Norcross is among the approximately 550 U.S. undergraduate
and graduate students selected for the U.S. Department of State’s CLS Program
in 2014 to study Arabic, Azerbaijani, Bangla, Chinese, Hindi, Korean,
Indonesian, Japanese, Persian, Punjabi, Russian, Turkish, or Urdu languages. U.S. students will spend seven to ten weeks
in intensive language institutes this summer in 13 countries where these
languages are spoken. The CLS Program
provides fully-funded, group-based intensive language instruction and
structured cultural enrichment experiences designed to increase language
fluency and cultural competency. CLS
Program participants are expected to continue their language study beyond the
scholarship and apply their critical language skills in their future
professional careers.
The CLS Program is part of a U.S. government effort to
expand dramatically the number of Americans studying and mastering critical
foreign languages. Selected finalists for the 2014 CLS Program hail from all 50
states, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia and represent more than 200
institutions of higher education from across the United States, including
public and private universities, liberal arts colleges, minority-serving
institutions and community colleges.
During CLS Program outreach activities, particular attention
is paid to states/regions of the United States that have been historically
under-represented in the CLS applicant pool and to students from diverse
backgrounds and academic majors. The CLS Program also encourages diversity in
the independent, merit-based review process.
In 2014, over 300 professionals representing 43 states and the District
of Columbia, and 183 institutions participated in the selection process for the
CLS Program.
CLS Program participants are among the more than 40,000
academic and professional exchange program participants supported annually by
the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA)
to promote mutual understanding and respect between the people of the United
States and the people of other countries.
The CLS Program is administered by American Councils for International
Education and The Ohio State University / Ohio University.
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For further information about the CLS Program or other
exchange programs offered by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of
Educational and Cultural Affairs, please visit http://www.clscholarship.org and
http://exchanges.state.gov.
