Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships
CEAS supports the study of less commonly taught languages and related area studies courses through the FLAS Fellowship Program, which is funded by a grant from the United States Department of Education.
FLAS Fellowships are awards for students concentrating in modern foreign language and international or area studies. CEAS administers FLAS awards for Chinese, Japanese and Korean.
FLAS is available for all UChicago Ph.D. students and M.A. students in programs that last 2 or more years. The FLAS program provides funding for 1) ACADEMIC YEAR study on campus and 2) SUMMER study on campus or elsewhere (domestic or abroad).
Applications for the 2017-2018 Summer and Academic Year FLAS Fellowships will open winter quarter 2017 and the deadline is February 13, 2017.
Academic Year (AY) Fellowship Requirements
STUDENT ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
A student is eligible to receive a fellowship if the student—
- is a citizen or national of the United States OR a permanent resident of the United States AND
- is accepted for enrollment or is enrolled—
-In an institution receiving an allocation of fellowships, and
-in a program that combines modern foreign language training with area or international studies; or
-research and training in the international aspects of professional or other fields of study;
- shows potential for high academic achievement based on such indices such as grade point average, class ranking, or similar measures that the institution may determine;
- is enrolled in a program of modern foreign language training in a language for which the institution has developed or is developing performance-based instruction;
- is engaged in pre-dissertation level study; preparation for dissertation research; dissertation research abroad, or dissertation writing, if a graduate student.
Note about Language Levels Supported by FLAS:
Beginning with academic year 2016-17, the U.S. Department of Education clarified it would not allow the awarding of a FLAS fellowship for beginning level language study unless it met the following exception: “beginning level of a LCTL if a graduate student 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.” Other reasons for studying a beginning level language may also be considered. The U.S. Department of Education must approve all exceptions on a case-by-case basis before the FLAS fellowship can be awarded. Students wishing to apply for a FLAS Fellowship to start the study of a new language, who believe they meet this exception or have other compelling reasons for studying a beginning level language, MUST contact the Associate Director in the area studies center to which they will apply with their request and a brief justification of how this new language will fit into their research and career goals. The area studies centers will then submit a request for an exception. Approval from the U.S. Department of Education must be obtained before the student submits the FLAS application.
SUMMER FELLOWSHIP REQUIREMENTS
BASIC REQUIREMENTS
- A summer fellowship is awarded for intensive language study only.
- A summer fellowship may be used at a domestic program, an overseas program, or both.
- Students can only study abroad at the beginning level of a language if there are no available domestic programs in which to enroll.
REQUIREMENTS OF AN INTENSIVE LANGUAGE PROGRAM
A summer session (domestic or overseas) qualifies as an intensive language program if—
- it is at least six weeks in duration and offers at least 140 contact hours for students at the beginning or intermediate level of the language.
- it is at least six weeks in duration and offers at least 120 contact hours of instruction for students at the advanced level.
A student must meet the required number of weeks and contact hours for his/her level, and may do so by attending one program, attending more than one program, or supplementing hours with private tutoring. If a student’s plan of study includes private tutoring, the student must submit a syllabus for the tutoring and the instructor’s CV to both the area studies center staff and Jessica Smith. Final approval of private tutoring as part of a summer program rests with the Program Officer at the U.S. Department of Education.
Note: Field trips and excursions cannot be used to fulfill contact hour requirements.
OVERSEAS PROGRAM APPROVALS
- All Summer FLAS Fellows who enroll in an overseas program must receive approval from our Program Officer at the U.S. Department of Education. Jessica Smith submits the overseas program requests on behalf of all UChicago FLAS Fellows. In all cases, final overseas program approval rests with the Program Officer, not anyone at the University of Chicago.
- Students at the beginning level of a language will be considered for overseas language study only if an appropriate equivalent beginning language instruction program in the target language is not available in the United States.
For more information please click "Further Official Information" below.
This opportunity has expired. It was originally published here:
https://ceas.uchicago.edu/ceas.uchicago.edu/page/flas