Boren Graduate Fellowships encourage U.S. graduate students to add an international dimension to their curricula. Students already enrolled in internationally oriented programs are encouraged to intensify their study of areas, languages, and cultures. Fellowships provide support for overseas or domestic study, or both. The maximum award for overseas study is $10,000 per semester for up to two semesters. A maximum of $12,000 is available for a program of domestic study only. The maximum level of support for a combined overseas and domestic program is $28,000. A foreign language appropriate to the identified country must be part of each proposal.

Fellowship recipients must provide evidence of admission to and enrollment in a graduate degree program at an accredited U.S. college or university and are required to seek employment with an agency or office of the federal government involved in national security affairs.