; and (3) prioritize the employment placement of scholarship recipients in the Federal Government. (c) Scholarship amounts Each scholarship under subsection (b) shall be in an amount that covers the student’s tuition and fees at the institution under subsection (b)(1) for not more than three years and provides the student with an additional stipend. (d) Post-Award employment obligations (1) Civilian employment Each scholarship recipient, as a condition of receiving a scholarship under the program, shall enter into an agreement under which the recipient agrees to work in a position related to national security at a Federal, State, local, or Tribal agency for a period equal to the length of the scholarship following receipt of the student’s degree. (2) Military service Pursuant to regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Defense for such purpose, a scholarship recipient may fulfill the condition described in paragraph (1) by serving in the Armed Forces. (e) Hiring authority (1) Appointment in excepted service Notwithstanding any provision of chapter 33 of title 5, United States Code, governing appointments in the competitive service, an agency shall appoint in the excepted service an individual who has completed the eligible degree program for which a scholarship was awarded. (2) Noncompetitive conversion Except as provided in paragraph (4), upon fulfillment of the service term, an employee appointed under paragraph (1) may be converted noncompetitively to term, career-conditional, or career appointment. (3) Timing of conversion An agency may noncompetitively convert a term employee appointed under paragraph (2) to a career-conditional or career appointment before the term appointment expires. (4) Authority to decline conversion An agency may decline to make the noncompetitive conversion or appointment under paragraph (2) for cause. (f) Eligibility To be eligible to receive a scholarship under this section, an individual shall— (1) be a citizen or lawful permanent resident of the United States