FLAS which stands for Foreign Language and Area Studies is a fellowship program funded by the US Department of Education to provide allocations of the academic year and summer fellowships to higher institutions in other to support graduate and undergraduate students studying less commonly taught languages and cultures, in particular, those considered to be of critical interest to the United States.
FLAS Fellowships program was established to promote the training of students who plan to make their careers in college or university teaching, government service, or other employment where knowledge of foreign languages and cultures is a prerequisite for success. Eligible students apply for fellowships directly to an institution that has received an allocation of fellowships from the U.S. Department of Education.
Students receiving Academic Year Fellowships must be enrolled in full-time study for the duration of the FLAS award and must take one language course and one related area or international studies course each semester
The goals of FLAS Fellowships program are:
- To assist in the development of knowledge, resources, and trained personnel for modern foreign language and area or international studies.
- To foster foreign language acquisition and fluency.
- To develop a domestic pool of international experts to meet national needs.
Languages you can learn in FLAS Fellowship:
Arabic, Armenian, Bengali, Bosnian, Chinese, Croatian, Czech, Filipino, Hebrew, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Korean, Nahuatl, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Quechua, Russian, Serbian, Tamil, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu, Uyghur, Uzbek, Vietnamese, Yiddish, Yoruba.
The languages listed above have been pre-approved as eligible. Restrictions may apply to certain languages. Other languages may be approved on a case-by-case basis
Each FLAS grantee must be meet the following eligibility criteria:
- Citizenship: U.S. citizen or permanent resident
- Student Status:
- Undergraduate
- Graduate/Professional
Graduate students who are US citizens or permanent residents AND who are enrolled (or accepted for enrollment) in a program that combines modern foreign language training with international or area studies or with the international aspects of professional or other fields of study.
As per the U.S. Department of Education’s guidelines and recommendations, FLAS awards for graduate students at the beginner level will be granted only if “a graduate has achieved advanced proficiency in another language of the world area of specialization — and if learning a second language of that world area is required for the student’s overall training and expertise.” Receiving FLAS at the beginner level, however, is an exception that is subject to the approval of the U.S. Department of Education.
If you are planning to apply for FLAS at the beginner level as a graduate student, please indicate in which language you achieved advanced proficiency, and why studying another language from the same region at the beginner level will contribute to your expertise and training in your application.
Undergraduates who are US citizens or permanent residents AND who have declared a major by the application deadline and who will study a FLAS language at the intermediate or advanced level during the fellowship year.
Language Fluency: Native speakers are not eligible. A student who already possesses language fluency equivalent to an educated native speaker in the language for which the award is sought will be assigned the lowest priority in the selection of fellows.
FLAS Fellowship Application Instructions
Each fellowship application requires the creation of a free online Interfolio account and completion of the application in that system. In addition to entering information into the account, you will need to upload:
- A personal statement regarding your planned use of the FLAS fellowship. This is a one-page, single-spaced, essay describing why this language study is essential to realizing your study and career goals.
- Your curriculum vitae.
- Unofficial higher education transcript(s) of your most recent academic work in digital format. Transcripts may be verified during the review process.
- Two letters of recommendation (you will request them through the system). When you ask the faculty members for a recommendation, tell them that all letters of recommendation must specifically address how a FLAS would contribute to your current program of study or would be integrated with it.
The online application for the Summer 2021 and Academic Year 2021-22 FLAS Fellowships will open in November of 2020.