Program Description: In coordination with the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department of State (State), the U.S. Department of Education (ED) is soliciting applications in support of the administration of the Centers Aligned with Areas for National Need program. This program provides grants to institutions of higher education (IHEs) or consortia of IHEs to address one or more of the following areas of national need by teaching languages of strategic importance to the United States’ national security and economic prosperity, such as Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Hungarian, Polish, Russian, Czech, Arabic, Swahili, Hausa, Hindi, Urdu, Mandarin, Korean, Japanese, Farsi, Bahasa, Thai, and other languages; providing instruction in fields needed to provide understanding of areas, regions, or countries in which the language is used; supporting research and training in international studies and the international and foreign language aspects of professional and other fields of study; and advancing the national security interests of the United States by providing instruction on critical regions such as Latin America, Europe, Eurasia, Middle East, Africa, and Asia.

Assistance Listing Number: 84.015C.

Applicants are required to follow the 2025 Common Instructions for Applicants to Department of Education Discretionary Grant Programs, published in the Federal Register on August 29, 2025 (90 FR 42234) and available at ED 2025 Common Instructions.