Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowships

Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships: Summer 2023 and Academic Year 2023-2024

Academic Year — Graduate Students

Languages offered include Armenian, Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian, Hungarian, Polish, Russian, and Ukrainian. Eligible graduate students in any discipline and department may apply for FLAS fellowships, including students in professional schools and the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Priority is given to students who are pursuing advanced-level language proficiency in these languages, to students demonstrating likelihood of pursuing government service, and/or to students pursuing Master’s degrees in the professional schools.

Heritage speakers may apply, but applicants who already possess native fluency in a language are ineligible to apply to study that language and should consider applying to study a different language. Awards may be given for beginner-level study, pending approval from the U.S. Department of Education. Applicants for beginning level must already have advanced proficiency in another language related to the student’s field of study and demonstrate that learning the new language is required for the student’s overall training and expertise.

Dissertation Awards (“Dissertation Research Abroad” and “Dissertation Writing at Home”) are allowed. Only doctoral candidates at an advanced level of the language of study proposed qualify for this type of award. Candidates must use the language(s) in their dissertation research or writing. These awards, especially writing awards, are intended to support students as they complete their dissertations and earn their degrees.

Jury members look for commitment to the world area and academic field when deciding on applications. Past FLAS recipients may apply for subsequent FLAS funding. In certain cases, FLAS fellowships may be used for language study abroad during an academic year. Contact ISEEES Executive Director Jeff Pennington (jpennington@berkeley.edu) for specifics if you wish to consider using an Academic Year FLAS abroad, for dissertation research abroad, for dissertation writing, or to study at the beginning level.

Academic Year — Undergraduate Students

FLAS awards are open to undergraduates studying a Slavic, East European, or Eurasian language at the Continuing, Intermediate, or Advanced level. Languages funded include Armenian, Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian, Hungarian, Polish, Russian, and Ukrainian. To be eligible, an undergraduate student must have completed at least one year of study of the target language at UC Berkeley by the start of the fellowship.

Eligible students in any discipline and department may apply for FLAS fellowships, and applications from students in pre-professional programs and in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics are encouraged. Priority is given to students who are pursuing advanced level language proficiency in these languages, to students demonstrating likelihood of pursuing government service, and/or to students demonstrating likelihood of continuing language and area studies beyond the fellowship period. Heritage speakers may apply, but applicants who already possess native fluency in a language are ineligible to apply to study that language and should consider applying to study a different language.

Jury members look for commitment to the area and field when deciding on applications. Past FLAS recipients may apply for subsequent FLAS funding. FLAS fellowships may be used to fund academic year study abroad pending approval of the study abroad program by the U.S. Department of Education. Contact ISEEES Executive Director Jeff Pennington (jpennington@berkeley.edu) for specifics if you wish to consider using an Academic Year FLAS for study abroad.

Summer — Graduate Students

Languages funded include Armenian, Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian, Czech, Hungarian, Polish, Russian, and Ukrainian. Applications for summer study of other Slavic, East European, Eurasian, Caucasus, or Central Asian languages are possible, pending approval of the language program by the U.S. Department of Education. 

Eligible graduate students in any discipline and department may apply for FLAS fellowships, including students in professional schools and the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Priority is given to students who are pursuing advanced level language proficiency in these languages, to students pursuing Master’s degrees in the professional schools, and/or students demonstrating likelihood of entering government service as a career.

Heritage speakers may apply, but applicants who already possess native fluency in a language are ineligible to apply to study that language and should consider applying to study a different language. Awards may be given for beginner-level study, pending approval from the U.S. Department of Education. Applicants for beginning level must already have advanced proficiency in another language related to the student’s field of study and demonstrate that learning the new language is required for the student’s overall training and expertise.

Jury members look for commitment to the world area and academic field when deciding on applications. Past FLAS recipients may apply for subsequent FLAS funding. Applications are not accepted for dissertation research abroad.

Students are encouraged to take languages not available at UC Berkeley through the use of a summer FLAS at an institution that has a FLAS-eligible program. UC Berkeley students are encouraged to pursue summer study at the Indiana University Summer Language Workshop (https://languageworkshop.indiana.edu/); the Slavic, East European, and Near Eastern Summer Language Institute at the University of Pittsburgh (https://www.sli.pitt.edu/); the Arizona State University Critical Languages Institute (https://melikian.asu.edu/cli); or the Central Eurasian Studies Summer Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (https://cessi.wisc.edu/), if the desired language and level are offered. These programs may offer their own funding, to which you are welcome to apply as well.

Students wishing to use an award for an overseas language program must be at the intermediate or advanced level of language proficiency, or at the beginning level if a beginning language program in the target language is not available in the U.S. Summer FLAS for language study abroad requires U.S. Department of Education approval of the instructional program and travel itinerary. Depending upon availability of funds, Summer FLAS awards sometimes have provision for up to $1000 in travel assistance. To be eligible, an applicant must provide a travel itinerary which adheres to the Fly America Act.

Contact ISEEES Executive Director Jeff Pennington (jpennington@berkeley.edu) for specifics if you wish to apply to study at the beginning level and/or you wish to apply for a language not specifically listed above.

Summer — Undergraduate Students

Summer FLAS awards are available to undergraduates studying a Slavic, East European, or Eurasian language at the Continuing, Intermediate, or Advanced level. Languages funded include Armenian, Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian, Hungarian, Polish, Russian, and Ukrainian. To be eligible, an undergraduate student must have completed at least two semesters of study of the target language at UC Berkeley by the start of the fellowship.

Eligible students in any discipline and department may apply for a FLAS fellowship, and applications from students in pre-professional programs and in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics are encouraged. Priority is given to students who are pursuing advanced-level language proficiency in these languages, and/or students demonstrating likelihood of entering government service as a career. Heritage speakers may apply, but applicants who already possess native fluency in a language are ineligible to apply to study that language and should consider applying to study a different language. Jury members look for commitment to the world area and academic field when deciding on applications. Past FLAS recipients may apply for subsequent FLAS funding.

Students are encouraged to take languages not available at UC Berkeley through the use of a summer FLAS at an institution that has a FLAS eligible program. UC Berkeley students are encouraged to pursue summer study at the Indiana University Summer Language Workshop (https://languageworkshop.indiana.edu/); the Slavic, East European, and Near Eastern Summer Language Institute at the University of Pittsburgh (https://www.sli.pitt.edu/); the Arizona State University Critical Languages Institute (https://melikian.asu.edu/cli); or the Central Eurasian Studies Summer Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (https://cessi.wisc.edu/), if the desired language and level are offered.

Students wishing to use an award for an overseas language program must be at the Continuing, Intermediate, or Advanced level of language proficiency. Summer FLAS for language study abroad requires U.S. Department of Education approval of the instructional program and travel itinerary. Depending upon availability of funds, Summer FLAS awards sometimes have provision for up to $1000 in travel assistance. To be eligible, an applicant must provide a travel itinerary which adheres to the Fly America Act.

Deadline for all FLAS applications: Monday, February 6, 2024.

For more information, visit the following website: https://grad.berkeley.edu/flas/