 1 from your field outward, then make Essay 2 prove the federal career that the same field and language lead to (the basis and the countercase are under Essay 1 below). An Essay 1 that argues why your country matters to the United States in general could be written by any applicant to that country. Below are a constructed weak and strong Essay 1 opening, and a constructed Essay 2 career paragraph. When you are ready, the Fulbright Study/Research rubric is the closest GradPilot match.

Every Boren Awards page quoted below was checked on October 29, 2026. Your campus representative may set an earlier campus deadline, so check that first. For other graduate funding documents, see the graduate school essays hub.

On this page: what you write · Essay 1 · constructed openings · Essay 2 · agencies · short sections · consistency table · deadlines

What the Boren Fellowship application asks you to write

From the Boren Essays page, the home page and the eligible programs page:

Who can apply. The eligible programs page says all applicants must be "U.S. citizens at the time of the national application deadline", "At least 18 years of age or older by the time the application is submitted", and planning study "in an overseas destination outside of Western Europe, Canada, Australia, or New Zealand" and "of which they are not a citizen". Fellowship applicants "may be matriculated in or applying to a graduate degree program located within the United States and accredited by a body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education", and "must be matriculated in a graduate degree program by the start date of their fellowship". The same page says "Preference will be given to Boren Awards applicants proposing overseas programs of at least 25 weeks' duration" and that the minimum "is 12 weeks for most Boren Awards applicants."

The Essays page also carries an Executive Orders disclaimer, quoted in full: "In compliance with the below Executive Orders, the Boren Awards 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." It lists E.O. 14168, E.O. 14151 and E.O. 14173. If your proposed research touches those topics, read that page and talk to your campus representative before you choose an Essay 1 topic.

Essay 1: the national security argument

The prompt, verbatim: "Please discuss the following points in one integrated essay, giving equal attention to each point. Explain the significance of your overseas destination, region, and language to U.S. national security. You should make a specific, detailed, and focused argument relevant to your academic interests, as well as your professional goals for national security employment within the U.S. government."

What the guidance on the same page adds:

• Audience: "The essay should be written for an educated, generalist audience, avoiding unnecessary subject-specific jargon."
• Evidence: "Applicants are encouraged to employ persuasive facts and figures in their essay, but these should be easily verifiable. Lengthy quotations, footnotes, or parenthetical citations are not recommended or necessary."
• Scope: "Applicants should not feel compelled to make arguments on topics outside the scope of their academic study." You "may extend the scope of their national security argument beyond the overseas destination and language", but the significance of that destination, region and language "needs to be stated clearly."
• Fit with Essay 2: "The national security argument made in the first essay should complement, not contradict, the career plan described in the second essay."

The official selection criteria for Fellowships say the argument "should draw upon both their own personal academic perspectives and their professional goals for national security employment within the U.S. Government." Applications go to "IIE-organized regional merit review panels" made up of "faculty members and administrators representing a wide array of fields of study". That is why the generalist-audience rule matters: your reader may not share your field.

Our view: start Essay 1 inside your own research, then widen to the region and to U.S. security. The basis is the prompt ("relevant to your academic interests") and the criteria ("their own personal academic perspectives"). A field-first essay is also harder to copy, because it rests on work only you have done.

The countercase: if your field is far from security, the field-first route can feel forced. Boren accepts fields outside its preferred list, but says those applicants "will need to explain clearly how they will make competitive applicants for specific public service careers in their second application essay." In that case Essay 1 can lean more on region and language, and Essay 2 carries the field link.

Constructed Essay 1 openings: country-first and field-first

Constructed examples, written by us, not real applicant statements.

Context (invented): Grace Liu is a U.S. PhD student in epidemiology proposing a year of Swahili study in Tanzania, alongside dissertation fieldwork. Swahili and Tanzania are on Boren's preferred lists, and Public Health is a preferred field. Her fieldwork and everything about her is invented. Square brackets mark where a finished essay would put a verifiable fact from a named public source.

Constructed example: the country-first opening

Constructed example, written by us, not a real applicant statement. (100 words)

Tanzania is one of the most important countries in East Africa. Its stability matters to the whole region, and its relationships with its neighbors shape what happens across the continent. Swahili is widely spoken across East Africa, which makes it one of the most useful languages for understanding the region. As the United States competes for influence in Africa, it needs more Americans who understand Tanzania and speak Swahili. By studying Swahili in Tanzania for a year, I will become one of those Americans, and I will be able to serve my country in any agency that works on Africa.

What is wrong with it: any applicant to Tanzania could have written it. It names no academic interest, no specific argument and no professional goal, the three things the prompt asks for.

Constructed example: the field-first opening

Constructed example, written by us, not a real applicant statement. (152 words)

In the district surveillance records I worked with during my pilot fieldwork, the first reports of every outbreak were in Swahili: clinic logbooks, radio call-ins and messages between community health workers. In my epidemiology PhD, I build models that estimate how fast an outbreak is growing from early, messy reports. Those models are only as good as the reports they read, and in the districts I study, the earliest reports are not in English. [One verifiable figure on cross-border disease reporting in the region, from a named public source.] For U.S. national security, the cost of reading those signals late is measured in weeks of warning lost. A year of Swahili study in Tanzania, alongside my dissertation fieldwork on district surveillance records, would let me read the primary data myself instead of waiting for a translated summary. That is the skill I want to bring to outbreak intelligence work in federal service.

Annotations:

1. The first sentence is her own evidence, not a fact about the country. That is "relevant to your academic interests."
2. The language has a job: reading primary data. That answers "significance of your … language".
3. One verifiable figure, no footnote, as the guidance asks. In a finished essay, the bracket becomes a fact from a public source the panel can check.
4. The security claim is narrow (warning time for outbreaks), so a generalist panel can follow it.
5. The last sentence names the career, which Essay 2 must now prove. Essay 1 sets up Essay 2 instead of contradicting it.

Essay 2: motivation and public service careers

The prompt asks for "one integrated essay, giving equal attention to each point", in any order. The three points, verbatim:

• Think about a previous experience that has led to growth or a personal quality. Reflect upon it and describe how it will assist you in preparing for and spending significant time overseas studying a critical foreign language and culture and, if applicable, conducting your proposed research.
• Explain how the destination and language you selected will help you achieve your career goals, including your plans to fulfill the federal service requirement. Be specific. If appropriate, you may also include past academic, extracurricular, volunteer, internship, and professional experiences relevant to your federal career goals. Priority organizations (Tier One) are the Departments of War, State, and Homeland Security, as well as the Intelligence Community.
• As you will be committing to working for the federal government for at least one year, describe what makes you interested in federal service and what you will bring as a leader in the federal workforce.

Three sentences from the guidance decide how you write it:

• "Preference in selection for the Boren Awards will be given to applicants who demonstrate a longer-term commitment to government service than the one-year federal service requirement."
• Successful applicants "show that they understand the hiring processes and necessary qualifications for those positions; i.e. they should explain the short-, medium-, and long-term steps they will take to achieve their professional goals."
• "Program alumni -- Boren Fellows in particular -- who are interested in pursuing careers in academia should explain how federal government service is integral to their long-term career plans."

For the growth experience, Boren says applicants "should seek to demonstrate their adaptability, resilience, maturity, and/or leadership qualities", and "Although no prior international experience is required for the Boren Awards, the essay should assure selection panelists that the applicant is prepared for the challenges inherent to long-term study and life in a foreign context."

Constructed example: the Essay 2 career paragraph

Constructed example, written by us, not a real applicant statement. (169 words) This is one paragraph of Essay 2, covering the second and third points. Brackets mark where a finished essay names a real office and role found on its careers page.

I am applying for Boren because I want my first federal position to be in outbreak intelligence, and I have already mapped the route. The four Tier One organizations all meet the service requirement, so I have focused my search there. On [the careers page of a named Department of Homeland Security office], I found analyst roles that list epidemiological modeling and regional knowledge among their qualifications. In the short term, after my Boren year, I will apply for the internship programs that office lists for graduate students, since post-Boren federal internships may count toward the service requirement. In the medium term, after my PhD, I will apply for an entry-level analyst role there or in a comparable Intelligence Community position. In the long term, I want to lead an analysis team that reads early outbreak reports in their original languages. I am applying for a commitment longer than one year because this is the career I have trained for, not a stop on the way to another one.

Why it works: a Tier One department, an actual job listing, short-, medium- and long-term steps, and a commitment longer than one year in plain words.

Name the agencies: Tier One and where alumni actually serve

Boren's own wording: "Any position with the four priority agencies -- the Department of War (civilian or military), the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of State, or any element of the Intelligence Community -- will fulfill the Boren Awards service requirement. Other positions with the federal government may fulfill the federal service requirement, but must be approved on a case-by-case basis." Federal internships after your Boren study "may receive credit toward fulfillment of the service requirement."

The Essays page also publishes where National Security Education Program (NSEP) alumni have served, "derived from the latest NSEP annual report". The scope is all NSEP alumni, not only Boren Fellows, and the table "Includes contractors".

Our arithmetic: the four Tier One rows sum to 4,183, or 78.5% of the total; about one in five served elsewhere in government. Boren adds a practical warning: "Larger agencies will post more entry-level positions more often, and are therefore more realistic options to begin a career in public service." Name a realistic first job, not only your dream office.

The study plan, short sections and letters

• Study plan segments. The Fellowship prompt is "Describe the basic structure of your proposed Boren-funded study, with particular focus on language acquisition." You have "a maximum of 250 words for each segment". If language immersion is part of research or an internship, say "how the language will be used, and whether supplemental language courses or tutoring will take place concurrently."
• Jobs and activities. For each, Boren asks you "to describe the elements of it that reinforce the plans detailed in Essay # 2." Treat each 50 to 100 word entry as evidence for Essay 2, not a résumé line.
• Internships abroad. The Fellowship FAQ says an internship is allowed "if it is an integrated and meaningful component of your academic program", but "You may not accept paid employment while abroad. In addition, you cannot intern with U.S. or foreign government agencies."
• Letters. Recommenders are asked to comment "on the applicant's understanding of the relationship between his or her study abroad program and U.S. national security, as well as his or her career interests." Boren suggests giving them "drafts of your application essays." Send both essays.

Make the two essays agree

Boren says Essay 1 should "complement, not contradict" Essay 2. Before you submit, fill this table from your own drafts. Every row should say the same thing in all three places.

If Essay 1 argues for a health-security career and Essay 2 names a consular post, the panel sees two applicants. Pick one.

Deadlines and campus review

From the Boren home page: "The national deadlines for the 2027 Boren Awards are: Boren Fellowships: January 20, 2027 Boren Scholarships: January 27, 2027". Both are Wednesdays. Funding "may be applied to programs starting as early as June, 2027 or as late as March 1, 2028."

Campus deadlines come earlier where they exist. Boren's campus representative guidance describes "Early deadlines (late November/early December)" and "Late deadlines (January): Set two or three weeks before the national deadline". The Boren pages we checked publish no rule on AI or outside writing help; the certification inside the application is what you sign, so read it there.

Checklist for both Boren essays

1. Essay 1 is under 800 words and Essay 2 under 1,000 (Fellowships).
2. Essay 1 opens with your own academic work, not with the country's importance in general.
3. Essay 1 states why the destination, region and language matter, even if the argument widens beyond them.
4. Every fact in Essay 1 is easily verifiable, with no footnotes.
5. Essay 2 covers all three points with roughly equal weight.
6. Essay 2 names a Tier One organization or explains a case-by-case alternative.
7. Essay 2 gives short-, medium- and long-term steps and a commitment beyond one year.
8. If you plan an academic career, Essay 2 explains why federal service is integral to it.
9. The consistency table above has no conflicting rows.
10. Your recommenders have both essays, and you know your campus deadline.

Questions about the Boren Fellowship essays

How long are the Boren Fellowship essays?

Essay 1: 800 words. Essay 2: 1,000 words for Fellowships, 800 for Scholarships. Both single-spaced.

Is there a Boren interview?

No. Boren says its process "does not have a semi-finalist or interview phase".

Do I need to be admitted to graduate school before I apply?

No. The Fellowship FAQ says "You do not have to be accepted into a graduate program by the Fellowship application deadline. You do need to be matriculated into a graduate program by the time you depart for your overseas program."

Can I apply if I want an academic career?

Yes, but Essay 2 has to explain "how federal government service is integral to their long-term career plans." Boren notes that "Many analyst, researcher, and instructor positions with the federal government are analogous to similar positions in academia."

Get a free review of your Boren essays

Get a free Quick Review of your Boren Fellowship essays against GradPilot's Fulbright Study/Research rubric. There is no Boren-specific rubric; this is the closest match. It reads whether an overseas project belongs in its host country, whether your preparation shows in visible actions, how you adapt to changed conditions, and whether a grounded post-grant direction follows. For Essay 2's career steps, the general Chevening application essays rubric reads whether short-, mid- and long-term steps are separated, as Boren asks. Paste one essay at a time, with its word limit. For other awards, see the scholarship and fellowship essay review.

More fellowship essay guides:

• Fulbright statement of grant purpose: another overseas study proposal with a fixed structure.
• Fulbright essays, five components: how Fulbright splits its application.
• How to write a scholarship essay that fits the award: reading a funder's criteria before you draft.
• Scholarship essay examples by prompt type: constructed answers to common prompt types.

Sources

Retrieved October 29, 2026.

• Boren Awards, Essays - National Security & Careers in Public Service: both prompts and limits, guidance, Tier One wording, NSEP alumni service table, study plan, jobs and activities, letters, Executive Orders disclaimer.
• Boren Awards, home page: 2027 national deadlines and program start window.
• Boren Awards, Official Selection Criteria: Fellowship criteria and review panels.
• Boren Awards, Selecting an Eligible Study Program: basic eligibility, matriculation, program duration, preferred languages, destinations and fields; language hours.
• Boren Awards, Boren Fellowship FAQ: admission timing, affiliation letters, internships.
• Boren Awards, Campus Representatives: campus deadlines.