How to Win a Critical Language Scholarship

I participated in the State Department’s Critical Language Scholarship in Ankara, Turkey, two years ago, representing Hunter College in NYC. Winning the award was an honor and an adventure worth remembering. Below, I’d like to share my tips on how to do it.

What is the Critical Language Scholarship Program?

The Critical Language Scholarship Program is an award by the US State Department to take Americans enrolled in universities on study abroad programs around the world. The program is a fully funded summer study abroad experience that includes food, housing, and program excursions. The goal of the program is to provide you with intensive foreign language training and to give you an opportunity to explore an incredible new part of the world.

There are 15 supported critical languages: Arabic, Azerbaijani, Bengali, Chinese, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Portuguese, Punjabi, Russian, Swahili, Turkish and Urdu. These languages are less commonly taught in the US but represent significant need in our government and economy. The program is administered by American Councils.

How to win the scholarship

CLS is a competitive scholarship program—during the application process, we were told the value of the award is between $20,000 and $30,000. Here are my tips for winning the award:

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Have a Real Reason You Want to Learn Your Language

When you say that you want to learn Turkish because you’re interested in Turkey or Arabic because you’re Muslim, you need to be more specific. Are you interested in workers’ rights movements in Brazil? Great, you’ve got a reason to study Portuguese. Are you interested in Daoism? That’s a great reason to learn Chinese. Alternatively, if you’re just interested in working with the State Department and you know you want to learn a critical language, that’s a great first reason too. Your next step while developing your application is to figure out which critical language and why, and include that specific reason for that specific language in your application.

Do you already speak Spanish and French and just want the challenge of a new language? That’s a fair reason, but really highlight your language background. For example, Turkish is the largest Turkic language and a portal to Central Asia. Show you deserve the scholarship as a linguist by reading three academic articles on Turkic languages and summarizing the highlights.

Take a Language Class in Advance

Taking a Turkish class in advance not only allows you the opportunity to show real interest in the language, but it also sets you apart from the field. A friend who minored in Turkish at Berkeley and won the CLS award told me a stat that there are fewer than 400 Americans studying Turkish at U.S. universities. Only a fraction of these will apply for the award, so if you have even one Turkish class under your belt, you’ll be among the most competitive applicants in the program.

In my year (2022), there were only 10 of us (out of 24 students in total) who spoke any Turkish when arriving in Ankara. I took Turkish classes for two years prior to the scholarship at Turkish Connexion in New York City, which I’m sure was a key reason I won the award.

…Or Any Class, Really

Though a language class is certainly best—the point of the award is for you to become conversational in the language, and starting with some basis allows you to make much better use of the summer—taking any history, political science, or other class related to your country of choice sets you apart from the crowd. I myself have a major in Classical Studies, and again, much of ancient Greek history (Troy!) played out in modern Turkey.

Why should the judges award a scholarship to study Portuguese to you if you’ve never shown the least interest in Brazil or Angola? Your university will offer some classes related to at least one of the languages, so if you really don’t know where to start, let your college’s class offerings for next semester guide you.

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Write Something Unique. I Talked About Ancient Christianity for a Muslim Country.

Everyone who applies is going to find a reason to learn Turkish, so make yours fit your story. In my application, I focused on my desire to become a pastor. Turkey is an intriguing country for Christians not only because the Apostle Paul, whose writings comprise much of the New Testament, did much of his missionary work in Turkey, but also because of its varied religious history. I’m also interested in systematic theology, so I also talked about St. Thomas Aquinas, who studied Islamic theology and allowed himself to be influenced by Avicenna and other Muslim theologians. I hope my learning about Islam can also help me to become a better theologian in the future. Kurban Bayram, for example, had a real impact on my theological thinking—you can hear more about this in this episode of my podcast:

Presumably, you’ve got some reason you’re picking your language of choice. Even if you’re not quite sure why, reflect on what’s drawing you to your choice. But more importantly, do a little bit of work—read a book, for example—to learn enough to speak intelligently about an important aspect of your chosen region.

Realize in Your Application That You’re Going to Be a Representative of the U.S. Abroad

It’s fashionable today to come across as somewhat disdainful of America. While you should be your authentic self in the application, recognize that the State Department, which sponsor the program, is the U.S.’s diplomatic face and whose mission is to establish good relationships with other countries. The program makes a real effort to select people from diverse backgrounds. If you’re selected, at least a part of that choice will be based on a belief that you can represent the country in a positive light.

Think about things you’re grateful for in the US- success in your family, your public school education, a positive experience you’ve had in life— and make why you’d be a good representative of our country a part of your application. Then, when you win the scholarship, follow through on that. A responsibility of citizenship when traveling abroad is to be the best citizen-diplomat you can be. I wrote in my application about how, every time I go abroad, I bring my hosts a little piece of home by baking American chocolate chip cookies, which have been loved in every country I’ve lived in—from Germany to Turkey to Panama.

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Have One Recommender with Some Connection to the Country or Language You’re Applying For

I asked my Turkish teacher to write me a letter (another reason to take a Turkish class), which I’m sure made a difference. My other recommender was from a Latin class I took, and they were familiar with my dedication to grammar.

If you’re highlighting your politics or computer science chops, pick a recommender who can tell a useful story about why you’re interested in the region of choice. Have that story in mind and explicitly ask them to tell that story, in their own words.

If you’re not sure which language you're interested in and don't have a ton of experience, take language difficulty into account.

Don’t Have ChatGPT Write Your Essay, But Let It Proofread It

If you write your essays with ChatGPT, your essays are going to sound a lot like, well, everyone else’s who used ChatGPT. ChatGPT lacks creativity and certainly doesn’t know your story and your background to make an appealing and unique case.

At the same time, ChatGPT is an incredible tool to find those little mistakes that you don’t notice when reading a text for the 10th time. A quick edit by ChatGPT can make your essays typo-free in a way that human eyes almost never achieve.

Critical Languages on PassionClass

We currently offer classes in three critical languages: Turkish, Arabic, and Portuguese. We’re also looking for teachers of other languages. Browse our classes, sign up today, and dramatically increase your chances of winning a CLS Scholarship.

Closing Thoughts

If you’re lucky enough to win a CLS Scholarship, make the most of it. You can still take language classes after winning the scholarship even if you apply for the beginning level because your level is reassessed at the beginning of the program. Additionally, bring a gift for your host family and purchase a small gift for your teacher to give them at the end of the program. International friendships and friendships among countries matter in creating a peaceful and thriving world—which is the point of the program.

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