(a) The Secretary may provide assistance to an institution of higher education, a consortium of institutions of higher education, or a partnership between a nonprofit educational organization and an institution of higher education to plan, develop, and carry out a program to improve undergraduate instruction in international studies and foreign languages. Those grants must be awarded to institutions, consortia, or partnerships seeking to create new programs or to strengthen existing programs in foreign languages, area studies, and other international fields.

(b) The Secretary gives consideration to an applicant that proposes a program that—

(1) Initiates new or revised courses in international or area studies;

(2) Makes instruction in foreign languages available to students in the program; and

(3) Takes place primarily in the United States.

(c) The program shall focus on—

(1) International or global studies;

(2) One or more world areas and their languages; or

(3) Issues or topics, such as international environmental studies or international health.