Montclair State University Student Earns U.S. Department of State Critical Language Scholarship (CLS)

Boyle is one of the nearly 700 students from the U.S. to receive this highly competitive and prestigious award and the second Montclair State University student since 2015.

The Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program is a fully-funded 8-10 week summer study abroad program that provides intensive overseas language and cultural immersion. The goal of the program is to broaden the base of Americans studying and mastering critical languages and build relationships between the people of the United States and other countries. CLS provides study opportunities to a diverse range of students from across the United States at every level of language learning. The CLS program plays an important role in preparing U.S. students for today’s globalized workforce by increasing their competitiveness by being in the conversations.

Boyle is very passionate about Chinese culture and hopes to one day be a professional translator in a U.S. – Chinese joint conversation program, such as those by the Fish and Wildlife Service or the World Wildlife Fund. The CLS Program will allow her to continue her two passions of language learning and conservation of the natural world.

“Montclair State University was pleased to submit a record number of 9 applications for the 2021 program in Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Persian, and Swahili. We are particularly proud to have Emily Boyle awarded a scholarship for studying Chinese in Summer 2021. Her interdisciplinary interests in both science and language will meet a critical need in the world” stated Wendy Gilbert-Simon, Student Mobility Coordinator and CLS Advisor. Due to COVID travel restrictions, Emily will participate in her program virtually this year.

For more information about the Critical Language Scholarship, please contact a CLS Advisor: Dr. Renata Blumberg, Associate Professor, Nutrition and Food Studies, Email: blumbergr@montclair.edu or Wendy Gilbert-Simon, Student Mobility Coordinator simonw@mail.montclair.edu.

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