Anisha Das and Lillian Chien have been selected for the U.S. Department of State’s Critical Language Scholarship. The Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program is a fully funded summer overseas language and cultural immersion program for American undergraduate and graduate students. Its goal is to broaden the base of Americans studying and mastering critical languages. It also aims to build relationships between the people of the United States and other countries.

Anisha will study Bangla in Kolkata, India, this summer. She is a neuroscience major, a member of the Early Medical School Application Program, and is a student in the Science and Technology Honors Program in the UAB Honors College.

Lillian will study Chinese. She is a neuroscience and international studies major and works in the School of Medicine Department of Opthalmology as a research assistant. Fewer than 10 percent of applicants are awarded the CLS Scholarship. Anisha and Lillian are UAB’s 15th and 16th winners of a Critical Language Scholarship since 2007.