<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2IJw9a_1H2spTA600" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2IJw9a_1H2spTA600" width="2000" height="1500" ><figcaption>The Herald spoke to four Brown students, who are program alums, about their experiences and advice for prospective applicants.&nbsp;</figcaption></figure>On Nov. 17, undergraduate and graduate students around the country will finish submitting their applications for the Critical Language Scholarship Program. Administered by the U.S. Department of State, the summer program offers intensive language instruction in nine languages through classroom education and cultural immersion.Selected students receive the opportunity to travel abroad and stay with host families. In eight weeks, students learn the equivalent to one year of college-level language study.The Herald spoke to four Brown students, who are program alums, about their experiences and advice for prospective applicants. Skye Andros ’28 studied Arabic with CLS this past summer in Meknes, Morocco. She said that highlights of her experience included bonding with the other students in her cohort and experiencing a different culture. For Andros, an average day at the Arab American Language Institute in Morocco began with a few hours of class in Fusha, a modern form of Classical Arabic. After a lunch break, she often received more lessons in Darija, a North African dialect. Some days, the group participated in a cultural activity, which ranged from calligraphy classes to learning about spices. After regularly scheduled activities ended, Andros often visited local cafes and studied with her friends. Andros said the program greatly improved her vocabulary and confidence in speaking Arabic. Whether it was conversing with her host family, ordering at a coffee shop or going to the gym, she felt the program gave her “real-world experience” that she couldn’t have gotten in the United States.Andros encouraged CLS hopefuls to emphasize their love of the language, their preparedness to live in another country and their commitment to the program. Sarah Wafa ’28 participated in the program this past summer, studying Arabic in Tangier, Morocco. In an email to The Herald, she wrote that her experience was “incredible overall.” “The opportunities to explore such a lively place, especially during Morocco’s advancement through the World Cup, (were) really special,” she wrote.Wafa described the application process as “pretty straightforward.” She wrote that her Arabic professor — who was also an advisor for the program at Brown — encouraged her to apply and supported her throughout the process. Brown’s Center for Language Studies helps provide personalized advising for students applying to the program. Last year, 57 Brown students applied.Anurag Bhat ’28 participated in the program in summer 2025 and studied Hindi in Jaipur, India. He took classes in advanced Hindi at Brown throughout his first year and thought CLS “would be a really interesting way to take the language beyond the classes at Brown.”While he said the program was “exhausting” at first, Bhat said it quickly became “really fun” as he got settled and became close with his cohort. On weekends, he went on day trips with his cohort, including a trip to the Taj Mahal and to various forts for a movie they shot for their final project.Bhat said that in his application, he focused on his passions and what he wanted to do with Hindi. He recommended that applicants be “as authentic and passionate as possible.” “They definitely want to see that you are genuinely enthusiastic,” he said. But he added that students could also acknowledge what might be difficult about the trip in their application. “Every single person faces challenges during the trip,” he said. “But a big part of it is” how you get through them, he said.Bhat said he gained significant confidence in his Hindi throughout the program and formed “long-term connections” with his cohort, professors and host family. “If you’re considering applying, definitely do it,” he said. Coleton Hast GS studied Mandarin Chinese in New Taipei, Taiwan with the program last summer. He sought to improve his language skills to ultimately better conduct research in Taiwan for his Ph.D. in anthropology.In an email to The Herald, Hast wrote that he has been sporadically learning Chinese over the past 10 years and had lived in Taiwan for two years while completing his master’s degree. “It was a rewarding, but very challenging summer,” Hast wrote. He described developing “strong relationships” with his host mom, Chinese teacher and cohort.But “it is definitely an intensive language program first and foremost,” he said.For Hast, highlights included celebrating the Dragon Boat Festival, hiking Yangmingshan with his host mom and attending his friends’ wedding in Hualien — where he used to live. CLS is a program that funds “students from so many different backgrounds without the expectation of future government service,” Hast said.He noted that acceptances have dropped from about 500 and 600 scholarships awarded in previous years to 315 last year. The 2026 Consolidated Appropriations Act allotted $667 million to all of the State Department’s educational and cultural exchange programs, a $74 million decrease from the previous year.The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. “Any time I am asked about CLS, I make the affirmative case for the necessity of language immersion and language education,” Hast wrote. “Programs that fund language education and international exchange are an absolutely essential part of a robust college education.”</div></body>

Block Source: Brown Daily Herald

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On Nov. 17, undergraduate and graduate students around the country will finish submitting their applications for the Critical Language Scholarship Program. Administered by the U.S. Department of State, the summer program offers intensive language instruction in nine languages through classroom education and cultural immersion. Selected students receive the opportunity to...

Critical Language Scholarship Program provides language learning, cultural exchange for Brown students

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On Nov. 17, undergraduate and graduate students around the country will finish submitting their applications for the Critical Language Scholarship Program.

Critical Language Scholarship Program provides language learning, cultural exchange for Brown students

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