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 and are designed to meet the needs of students from a variety of language levels and backgrounds. Formal classroom language instruction is provided for a minimum of 18 hours per week. Extracurricular activities supplement the formal curriculum, including regular one-on-one meetings with native speaker language partners and cultural activities and excursions. The program offers instruction in nine critical languages: Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, and Swahili. Some languages require one to two years of prior study while others welcome students with no prior background. CLS alumni remain part of a vibrant global network with opportunities for continued learning and professional growth.