Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program

The 2027 CLS Program application will be available soon. Please check our website again.

Application Closed

The 2026 CLS application is now closed. If you submitted or started an application prior to the deadline, you can log in to view your application form.

Applications for the 2027 CLS Program will be made available in Fall 2026. Thank you for your interest in the CLS Program.

About the CLS Program

The Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program is a U.S. Department of State program with funding provided by the U.S. Government and supported in its implementation by American Councils for International Education.

U.S. leadership abroad — in commerce, global affairs, and security — rests on Americans who can navigate other languages and cultures with expertise and fluency. The Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program delivers intensive summer language instruction to high-achieving undergraduate and graduate students, selected through a competitive, merit-based process. Offered in nine languages overseas or virtually, the program condenses a full academic year of language study into eight weeks of rigorous instruction and cultural immersion. Since 2006, the CLS Program has equipped more than 10,000 U.S. participants with the linguistic skills, regional knowledge, and global networks to advance U.S. interests worldwide.

For more information about the CLS Program, please visit: www.clscholarship.org

Contact Us

Contact CLS Program staff during normal business hours Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. U.S. Eastern Time, at:

Email: cls@americancouncils.org
Telephone: USA 877.257.9922 (toll free) / Outside USA (+1) 202.833.7522

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