Corporations and industries are always in need of qualified individuals with the language skills and cultural insight to help them liaise with their overseas business partners. In an ever-expanding global market, students with specific language skills are a great boon to those companies with foreign divisions, and those companies looking to expand into foreign markets.
Connecticut College has recently bolstered support for students and alumni seeking high-profile national fellowships and scholarships through its Office of Fellowships and Scholarships. View the list of fellowships and the .
Fulbright, Rotary, and international grants and scholarships
- Fulbright, Rotary scholarships (see the Fellowships and Scholarships section)
- Critical Language Scholarship Program (US Department of State) allows you to combine your Spanish study with Arabic, Hindi, Persian, Chinese, Japanese or Russian
- American Foundation for Translation and Interpretation, Inc. scholarship
- Boren Undergraduate Scholarships (The National Security Education Program)
- Killam Fellowships
- U.S. Department of Education - The International and Foreign Language Education (IFLE) office administers grant and fellowship programs with the objective of strengthening foreign language instruction, area/international studies teaching and research, professional development for teachers and faculty, and curriculum development at the K-12, graduate, and postsecondary levels. IFLE is led by Deputy Assistant Secretary Mohamed Abdel-Kader.
IES merit-based scholarships
This scholarship is open to students who excel in the study of one of the following foreign languages: Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, or Spanish. Applicants for this scholarship must be accepted to and enroll in an IES Abroad program in which the target language is taught and/or used. Native speakers are ineligible for this scholarship. The scholarship award is for up to $3 000.
Government-sponsored scholarships
- Since 9/11 the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has hired close to 1,000 linguists. It is projected that more new hires will occur in the next fiscal year
- The National Security Agency is aggressively recruiting and plans to hire many language analysts
- The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) offers a Corporate Language Hiring Bonus Program for individuals who have exceptional language skills. New employees who are hired for a language specific occupation must be tested in order to meet eligibility requirements. The size of the language bonus is determined by tested proficiency, language difficulty and level of critical need as determined by the CIA. Individuals may qualify for multiple hiring bonuses if they are proficient in more than one language. The maximum bonus awarded is $35,000 per person.