Chinese Language Scholarships
Language of the Next World Power
About 20% of the world’s population lives in China, so it’s no surprise that the country is fast becoming an economic, cultural, and athletic powerhouse. Currently China has its hands in a variety of international realms where it is conscious of the needs of developing nations, especially.
Consequently, it makes perfect sense that many college students are now studying Chinese, especially if they expect to perform jobs for international business corporations such as many popular retailers, economic companies, global financial institutions, air carriers, and importers/exporters.
There are a number of different dialects in China, the most popular being Mandarin. And the Chinese written language, which is a system of characters that symbolize sounds and words, is far different than the alphabet to which English speakers are accustomed.
Thus, most Chinese language students must spend a great deal of time and energy to be able to speak, write, and read Chinese with any level of fluency or comfort.
Currently, we could only find three non-study abroad Chinese Language Scholarships available to coeds wishing to pursue a career that requires them to learn this ancient, but still influential, language.
However, it’s likely that there will be more as China opens its doors to foreigners and begins influencing the Western business and recreational world scene. Go here for study abroad scholarships in China.
Scholarship Programs
Middlebury College Language SchoolsVermont’s Middlebury College is renowned for its Language Schools, where students can choose to study Arabic, Chinese, Portuguese, Russian, and/or Chinese during an intensive summer session. There are numerous Kathryn Wasserman Davis Scholarships in Critical Language Study. Awards cover tuition, room, and board for a summer session, and any transportation expenses incurred during the camp is also paid for. You needn’t be a student at Middlebury College to apply, but you must be able to prove that you are "exceptionally qualified" in foreign languages, international studies, international politics and economics, conflict resolution, and/or peace and security studies. Working degreed professionals are also welcome to apply.
University of OregonIf you’re already somewhat fluent in the Mandarin dialect, the University of Oregon offers a Chinese Flagship Scholarship program as part of the National Security Education Program Flagship Language Program. All students with exceptional academic records are encouraged to apply for this competitive funding stream. The program promises a four-year, honors-level, language-intensive program in the academic major of the scholarship recipient’s choice. Please note that a rather detailed recommendation from a current teacher is necessary as part of the application process.
University of IowaAt the University of Iowa, current students can try for their Cheng/Liu Scholarship to underwrite the cost of a "recognized" summer Chinese language program. This $1,000 award is merit-based and open to both grad and undergrad students who are majoring in Chinese at the University’s Department of Asian Languages and Literature.
