A Program of the 
Nearly 600 students have been selected for the U.S. Department of State’s Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program for this summer. These students were selected from over 5,500 applicants nationwide.
The CLS Program provides fully funded immersive summer programs for U.S. undergraduate and graduate students to learn languages of strategic importance to the United States’ national security, economic prosperity, and international engagement. Each summer, over 550 American students enrolled at colleges and universities across the United States spend approximately eight weeks studying one of a dozen languages either overseas or virtually. Participants gain the equivalent of one year of language study, as the CLS Program maximizes language and cultural instruction in an intensive environment.
CLS Spark participants virtually study Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Russian. CLS scholars are encouraged to continue their language study after the program and apply their critical language skills in their future careers.
Since its inception in 2006, the CLS Program has supported nearly 10,000 participants to gain critical language skills and intercultural competence, which are in demand in today’s workforce and increase a student’s competitiveness across career fields. CLS alumni represent all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
The Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program is a program of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and is supported in its implementation by the American Councils for International Education.