ROTC Language and Culture Training Grants

Project GO (Global Officers) is a DoD-funded initiative that promotes critical language education, study abroad, and intercultural dialogue opportunities within the ROTC student population in order to develop future military officers who possess the

Project Global Officer (Project GO) is a grant program aimed at improving the language skills, regional expertise, and intercultural communication skills of future military officers. Project GO works in support of Army, Air Force, and Navy/Marine ROTC accession strategies and personnel policies. Project GO facilitates collaborative efforts across universities, and also between universities and ROTC leadership. Project GO provides institutional grants to multiple U.S. universities. Grant funding has provided hundreds of summer scholarships to ROTC students for critical language study. Grant funding also supports university infrastructure in the critical languages.

Any accredited U.S. institution of higher education (defined in 20 U.S.C. 1001 of the Higher Education Act of 1965, is eligible to apply for a grant. This includes 2 and 4 year colleges and universities, both public and private. Other organizations, associations, agencies, and foreign institutions may be included in proposals but may not be direct recipients of a grant. Federal government schools are not eligible. Applicants must demonstrate an institutional commitment to increasing the critical language and cross-cultural proficiency of their ROTC students as well as proven institutional capability to provide quality instruction in these subject areas. Institutions applying for institutional grants must have an ROTC unit on their campus.

Accredited U.S. institutions of higher education and their ROTC students.

Grants are awarded on a competitive basis to institutions of higher education to expand ROTC student participation in the study of critical languages and study abroad. Grant awards are only made to U.S. institutions of higher education with ROTC units on their campuses. Grant funds are used for any appropriate academic-oriented experience including student support for intensive domestic and overseas language immersion and academic year interventions to strengthen on-campus or web-based language instruction. Funding may not be used for students in Junior ROTC or students below the legal age limit for participation in ROTC.

Grants are one-year awards and may be renewed up to two years. Additional renewal years are possible based on performance, program needs and availability of funding.

All projects must involve a comprehensive and structured language component and study abroad component although projects do not need to offer each component under their own auspices. All projects must clearly demonstrate strong recruiting and retention plans as well as plans for institutional commitment. All projects has an articulated existing or planned paths to allow Project GO students to reach the minimum ILR level 1 proficiency by the time of their graduation through one intensive language intervention or a series of multiple language interventions.

Award decisions will be based on a competitive selection of proposals resulting from an independent merit review by a panel comprised of specialists in language acquisition and study abroad as well as representatives from the military services.

DLNSEO employs academic peer review for all institutional applications.

Renewals are negotiated and are conducted annually based on national program strategy, institutional performance and availability of funds.