With Eight recipients of the Boren Scholarship this year funding students’ study abroad experiences, including Emily Burke’s (above) in Turkey, this university became the top recipient of the National Security Education Program scholarship.

Eight university students received Boren Scholarships for long-term study abroad in areas critical to national security, making this university the No. 1 national recipient this year.

The Boren Scholarship, which is funded by the National Security Education Program, funds up to $20,000 for undergraduate students to study in foreign areas of special interest to the United States.

For the past two years, this university ranked third in the nation in the percentage of applicants who received scholarships.

But this year, this university boasted a 47-percent success rate among undergraduate applicants and beat out Arizona State University and American University, which came in second and third place in the nation, respectively. The Boren Fellowship program for graduate students at this university also ranked in the national top three for the second year.

“I’m not surprised at all,” said government and politics graduate student Emily Burke, a former Boren Scholar who studied abroad in Turkey. “The scholarship office prepares students really well when they apply.”

Francis DuVinage, the National Scholarships Office director, said students were sound contenders due to their strong academic backgrounds and Washington-based internship experiences.

“Maryland’s Boren Scholars are passionate about using their linguistic and cultural skills in public service,” DuVinage said. “The Boren Scholarship Program attracts students who are very ambitious about helping the United States pursue enlightened initiatives of all kinds around the globe.”

Sophomore chemical engineering major Lisa Wiest was one of this year’s recipients and is studying for one year in South Korea.

“I’ve always really wanted to study abroad in a country with a foreign language, and Boren helped me achieve my goal,” Wiest said.

Recipients must also fulfill a one-year federal service obligation related to national security within three years of graduation for Boren Scholars and two years for Boren Fellows. Persian language graduate student Evan Jones, a Boren Fellow, said this requirement is an opportunity rather than an obligation.

“It’s nice to have the support system of a federal job there for you,” Jones said.

Burke — who is working for the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif., to fulfill her service obligation — agreed the Boren Scholarship put her on the fast track toward her ideal career. While she was studying in Turkey, she made connections that landed her federal employment in the U.S.

“I definitely think doing any national scholarship will help you land a job after you graduate as opposed to just graduating from college,” she said.