Bahasa Indonesia is the official language of the most populous Muslim country and one of the world's most interesting cultural and economic landscapes. Spoken by over 250 million people living in the archipelago nation of Indonesia, fewer than 300 Americans enrolled in collegiate Indonesian courses in 2009, creating an amazing opportunity for those students who take it.
Indonesia is a remarkable country made up of 6,000 inhabited islands (and 11,000 more uninhabited ones!), and many of these islands feature their own unique cultures and languages. Closely related to the widely spoken Malay language, Indonesian has the potential to be a gateway to many countries in Southeast Asia. Today, Indonesia features a rapidly growing economy and is gaining momentum on the international stage. By studying Bahasa Indonesian, you can add an in-demand language to your repertoire and prepare to contribute globally in your field, whether it's medicine, environmental policy, or music and the arts.
Here's Why Proud Americans Should Learn Mandarin, Other Languages
Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo's op-ed in Newsweek makes the case for Americans to learn critical languages and announces the launch of languages.state.gov.
Posted October 28, 2020
Lauren Sooy
“Although beginning my civil service career amidst a pandemic was a bit unusual, I’m grateful to be contributing my skills and knowledge to the U.S. government’s coronavirus response efforts.”
Lauren, an alumna of the 2017 CLS Indonesian program, landed a position in early 2020 as a...
Read morePosted September 21, 2020
The 2021 Summer Application is Now Available!
We are pleased to announce that the application for the 2021 Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program is now open! We welcome your students to apply now to learn a critical foreign language next summer on a fully-funded study abroad program.
The application is now live and available...
Read morePosted August 27, 2020
A Program of the 
