Am I Eligible?

To be eligible for admission to the 2026 EHLS Program, you must meet all of the following criteria:

• Be a United States citizen
• Agree to fulfill a one-year service commitment with the U.S. government in a position with national security responsibilities
• Have critical language skills at level 3 or higher on the Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) scale of one of the following languages: Mandarin Chinese, Arabic, Russian, Persian Farsi, Korean, Ukrainian, Kazakh, Turkish, and Hausa
• Have English language skills at level 2 or higher on the ILR scale
• Be able to use Microsoft Office software (Word, PowerPoint) and use the Internet to conduct research
• Have completed university-level or equivalent professional education at the bachelor’s level
• Be able to commit to full-time daytime study for 6 months at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, followed by 2 months of part-time online study
• Be completely separated from any position with the U.S. government and any service in the U.S. military as of the date when instruction begins. Federal government employees or active-duty military must provide proof of separation from the federal government to participate in the EHLS program. Service members in the Reserve Component (Reserve or National Guard) actively drilling with their unit must provide a letter from their commanding officer stating that they are exempt from drills and activation through the intensive portion of the EHLS Program. Inactive Reservists and National Guard members are eligible to participate without documentation.

Please note that a person can only receive the EHLS scholarship one time.

EHLS Scholarship applications, including submitted supporting documents, and test scores will be reviewed for candidate eligibility under the National Security Education Act at 50 U.S. Code §1902(a)(1)(E).

The National Security Education Program (NSEP) awards described on this website are subject to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and the National Security Education Act at 50 U.S. Code §1902(a)(1)(E).

Applicants to the EHLS Program will be evaluated according to five selection criteria, aside from language and computer skills: language goals and motivation, cultural knowledge, research skills, professional adaptability, and compatibility with the federal workplace. Detailed information about each criterion is available in the selection criteria definitions. It is strongly suggested that you review these rubrics as you prepare your EHLS application.

The EHLS Program uses the Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) scale to assess your language skills. To be eligible for the EHLS Program, you must have critical language skills at level 3 or higher and have English language skills at level 2 or higher. You can assess your language skills via the following self-assessments created by ILR: speaking, reading, and listening. 

Use the technology skills self-assessment to determine whether you have the technology skills that the program requires.