The National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) is a scholarship program of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs that provides merit-based scholarships for American high school students and recent high school graduates. Participants study critical languages abroad for a summer or an academic year. Since 2006, over 9,000 U.S. teens have participated in NSLI-Y. Results are based on a 2023 opt-in alumni survey with a 14% response rate.
