About

The Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program is a program of the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The Critical Language Scholarships Program was launched in 2006. In its inaugural year, the CLS Program offered intensive overseas study in the critical need foreign languages of Arabic, Bangla, Hindi, Punjabi, Turkish and Urdu. In 2012, 631 scholarships were awarded for thirteen languages, including Arabic, Azerbaijani, Bangla, Chinese, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Punjabi, Russian, Turkish, and Urdu.

Critical Language Scholarship recipients are among the more than 30,000 academic and professional exchange program participants that are overseen annually by the Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Other programs the Bureau manages include the Fulbright Program and the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program.

American Councils for International Education advances scholarly research and cross-border learning through the design and implementation of educational programs that are well grounded in key world languages, cultures and regions. We contribute to the creation of new knowledge, broader professional perspectives, and personal and intellectual growth through international training, academic exchange, collaboration in educational development, and public diplomacy. With a presence in the U.S., Russia and Eurasia for nearly four decades, in addition to representation in over thirty countries across Asia, the Middle East and Southeastern Europe, American Councils strives to expand dialog among students, scholars, educators and professionals for the advancement of learning and mutual respect in the diverse communities and societies in which we work.

Founded in 1974 as an association for area and language professionals, American Councils has focused its expertise on academic exchange, professional training, distance learning, curriculum and test development, and research. In its four decades, American Councils has developed into one of the premier American education and international training organizations, offering quality-assured, intensive overseas language study and research programs for U.S. undergraduates, graduate students, teachers and scholars.

The Ohio State University is a public institution founded in 1870 with a total undergraduate enrollment of 42,916. Located in the state capital of Columbus, The Ohio State University is a sprawling school with seemingly endless opportunities for students to get involved.

The Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures (DEALL), in the College of Arts and Sciences, at The Ohio State University, has long enjoyed an outstanding reputation for producing students with a high level of language proficiencies and cultural understanding in Chinese, Japanese and Korean. Its degree granting programs offer both majors and minors in all three languages, including an eight-level Chinese curriculum with a Master’s program in Advanced Chinese Language and Culture for students achieving superior level of proficiency. DEALL also has graduate programs in language pedagogy through the PhD for both Chinese and Japanese. DEALL has operated quality-assured, intensive and innovative overseas language study and research programs for over 15 years in China and Japan. With a strong faculty base, DEALL has been one of the most prestigious international bridges in the USA with East Asia.

The National East Asian Language Resource Center (NEALRC) at The Ohio State University is a Department of Education Title VI center focusing on the advancement of East Asian language study in the United States. The NEALRC has been operating since 1993 with a focus on training Americans to advanced language levels by means of teacher training programs, material development, internship programs, language assessment instruments, and research publications.

Established in 1804, Ohio University (OHIO) is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state and the first in the Old Northwest Territory. OHIO is fully accredited by the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools and has been designated as a high activity research university by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. OHIO’s main campus is located in Athens, a classic college town nestled deep in the Appalachian foothills of Southeastern Ohio. Athens is approximately 120 kilometers from Columbus, the capital of the state of Ohio.

OHIO's Center for Southeast Asian Studies (CSEAS), in which the study of Indonesia and the Indonesian language has played a central role, dates from 1967, and CSEAS has enjoyed and continues to nurture a long and deep relationship with students, faculty, alumni, and institutions in the region. CSEAS at OHIO has a legacy spanning more than forty years of formal academic programs, regional collaboration in Southeast Asia, and community outreach. More than 50 faculty members across a wide range of disciplines have experience in and teach about Southeast Asia at both undergraduate and graduate levels. Students at OHIO can pursue a Master of Arts in International Studies with an Asian Studies: Southeast Asia focus, with opportunities for comparative and transnational studies with East and South Asia as well. CSEAS programs allow students to explore the rich histories, traditions, cultures, and societies of the eleven countries of Southeast Asia - Brunei, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam - as well as to analyze contemporary politics, religious issues, economic development, and social change within a place-based, area studies framework.