Cultural Facts Language Preview Hear from our students Program Info
The Critical Languages Institute is a national training institute for less commonly taught languages, offering summer intensive courses and study-abroad programs around the world.
Every summer, CLI brings students from across the U.S. together to develop their linguistic and cultural competency rapidly and effectively through intensive immersion programs. Explore the tabs above to learn more about the Albanian course offerings at CLI.
Dive into the Language
Population:
Spoken by over 7,500,000 people
Vibrant Celebrations:
Independence Day (Dita e Pavarësisë): Celebrates Albanian's independence from the Ottoman Empire.
Liberation Day (Dita e Çlirimit): Celebration of liberation from Nazi occupation in 1944.
The Albanian alphabet has:
36 letters
29 consonants
7 vowels
Spoken by the Stars
Albanian is widely spoken by huge social influencers including Mother Theresa, Dua Lipa, Ismail Kadare, Rita Ora, Eliza Dushku, and many more.
Rich coffee culture
Experience Albania, where coffeehouses thrive on every street corner. With over 18,000 cafes, the country holds the title for the highest number of coffee shops per capita, offering a unique blend of tradition and hospitality in every cup.
Savor the Flavors
Albanian cuisine blends Mediterranean and Balkan flavors, featuring dishes like Byrek (savory pastry) and Tavë Kosi (lamb with yogurt). With a coastline, seafood is also popular, and meals often end with Rakija, a strong fruit brandy.
Language Preview
"Good day"
Ditë të mbarë
"Good Morning"
Mirëmëngjes
"How are you?"
si jeni?
Hear from our students
Location of Language
Albania is situated in Southeastern Europe on the western Balkan Peninsula. It shares borders with Montenegro, Kosovo, North Macedonia, and Greece, and has coastlines along the Adriatic and Ionian Seas.
Program Information
Course Options
First-year Albanian provides beginners a solid introduction to Albanian grammar and conversation. Students who complete the course successfully will reach a proficiency of Novice High or Intermediate Low.
Dates: May 27 - July 11, 2025 (May 26, July 4 Holiday)
Times: 8:30am to 12:30pm MST
Students will be able to communicate in day-to-day situations in Albanian, will be able to read and write effectively on familiar topics, and will have a solid foundation for further study or travel.
The program introduces Albanian culture through authentic materials and media, as well as activities in Albanian and structured interactions with Albanian speakers.
First-year Albanian combines 4 hours a day of online classroom instruction(140 contact hours) as well as daily informal activities in Albanian led by facilitators representing Albanian-speaking communities from around the world.
Number of Credits: 8
Program Fee: $2,000
Apply Now
Program Handbook
CLI Online Programs Handbook 2025
First-year Albanian students enrolled in this program's introductory course will immerse themselves in Albanian culture while strengthening their mastery of the language through specially designed courses and extramural activities.
Dates: Online: May 27 - July 11, 2025 (May 26, July 4 Holiday)
Times: 8:30am to 12:30pm MST
Tirana: July 14 - August 8, 2025
A 30-minute taxi ride to the Adriatic beaches of historic Durres and a short cable-car ride to the pine forests of the Dajti Mountains, Tirana is Albania's administrative, cultural, economic, and industrial center. Tirana is a vibrant, youthful Mediterranean city with a thriving cafe and nightlife. This small, flexible program is customized to meet the needs of each participant.
Excursion and activity schedules vary from year to year but have included:
- Downtown Tirana: The National Museum, the Ethem Bej Mosque, Sahat Kulla, Ministry Row, and Rinia Park
- National Art Gallery
- Tirana Archeological Museum
- Grand Park
- Sky Tower
- Cave of Pellumbus
- Kruja and Kruja fortress
- Durrës: Durrës Amphitheater, Durrës Archeological Museum, Dajti Nature Reserve
*This list may be modified for students with prior experience in the region.*
The CLI Summer in Tirana program is administered for CLI by American Councils.
Program Fees
First Year Albanian synchronous online program fee of $2,000 and 4-week extension in Tirana, Albania program fee of $4,400* includes:
- 140 hours of performance-based online classroom Instruction
- 60 hours of performance-based classroom instruction in Tirana, Albania
- 11 academic credits (8 for online sessions, 3 for study abroad)
- 4 weeks of housing in homestays
- pre-departure orientation
- arrival orientation
- excursions and activities
- rides to and from Tirana airport
- traveler's insurance
Not Included:
- housing or food costs while attending the online portion of the program
- international travel / travel expenses
- lunches, dinners
- books and materials
- personal expenses
- mobile phones / phone card
*All prices and descriptions on this page are subject to change. Participants are responsible for checking current prices and details before signing billing, housing, or meal contracts*
Apply Now
Program Handbooks
CLI Online Programs Handbook 2025
CLI Albanian in Tirana Handbook 2025
Second-year Albanian students will solidify their command of Albanian and raise their listening, speaking, and communicative skills to the Intermediate Low level or better. Graduates can interact in day-to-day life in Albania with ease and comfort.
Dates: June 16 - August 8, 2025
A 30-minute taxi ride to the Adriatic beaches of historic Durres and a short cable-car ride to the pine forests of the Dajti Mountains, Tirana is Albania's administrative, cultural, economic, and industrial center. Tirana is a vibrant, youthful Mediterranean city with a thriving cafe and nightlife. This small, flexible program is customized to meet the needs of each participant.
Excursion and activity schedules vary year to year but have included:
- Downtown Tirana: The National Museum, the Ethem Bej Mosque, Sahat Kulla, MInistry Row, and Rinia Park
- National Art Gallery
- Tirana Archeological Museum
- Grand Park
- Sky Tower
- Cave of Pellumbus
- Kruja and Kruja fortress
- Durrës: Durrës Amphitheater, Durrës Archeological Museum
- Dajti Nature Reserve
*This list may be modified for students with prior experience in the region.*
The CLI Summer in Tirana program is administered for CLI by American Councils.
Program Fee
The second-year Albanian in Tirana, Albania program fee of $8,800* includes:
- 160 hours of performance-based classroom instruction
- 8 academic credits
- 8 weeks of housing in homestays
- pre-departure orientation
- arrival orientation
- excursions and activities
- phone and phone card
- rides to and from Tirana airport
- traveler's insurance
It does not include:
- international travel / travel expenses
- lunches, dinners
- books and materials
- personal expenses
- mobile phone / phone card
*All prices and descriptions on this page are subject to change. Participants are responsible for checking current prices and details before signing billing, housing, or meal contracts
Program Handbooks
CLI Albanian in Tirana Handbook 2025
Funding Options
The Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships program provides allocations of academic year and summer fellowships to institutions of higher education or consortia of institutions of higher education to assist meritorious undergraduate students and graduate students undergoing training in modern foreign languages and related area or international studies. Eligible students apply for fellowships directly to an institution that has received an allocation of fellowships from the U.S. Department of Education.
The Melikian Center offers both academic year and summer-length FLAS Fellowships. The application for both Academic year and Summer 2025 FLAS Fellowships will close on January 31st, 2025.
The Summer 2025 Foreign Language & Area Studies Fellowship (FLAS) provides eligible students with a $3,500 stipend and $5,000 in tuition during the Summer 2025 semester for funding intermediate and/or intensive study of Albanian, Armenian, Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian (BCS), Kazakh, Macedonian, Persian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Tatar, Turkish, Ukrainian, or Uzbek domestically or abroad.
Supported by the Melikian Center's endowment and by private donations, the Melikian Center Awards Program provides scholarships of up to $2,000 for superior applicants to study critical languages at CLI's domestic programs and up to $6,000 towards CLI's study abroad offerings.
This funding opportunity is open to all CLI applicants. High school, community college, and non-students are especially encouraged to apply.
An application for this funding is included in every CLI Language Program application.
The Melikian Center offers up to a $1,000 reduction of the published CLI program fee for qualified Pell Grant eligible students and non-students with an annual family income of $50,000 or less. This $1,000 reduction applies to online, online plus study-abroad, or study-abroad programs. Please note that a limited number of fee reductions are available; not all students who apply will receive a need-based fee reduction.
To qualify for this funding opportunity, please indicate your Pell Grant eligibility on your general CLI program application.
The State Department's Gilman Scholarship provides awards of up to $5,000 for students in financial need to study abroad, including in CLI overseas programs. Gilman applications require certification of the program by your institution's study-abroad office. If you apply for Gilman support, please contact [email protected] for assistance in getting the required information to your institution.
Gilman summer study applications are accepted from August to October and January to March. Students interested in this opportunity should apply for the early competition, if possible, since applicants to the later competition will not learn their award status until after the deadline to commit to CLI study. Please contact [email protected] for details on timing your Gilman application.
An external application is required to apply for this funding opportunity.
The Department of State's Title VIII program funds graduate students with U.S. citizenship to study less commonly taught languages.
Students who apply for an online-only program may receive up to $5,500. Students who apply for an online program with a 4-week abroad extension may receive up to $10,500. Students who apply for an 8-week study abroad program through CLI may receive up to $10,500.
Past CLI Title VIII fellows can be awarded the fellowship up to two more times, for a maximum of up to 3 fellowship awards, as long as they maintain their graduate student eligibility.
