Applicants who are studying a critical need language while abroad in a country or location in which the language is predominantly spoken can apply for a supplemental award of up to $3,000. Critical Need Language Awards for a country or location where a language is not predominantly spoken may be considered for applicants who make a strong case for their desired location in the application essay. As only a limited number of Critical Need Language Awards are available, not all students who apply for and are studying the identified languages will receive a Critical Need Language Award.
Critical Need Language Award recipients who complete their Gilman requirements may take the ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview (OPI), which demonstrates language proficiency for educational, professional, or other purposes. The OPI is offered at no cost to all Critical Need Language Award recipients.
Interested? Submit a short essay that describes how you intend to improve your critical need language skills, your motivations for doing so, and how your study of the language relates to your academic and professional goals. Click here for more information.
Critical Need Languages include:
| Languages |
|---|
| Arabic |
| Azerbaijani |
| Bahasa Indonesian |
| Bangla |
| Chinese (Mandarin) |
| Hebrew** |
| Hindi |
| Japanese |
| Korean |
| Persian |
| Portuguese |
| Punjabi |
| Russian |
| Swahili |
| Turkish |
| Urdu |
You may also use the Critical Need Language Award to study a foreign sign language. Apply for the target language (for instance, Japanese) and explain in your application that you will be studying reading, writing, speaking, and/or Japanese sign language.
**The CNLA for Hebrew language is offered through the generous support of our partners at the Embassy of Israel to the United States. At this time, Israel is not an eligible location for Gilman applicants due to the current Travel Advisory level.
