About the Scholarship
The Critical Language Scholarship is a fully funded summer overseas language and cultural immersion program for American undergraduate and graduate students. The 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. CLS Institutes provide fully-funded group-based intensive language instruction and structured cultural enrichment experiences for seven to ten weeks over the summer. On November 29, 2016, President Obama signed an Executive Order giving alumni from the CLS Program non-competitive eligibility for U.S. government jobs.
Fully funded cost of participating in overseas institutes includes group-based learning courses (+20 hours per week), room and board, a full cultural program, host community language partners, domestic and international airfare, and living stipend for incidental expenses and meals.
Requirements
Advising
Basic Eligibility
Applicants must:
- be a U.S. Citizen at the time of application (non-citizens, including Permanent Residents, are not eligible);
- be an enrolled undergraduate, master’s or Ph.D. student at the time of application;
- complete at least one full-time equivalent year of study (two semesters or three quarters) by the beginning of the CLS Program;
- meet language level prerequisites depending on the program.
Selection Criteria
Award recipients will be selected on the basis of merit with consideration for:
- Academic record and potential to succeed in a rigorous academic setting;
- Commitment to language learning;
- Connection between target language and career/academic goals;
- Ability to adapt to an intensive program and a challenging cultural environment; and
- Contributions to the CLS Program and program goals.
AHF does not provide feedback on application content for this award. Please consider reaching out to a faculty mentor and/or a previous Critical Language Scholarship recipient for mentorship. A list of previous Scholarship recipients from USC can be found on our Recipients page.
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