A Program of the U.S. Department of State
CLS Virtual Institutes are underway this summer. Be sure to follow along on our social media accounts and stay tuned for more news from the CLS Program!
The Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program is a summer study abroad opportunity for American college and university students to learn languages essential to America’s engagement with the world.
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.
Languages Offered
Key Benefits
Develop Key Expertise
The CLS Program provides its scholars intensive language and cultural instruction in an environment designed to maximize their language gains at every level.
Career Ready Skills
Alumni apply their critical language skills in a variety of professional fields in public and private sectors as well as government, helping to support America’s competitiveness across the board.
Citizen Diplomacy
CLS scholars represent the breadth and diversity of the United States. Through personal engagement they help to spread American values and develop mutual understanding with the people of other countries.
Featured Alumni
CLS News and Stories
Alumni Profile: Nilaya Knafo
Nilaya Knafo is an alumna of the 2017 CLS Arabic program in Amman, Jordan. A 2019 graduate of American University with a bachelor’s degree in international relations, Nilaya focused her studies on foreign policy in the Middle East and North Africa. She now works as a Senior Program Assistant at...
Posted by Liz Sinclair on July 09, 2020
Being LGBTQIA+ in a Conservative Country
Luana Davila is an alumna of the 2019 CLS Arabic program in Meknes, Morocco, and wrote the following about her experience as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community on the CLS Program. Luana is working toward a Bachelor of Arts in Classical Studies at the University of Illinois, Chicago and is a...
Posted by Liz Sinclair on June 29, 2020
Alumni Profile: Audrey Petersen
Audrey Petersen made the decision to study Bangla after doing a public health research project on the incorporation of zinc in the treatment of diarrheal diseases for her nursing program at George Mason University. The research was primarily being studied by an organization headquartered in...
Posted by Jessica Klink on June 22, 2020
Alumni Profile: David Fields
David Fields became interested in Korea when he learned of opportunities to teach English after earning his undergraduate degree. After teaching English in South Korea for two years, he began studying United States and East Asian relations at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and participated...
Posted by Jessica Klink on June 15, 2020
CLS in the Press
Four Perspectives from Black Scholars and Professionals on Race and Opportunity
Alumna Jenny Han Simon (Chinese 2018) interviewed four scholars, two of whom are fellow 2018 Chinese alumnae Nakia Edmond and Maya Bullock, about their experiences within professional and academic environments, traveling and living abroad, and shaping their professional and personal ambitions as Black Americans.
Shared from ProFellow, August 06, 2020
13 seniors named Winthrop Scholars
CLS alumnus Troy Willis (Russian 2019) has been named a Winthrop Scholar, the highest academic honor bestowed by Connecticut College.
Shared from Connecticut College News, July 29, 2020
21 UofL students and alumni win prestigious international fellowship offers
Evan Clark has earned a 2020 Critical Language Scholarship.
Shared from University of Louisville News, July 17, 2020