Georgetown University

Background and Sponsorship

The English for Heritage Language Speakers (EHLS) Scholarship Program is a partnership among the National Security Education Program, the Center for Applied Linguistics, and Georgetown University.

Funding for program development and scholarships is provided by the National Security Education Program. In 2004, federal law pertaining to the NSEP was amended to provide scholarships for native speakers of languages critical to national security. Scholarship recipients attend special programs to raise their English proficiency from advanced level to professional level (ILR 3).

The Center for Applied Linguistics manages the program which is hosted by Georgetown University. More information about the EHLS Program can be found on the CAL website.

The GU-EHLS Scholarship Program was launched in March 2006 with nine students. Their native languages were Arabic, Chinese, Korean, and Russian. All had advanced degrees, many with more than one professional diploma. The inaugural class graduated on August 25, 2006.

In subsequent years of the EHLS program, scholars’ native languages have included Arabic, Mandarin, Dari, Farsi, Pashto and Urdu. Professional areas of interest range from medicine and molecular biology to finance, geophysics, and linguistics. 

 


News and Announcements

 

Is EHLS the program for you?

Do all the following requirements apply to you?

  • Native speaker with professional-level proficiency in Arabic, Dari, Farsi, Hausa, Hindi, Igbo, Mandarin, Pashto, Punjabi, Somali, Swahili or Urdu
  • Advanced proficiency in English
  • U.S. citizenship
  • College degree
  • Ability to commit to full-time daytime study for 6 months at Georgetown University followed by two months part-time online study
  • Willingness to work for the federal government for 1 year

If so, please see About the Program.