The Language Flagship Grants to Institutions of Higher Education

The Language Flagship
CFDA 12.550 Active Grant
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Program Funding

Annual program obligations reported to SAM.gov.

Latest annual funding (estimated)
$13.3M FY2026
$13.3M
FY24
$17M
FY25
$13.3M
FY26*
* estimated

Funded Projects

Examples of what this program has supported.

FY2025 In 2025, 83% of the students completing the Language Flagship Overseas Chinese Capstone Program in Taipei, Taiwan demonstrated Interagency Language Roundtable proficiencies in Mandarin Chinese speaking, reading and listening that meet or exceed US Department of War Cryptologic Language Analyst Knowledge, Skills and Abilities requirements for the Apprentice level, with 62% meeting or exceeding the Journeyman or Master proficiency levels.

Program Objective

(1) To establish centers for the teaching of critical languages that enable students to reach or exceed Level 3 in proficiency based on the Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) scale in African Languages, Arabic, Chinese, Hindi/Urdu, Korean, Persian, and Russian;
(2) To develop curricular, institutional, and instructional models for advanced language learning;
(3) To test those models;
(4) To stimulate institutional support and long term commitment to reforming language learning; and
(5) To improve national capacity in critical languages

Eligibility

Eligible Applicants

  • Interstate Organization
  • Nonprofit Organization

The award for this program is made to a nonprofit organization that administers this assistance program on behalf of DoD. The award is typically a cooperative agreement made to administer this CFDA program as well as CFDA # 12.551 (National Security Education Program David L. Boren Scholarships) and CFDA # 12.552 (National Security Education Program David L. Boren Fellowships). The award is reported to USASpending.gov only under this CFDA number since it has the most funding of the three programs.

How to Apply

Award Procedure

All qualified applications for grants/subawards will be forwarded to an objective review committee. Subaward decisions will be based on a competitive selection of proposals resulting from an independent merit review.

Decision Timeline

  • Approval: From 90 to 120 days
  • Renewal interval: From 30 to 60 days
  • Appeal: From 60 to 90 days

DLNSEO employs academic peer review for all institutional applications.

Program details & compliance

Description

Grants to Institutions of Higher Education to operate domestic and overseas programs for undergraduate students to develop professional level proficiency in critical languages. The critical languages are Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin), Korean, Persian, Portuguese (Brazilian), and Russian.

Mission Categories

Primary: Higher Education

Use of Funds

Allowed Uses

Subawards (grants) are made to U.S. institutions of higher education to develop or strengthen their capabilities to enhance the national capacity and educate U.S. citizens in critical languages and cultures together with a variety of academic and professional disciplines. The National Security Education Act places no special or unique requirements on institutions receiving subawards. The only requirements that govern all Federal subawards will apply to institutions receiving National Security Education Program (NSEP) assistance. No International exchange programs may be funded by NSEP.

Required Documentation

The contractor made grant awards are subject to: 1) receipt of applicable/acceptable certifications and representations from applicant; 2) the applicant having a current registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) (www.sam.gov); 3), the applicant, its principals, proposed subrecipients/subrecipient principals not appearing in SAM Exclusions as currently debarred, suspended, or otherwise ineligible; and 4) the applicant meeting other proposal requirements specified by the awarding office.

Reporting & Compliance

Records Retention
10 years

Applicable 2 CFR 200 Subparts

  • Subpart B — General Provisions
  • Subpart C — Pre-Federal Award Requirements
  • Subpart D — Post-Federal Award Requirements
  • Subpart E — Cost Principles
  • Subpart F — Audit Requirements

Formula

This program has no statutory formula

Contacts

Ed McDermott, — Senior Program Manager
571.256.0756
Suite 08 G 08 4800 Mark Center Dr., Alexandria, VA 22350
Data from SAM.gov Federal Assistance Listings. Source published: 2026-01-19. Spec v2.0. Last synced: 2026-05-29 05:43:10.