Mission and Objectives

Born out of post-mortem analysis from Desert Storm, NSEP was designed to represent a post-Cold War investment in vital expertise in languages and cultures critical to U.S. national security. The purpose of the NSEP is to enhance the national security of the U.S. by increasing our national capacity to deal effectively with foreign cultures and languages. Specifically, Subsection 1901(c) of the NSEA outlines the five major objectives for the program:

• 1.To provide the necessary resources, accountability, and flexibility to meet the national security education needs of the United States, especially as such needs change over time,
• 2.To increase the quantity, diversity, and quality of the teaching and learning of subjects in the fields of foreign languages, area studies, and other international fields that are critical to the Nation's interests,
• 3.To produce an increased pool of applicants for work in the departments and agencies of the United States Government with national security responsibilities,
• 4.To expand, in conjunction with other Federal programs, the international experience, knowledge base, and perspectives on which the United States citizenry, government employees, and leaders rely, and
• 5.To permit the federal government to advocate the cause of international education.