Emilee Matheson Selected for U.S. Department of State Critical Language Scholarship Program

Emilee Matheson, an undergraduate student at Utah State University, has been awarded a U.S. Department of State Critical Language Scholarship to study Arabic during the summer of 2021. Matheson is one of nearly 700 competitively selected American students at U.S. colleges and universities who received a 2021 CLS award. This is her second consecutive year receiving the scholarship.

“The scholarship is focused on fostering language skills within the United States so that Americans can compete in a globalized world,” Matheson said. “That could be in the business world, it could be in national security. I’d like to focus working on international relations and national security. Arabic is a super useful language and I think it will be a good steppingstone in my career.”

The U.S. Department of State’s Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program is part of a U.S. government effort to expand the number of Americans studying and mastering critical foreign languages. CLS scholars gain critical language and cultural skills that enable them to contribute to U.S. economic competitiveness and national security.

“I know from previous experience that my language skills grew tremendously,” Matheson said. “I’m just excited to see where they end up after these eight weeks, especially since I have another year of Arabic at USU to build upon what I gained from the program.”

The CLS Program provides opportunities to U.S. undergraduate and graduate students to spend eight to ten weeks studying one of 15 critical languages: Arabic, Azerbaijani, Bangla, Chinese, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Portuguese, Punjabi, Russian, Swahili, Turkish, or Urdu. The program includes intensive language instruction and structured cultural enrichment experiences designed to promote rapid language gains. The CLS Program is developed in partnership with local institutions in countries where these languages are commonly spoken. CLS scholars are expected to continue their language study beyond the scholarship and apply their critical language skills in their future careers.

“I’m not surprised Emilee received this award for two consecutive years, as she is highly qualified and has been pursuing fluency in Arabic for several years, and she put a lot of effort into her applications,” said Emma Wright, the study abroad advisor certified to approve Critical Language Scholarship applications from USU students. “There are many attainable scholarships for foreign language studies and study abroad in general, and USU students come highly qualified. I strongly encourage more students to reach out to our office for assistance and to take advantage of the many scholarships available.”

The CLS Program plays an important role in preparing U.S. students for the 21st century’s globalized workforce, increasing American competitiveness, and contributing to national security. CLS scholars also serve as citizen ambassadors, representing American values and the diversity of the United States.

Due to the global pandemic, the majority of CLS institutes in 2021 will be offered as a virtual program. CLS Virtual Institutes in 2020 resulted in impressive language gains among participants with opportunities for virtual engagement with host communities abroad.

CLS scholars represent a broad diversity of backgrounds and perspectives. The CLS Program actively recruits in states and regions of the United States that have been historically under-represented in international education. Recipients of the 2021 CLS awards include students from over 255 institutions of higher education across the United States, including public and private universities, liberal arts colleges, minority-serving institutions, military academies, and community colleges.

Since 2006, CLS has awarded scholarships to more than 8,000 American students to learn critical languages around the world. CLS scholars are among the more than 50,000 academic and professional exchange program participants supported annually by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. These exchange programs build respect and positive relations between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.

USU’s Office of Global Engagement offers scholarship advising and workshops for applying for foreign language and study abroad based awards such as the Benjamin A. Gilman, the Boren Awards, the Freeman-Asia, and the Critical Language Scholarship.

For further information about the Critical Language Scholarship, visit www.clscholarship.org.