The Critical Language Scholarship Program is a fully-funded study abroad program sponsored by the U.S. Department of State that provides intensive overseas language and cultural immersion. It is open to U.S. students enrolled in all degree programs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and is open to undergraduate and graduate students both.
Download a flyer for the CLS 2022 summer program here. The application for this opportunity will close on November 16, 2021.
Through CLS, students spend eight to ten weeks abroad studying one of 15 critical languages (see below) and earn academic credit for their work. The scholarship includes travel expenses, coursework, group excursions, and a small stipend to cover daily living expenses. Many languages offered by the CLS Program do not require applicants to have any experience studying critical languages.
The CLS Program is part of a U.S. government effort to expand the number of Americans studying and mastering critical foreign languages. Summer 2022 languages offered are:
Arabic
Azerbaijani *
Bangla *
Chinese
Hindi *
Indonesian *
Japanese
Korean
Persian *
Portuguese
Punjabi *
Russian
Swahili *
Turkish *
Urdu *
Languages marked (*) above are offered at all levels, including beginning – other languages require some level of prior exposure; noted on the CLS website at https://clscholarship.org/applicants/language-levels
Complete details online at https://clscholarship.org/ – applications are due November 16, 2021.
Questions? Contact the UW-Madison’s CLS representative, Mark Lilleleht, at awards@iris.wisc.edu