Congratulations Critical Language Scholars

Congratulations to all the UChicago undergraduates who applied to the Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program!

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, CLS is an intensive language and cultural immersion program that seeks to expand the number of Americans studying foreign languages critical to national security and economic prosperity. Students spend 8-10 weeks studying one of 14 critical languages.

This year, the following students in the College have been recognized as Finalists and Alternates for this scholarship:

• Chisom Akpom (Common Year, 2025), Japanese
• Pravan Chakravarthy (Common Year, 2025), Hindi *Declined*
• William Flowers (Common Year, 2026), Azerbaijani
• Laura Mahaniah (Common Year, 2024), Chinese 
• Cara Wilson (Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, Public Policy Studies, 2025), Arabic

Named Alternates:

• Hira Baig (Public Policy Studies, Mathematics, 2024), Indonesian 
• Lillian Fu (Common Year, 2026), Chinese 
• Annalise Hinkle (History, Sociology, 2024), Persian
• Natalie Larsen (Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, Global Studies, 2025), Arabic
• Danielle Lopez (Comparative Human Development, Anthropology, 2025), Indonesian 
• Luke Magyar (Common Year, 2026), Persian

Read more about UChicago resources for CLS essays and language study here.