FLAS Fellowship (Academic Year)

• Eligibility
• Financial Provision
• Languages
• How to Apply

Eligibility

The Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship competition is open to undergraduate (including Barnard College) and graduate students who are U.S. citizens, nationals, or permanent residents who are enrolled or accepted for enrollment in a full-time program (either domestic or overseas) that combines modern foreign language training with international or area studies.

Undergraduate students must be at the intermediate or advanced level of language proficiency and can apply for a Less Commonly Taught Language (LCTL).  LCTL are any modern languages other than Spanish, French, or German.

Ph.D. candidates applying for FLAS dissertation writing or dissertation research abroad must be already at the advanced level of language proficiency. The use of the foreign language in dissertation research must be extensive enough to be able to consider the language improvement facilitated by the research equal to improvement that would be obtained from a full academic year's worth of formal classroom instruction. Please note that since the FLAS program is for language acquisition, use of the FLAS fellowship for dissertation writing or dissertation research is not encouraged by the U.S. Department of Education.

All overseas programs of study must be at the intermediate or advanced level of language proficiency and must be approved by the United States Department of Education at least thirty (30) days prior to the start of the program.

Financial Provision

FLAS awards are contingent upon funding from the U.S. Department of Education.

The FLAS grant amounts are:

• Graduate students tuition grant is $18,000 and the stipend is $15,000
• Undergraduate students tuition grant is $10,000 and the stipend is $5,000.

FLAS fellows are responsible for the on-time payment of the remaining tuition balance and fees.

Languages

Eligible FLAS Languages are listed below along with the world area of concentration for which the language was approved, and eligible levels of proficiency.

How to Apply

All applications must be submitted through GSAS's online fellowship application by Friday, March 1, 2013.  Late or incomplete applications will not be considered.  Please read the directions and information carefully for the entire application.  Applications must include all of the items listed below.  The applicant must upload all items electronically with the exception of the letters of recommendation which are uploaded by the recommenders.

Apply online.

With each FLAS application, you must submit the following supporting materials:

1. Completed online FLAS application form:  Columbia students must include their Columbia e-mail address.
2. Statement of purpose:  The one or two page Statement of Purpose should describe your academic purpose, the role of the proposed language and how you intend to use the language.  Describe how the language and area study will relate to your educational and career goals.  Also indicate previous language experience, both formal and informal.
3. Two letters of recommendation:  You must submit two Letters of Recommendation, preferably from instructors who can comment on your work in the target language and appropriate world area. Recommenders must submit their letters of recommendation electronically.  Applicants must enter the name and  e-mail address of their recommenders in order for them to receive a letter with a link describing how to upload their recommendations.
4. Letter of language evaluation:  For applicants who are at the intermediate or advanced level of proficiency, but not enrolled in a language department, a letter of language evaluation from a language instructor attesting to proficiency in the language of application is recommended but not required.  Evaluators must submit their letters electronically in the manner described above for letters of recommendation.
5. Academic transcripts:  You must scanned copies of your undergraduate and graduate transcripts. You will have the opportunity to upload the scanned copy of your transcript on the online application.

Below are some suggestions on how to upload a transcript:

• Scan at the lowest dpi that results in a legible document (we recommend to use under 200 dpi whenever possible)
• Ensure that the institution name and other identifying marks are not missed during the scanning process and that your scanned copy is clearly legible and can print on letter size paper (8 ½" x 11")
• Include the transcript legend (back page in most cases)
• Save your document as a PDF file
• Make certain that its size is less then 1000kb (1mb). Scanning in “gray scale” or black and white may produce the best results
• If the scanned file is too large then make a photocopy first (experiment with different settings until you find one that results in the smallest file size) then scan the photocopy
• You may upload an institutional web based transcript/academic record

 If you have questions or require further information, please read the FLAS FAQs.  The FLAS coordinator is  Sandra Peters (scp3@columbia.edu).