2009 Critical Language Scholarship Program

The United States Department of State and the Council of American Overseas Research Centers (CAORC) are pleased to announce the availability of overseas scholarships for intensive summer language institutes in eleven critical need foreign languages for summer 2009.

Languages offered: Arabic, Azerbaijani, Bangla/Bengali, Chinese, Hindi, Korean, Persian, Punjabi, Russian, Turkish, and Urdu.

Countries may include: Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, China, Egypt, India, Jordan, Morocco, Oman, Russia, South Korea, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkey, or others where the target languages are spoken.

Critical Language Scholarships (CLS) provide seven to ten week group-based intensive language instruction and extensive cultural enrichment experiences at the beginning, intermediate and advanced levels (beginning not offered for Azerbaijani, Russian, Chinese or Persian). Full program details and the on-line application are available on our website, http://www.clscholarship.org/.

The CLS Program is part of the National Security Language Initiative (NSLI), a U.S. government interagency effort to expand dramatically the number of Americans studying and mastering critical need 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 in any field.

Deadline to Apply: On-line application due on Friday, November 14, 2008.

Grant Benefits: All CLS Program costs are covered for participants including: travel to and from the student's U.S. home city and program location, mandatory Washington, D.C. pre-departure orientation, applicable visa fees, room, board, group-based intensive language instruction, program-sponsored travel within country, and all entrance fees for CLS Program cultural enhancement activities.

Note: U.S. passport fees will not be paid by the scholarship. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions regarding the CLS Program and application process at http://www.clscholarship.org/.

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Sponsored by the United States Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs

Administered by the Council of American Overseas Research Centers