The Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program provides overseas foreign language instruction and cultural enrichment experiences in 13 critical need languages for U.S. students in higher education.

The CLS Program is part of a U.S. government effort to expand dramatically the number of Americans studying and mastering critical need foreign languages. Undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral-level students of diverse disciplines and majors are encouraged to apply for the seven-to-ten week-long programs. Participants are expected to continue their language study beyond the scholarship period and later apply their critical language skills in their future professional careers.