Alumni

Alumni are central to the mission of the CLS Program. CLS alumni go on to do a wide variety of great things with their language skills and cultural knowledge, both academically and professionally. In addition to providing information about the program to colleagues, classmates, and people in their communities, CLS Program alumni play a key role in preparing prospective applicants and finalists and serving as citizen ambassadors of their study abroad experiences.

CLS Alumni Society

The Critical Language Scholarship Alumni Society (CLSAS) is an independent organization led by CLS alumni that provides alumni with avenues for professional development, community engagement, and language retention. The association serves as an advocate for the continued advancement of critical language studies and cultural exchange in the U.S. and abroad.

There are a variety of ways to stay connected to CLS alumni and the CLS Program including the following:

Join the CLS Program Official Alumni Group on LinkedIn
Join the CLS Program Alumni Group on Facebook along with your language Facebook group
Create an account at alumni.state.gov to pursue opportunities for alumni of U.S. Department of State exchange program alumni
Keep CLS Program staff up-to-date on your changes in contact information and share news with us via this form, by emailing us, or by calling us at (202) 833-7522

Alumni Ambassadors

CLS Alumni Ambassadors are recent CLS participants who take leadership roles as active representatives of the CLS Program.

Spreading the Word

CLS Alumni are instrumental in our outreach efforts to prospective applications regarding the program. Because CLS is a relatively young initiative, there are still many qualified students at colleges and universities across the U.S. who have not heard of the program. We rely heavily on CLS information sessions to help get the word out to these students, as well as to the faculty and staff at their institutions who will help to promote the program to new students for years to come.