Critical Language Scholarship Program

The Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program provides immersive summer programs for U.S. undergraduate and graduate students to learn languages of strategic importance to the United States' national security and economic prosperity. Through intensive language instruction and structured cultural activities, participants receive the equivalent of one year of language study in just eight weeks. Since its inception in 2006, the CLS Program has supported over 10,000 participants from all 50 U.S. states, D.C., and Puerto Rico in building critical language skills and intercultural competence. CLS institutes take place over eight weeks with a minimum of 18 hours per week of formal classroom instruction, supplemented by one-on-one meetings with native speaker language partners and cultural activities. The program offers instruction in nine critical languages: Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, and Swahili. Some languages require prior study while others welcome beginners. Participants receive full funding including travel, room and board, textbooks, academic credit through Bryn Mawr College, and official ACTFL OPI language certification.