Scholarships

Scholarships just for studying a language? You bet.

Your first stop should be Scholarships@UW-Madison. Search for scholarships by the language you’re studying or school/college you’re in. Be sure to also browse for international internship or study abroad scholarships. If you’re looking for scholarships for study abroad, check out International Academic Programs, which awards its own scholarships to UW-Madison students, and advises students on study abroad scholarships.

Also consider the Wisconsin International Scholars (WISc) Program, an undergraduate enrichment program for students interested in global affairs, cultures, and languages. Students making satisfactory progress in the program are eligible for $2,000 in two study abroad grants, to be applied toward one short-term and one long-term UW-Madison study abroad program. Students apply to the WISc Program as incoming freshmen, before arriving at UW-Madison. The application deadline is in early February.

Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship
Major fellowships to support undergraduate and graduate students in acquiring language and either area or international studies competencies. FLAS Fellowships are only available for certain languages and, for undergraduates, for language study at the intermediate-advanced levels. Awards are for the academic year or summer. Funded by the U.S. Department of Education.

Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program
Full scholarships for American undergraduate and graduate students to participate in CLS-sponsored overseas summer study programs in languages that are critical to U.S. interests. Funded by the U.S. Department of State.

Project GO (Global Officers)
Fellowships for students in all branches of the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) to participate in intensive summer language programs in the U.S., or summer or academic yearlong study overseas. Funded by the U.S. Department of Defense.

Boren Scholarships and Fellowships
Scholarships of up to $20,000 for U.S. undergraduates and Fellowships of up to $30,000 for U.S. graduate students to study abroad for the summer, semester, or academic year in areas of the world that are critical to U.S. interests and underrepresented in study abroad. Recipients must agree to work for the federal government after graduation in a position with national security responsibilities.  Applicants must meet with the UW-Madison Boren Scholarship (undergrads) or Fellowship (grads) Advisor before applying. Funded by the U.S. Department of Defense.

Russian Language Flagship Scholarship
The Russian Flagship Program is a federally funded program that provides opportunities for UW-Madison undergraduates of any major to reach a professional level of competence in Russian by graduation.

Merit-based scholarships are available for students in the Russian Flagship Program. These scholarships are intended to defray the cost of participating in the intensive summer and study abroad components of the program. Students must be in good standing and citizens or permanent residents of the United States to be eligible. Contracted ROTC cadets in good standing are eligible for scholarships that fully fund Flagship-eligible intensive summer and study abroad programs. Funded by the Language Flagship in the U.S. Department of Defense.

Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program
Grants for U.S. citizen undergraduate students of limited financial means to pursue academic studies or credit-bearing, career-oriented internships abroad. Prioritizes funding for students studying or interning abroad outside of Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand. Scholarships are up to $5,000 to study abroad; awardees who are studying a critical need language are eligible to apply for the Critical Need Language Award of $8,000. Funded by the U.S. Department of State.

Gilman IIE McKeown Scholarship
The Gilman-McKeown Scholarship supplements the Pell Grant and Gilman Scholarship (see above) to make full-year study economically feasible for qualified students. Priority is given to students from/in Minnesota or Wisconsin, but applications are accepted from any state. Students interested in the Gilman-McKeown Scholarship should meet the Gilman selection criteria and apply through the regular Gilman application, with deadlines every October and March.

U.S. Department of State Scholarships
Foreign language skills open doors in today’s interconnected world. The U.S. government offers diverse programs that can help you learn a foreign language critical to national security and economic prosperity. Take our quiz to match your passion to one of our country’s greatest needs.

Global Gateway Initiative
The Global Gateway Initiative is a partnership between International Academic Programs (IAP), the Office of Student Financial Aid, and the Institute for Regional and International Studies, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to increase access to study abroad. The Global Gateway Initiative makes invaluable experiences accessible to students who otherwise might not be able to study abroad while at UW-Madison in two ways: Summer programs and Fellowships.