Minimum qualifications for any traineeship shall be established by the Director and shall be uniformly applicable to all applicants in each traineeship program. These minimum qualifications may include requirements as to citizenship, medical standards, academic degrees, professional or other training or experience, and other factors as may be necessary to the fulfillment of the purpose of the traineeship. The Director may, as a matter of general policy or, in individual cases, waive compliance with any minimum qualification so established to the extent that the applicant or applicants have substantially equivalent qualifications or have such special training, experience or opportunity for service as to make an award particularly appropriate, and to the extent the Director finds it is consistent with the fulfillment of the purpose of the traineeship.