A Program of the U.S. Department of State
Congratulations 2023 CLS finalists!
In 2023, we selected approximately 500 competitive American students from 245 institutions as CLS finalists. Read our announcement.
What Alumni Say About the CLS Program
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.
Languages Offered
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Just having conversations with people and being open with them about what we did culturally where I’m from; I’ve always wanted to share that with people.
Marcus Dunn, Korean 2011 -
Diplomatic representation of the monolith that is the United States military is very similar to the citizen diplomacy aspect of the CLS Program. You cannot begin to understand culture without the language component. With the CLS Program, you gain authenticity by learning the language.
Andrea Howard, Azerbaijani 2015 -
The CLS Program was instrumental in getting me to the proficiency level required for my career. My employer cited my language skills as one of the main traits that made me an outstanding candidate.
John Krzyzaniak, Persian 2016 -
"I had always been interested in learning about Brazilian culture and Portuguese language and CLS made that a reality for me."
Max Courval, Portuguese 2020
CLS News and Stories
Alumni Profile: Zion Shih
Zion Shih is an alumna of the CLS Chinese Program hosted by Tamkang University in New Taipei City, Taiwan. Zion attends Loma Linda University where she studies Translational Medicine as an MD-PhD student. As a future physician-scientist, Zion plans to bring her work with patients into the lab to in…March 20, 2023
Alumni Profile: Eugeniu Prodan
Eugeniu Prodan is an alumnus of the 2022 CLS Indonesian Program hosted by Universitas Negeri Malang in Malang, Indonesia. He is a second-year student in the Master of International Affairs Program at Texas A&M University. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Bachelor of Science in Busi…March 16, 2023
Alumni Profile: Yumei Lin
Yumei Lin is an alumna of the 2022 CLS Indonesian Program hosted by Universitas Negeri Malang in Malang, Indonesia. She is a graduate of Tufts University with a degree in International Relations with a concentration in Security Studies and a minor in Economics. Yumei hopes to apply her Indonesian a…March 14, 2023
Announcing the 2023 CLS Program Awards
We are pleased to announce that approximately 500 finalists were selected for the opportunity to study critical languages through the overseas CLS Program and through its virtual initiative, CLS Spark. We applaud all applicants for the 2023 CLS Program for their commitment to language learning …March 14, 2023
CLS in the Press
University of Richmond student Sarah Schalkoff secures Critical Language Scholarship
Study abroad and an internship with the UN offers University of Richmond student rich intercultural experiences.
Shared from Jepson School of Leadership Studies, November 30, 2022
Critical Language Scholarship winners Donika and Hannah discuss their experiences
Community College of Philadelphia students Hannah Mc-Kay Simmons (Chinese 2022), an International Studies major, and Donika Campbell (Arabic 2022), a Respiratory Care Technology major, talk about why the CLS Spark program is a worthwhile opportunity for students.
Shared from Community College of Philadelphia, November 22, 2022
UD students continue to be honored by premier international scholarship programs
University of Delaware graduate Kiara Cronin was selected as a Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) recipient to learn Swahili.
Shared from UDaily, November 17, 2022