Critical Languages Scholarship (CLS)

Additional Information

The CLS Program is part of a U.S. government effort to expand dramatically the number of Americans studying and mastering critical foreign languages. Students of diverse disciplines and majors are encouraged to apply. Participants are expected to continue their language study beyond the scholarship period, and later apply their critical language skills in their future professional careers. 

Each summer, CLS provides rigorous academic instruction in fifteen languages that are critical to America's national security and economic prosperity. CLS participants are citizen ambassadors, sharing American values and promoting American influence abroad.

Program benefits: 
The CLS Program covers most of the costs of participating in its overseas institutes, including:

• International and domestic travel between the student's U.S. home city, Washington, D.C., and the CLS Program site 
• Visa application fees 
• Costs associated with the mandatory pre-departure orientation in Washington, D.C. 
• Language instruction, room, board, program-sponsored travel within the host country 
• All entrance fees for program activities 
• Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI) language assessments 
• U.S. academic credit

The following expenses will not be covered by the CLS Program:

• U.S. passport fees; and 
• The cost of medical exams and any follow-up visits necessary to pass the medical review process, as determined by the CLS Program.

Institutional endorsement required?: No