Foreign Language Scholarships Feature Big Money

Foreign language studies can be very lucrative. You could uncover veritable gold mines of scholarship funding IF you’re speaking the right language.

The buzzword is “critical need” language.

What does this mean? In some sectors—government, some business and security, there is a high need for professionals able to speak languages native to the Middle East, Asia, and Africa, especially. Historically the most common foreign language studies have been Spanish, French, and German—very common and not considered a “critical need.”

Some of the very best scholarships come directly from the Federal government. Others come from private sources, and of course colleges and universities are also good providers.

Federal Scholarships for Foreign Language Students

Here are some of the fattest (richest and numerous) scholarships for students studying a foreign language:

  • Possibly one of the most competitive and popular scholarships is funded by the National Security Education Program. The Boren Scholarships provide hundreds of undergraduate students with up to $20,000 in scholarship cash. Recipients must be willing to study overseas for an academic year and in a country of “critical need.” Boren Scholars endure intensive studies the country’s language an culture—literally soaking up the local colloquialisms and living the way natives do. This is ultimately a scholarship for service program—Boren Scholars work for at least one year in a National Security agency using the language and skills they learned while on site in their country of study.
  • Boren Fellowships, designed for graduate students, are similar. Recipients may get $30,000 in funding so they can study a critical need language either stateside or abroad.
  • The Department of State Critical Language Scholarships provide student with intensive abroad programs in critical languages: Arabic, Urdu, Russian, Chinese, Persian, Hindi, Punjabi, Bengali, Korean, and Turkish. Students study on-site and scholarships are full-tuition for the program.
  • The Gilman Scholarships are yet another very prestigious and competitive federal program. This, aimed at financially disadvantaged students (Pell Grant recipients), helps hundreds of undergraduate students have a year of study abroad studying a foreign language and cultural studies. Traditionally these students have had little opportunity to study abroad.

State Sources

Biggest chance for state governments to give away scholarships for foreign languages is if the public school systems are suffering a teacher shortage. For student teachers, the opportunity to win some student loan forgiveness or a scholarship for service is pretty good if you are willing to teach in a critical shortage subject area. In many states, one of the shortage areas is often “foreign language.” Check with your state higher education department for current teacher scholarships.

Private Sources

You’ll find many types of scholarships from various private sources, even for foreign language study. Example:

The Corinne Jeannine Schillings Foundation offers an Academic Scholarship to Study a Foreign Language. The award program is open to Girl Scouts who have reached Silver or Gold Award status and are studying a foreign language in an undergraduate program. Awards are $1,500 annually, and renewable.