Upcoming events for the 2026-27 Cycle:
| Date/Time | CLS Event | Description | Register/complete |
| Oct – Nov, 2025 | CLS Canvas | If you plan to apply for CLS this cycle, participate in our asynchronous Canvas course that launches October 2025. Completing this course will place you in a strong position to have a high-quality application by the national deadline in November. | Enroll |
| Nov 5 – 7, 2025 4:00 – 5:30 pm, 160 McReynolds Hall | CLS Sprint | This 3-day workshop is designed to help students at all phases of the application process to produce a complete CLS application. Each day, we’ll focus on a different set of application essays and applicants will have the option to work independently or with their peers. | Register |
| Nov 18, 7:00 pm Central | CLS National Deadline | Click “submit” on an application you feel proud of. | CLS application portal |
Application deadline: mid-November
The Critical Language Scholarships Program offers intensive overseas study in critical-need foreign languages. The program condenses a year of academic study into an eight-week summer program. Languages supported are Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Portuguese, Russian, and Swahili. The 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. Scholarship recipients receive funding to participate in beginning, intermediate and advanced level summer language programs at American Overseas Research Centers and affiliated partners. Recipients are expected to continue their language study beyond the scholarship period and later apply their critical language skills in their professional careers.
Eligibility
Must be a U.S. citizen. Open to undergraduate and graduate students in any disciplines. Students must be enrolled at the time of application but do not have to be at the time of the award.
Award Benefits
All program costs are covered for participants. This includes travel between the student’s home city and program location, pre-departure orientation costs, applicable visa fees, room, board, travel within country and all entrance fees for program activities. Note: U.S. passport fees will not be paid by the scholarship.