FLAS Fellowships
FOREIGN LANGUAGE AND AREA STUDIES FELLOWSHIP
Applications for the 2024 – 2025 FLAS fellowship open on November 15, 2023, and close on February 2, 2024.
For FLAS details, please view the FLAS Fellowship Informational video and read the FAQ. For more details, contact Ada Umenwaliri, adaozo@email.unc.edu
Foreign Language & Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships is a U.S. Department of Education program that supports students interested in languages and area studies courses.
The African Studies Center (ASC) offers both Academic Year and Summer Fellowships to meritorious graduate and undergraduate students in all disciplines and professional schools. This grant cycle, the ASC is able to award academic year fellowships only to graduate students. Summer fellowships can be awarded to both graduate and undergraduate students.
The Fellowship supports language study in less commonly taught languages and related area studies. ASC’s priority languages are Arabic (N. Africa career/research focus), Kiswahili, Wolof, Yoruba, and other Sub-Saharan African languages. We will consider African languages not taught at UNC for summer fellowships.
An AY FLAS Fellow is required to take one language course and one area studies course each semester during the academic year. If receiving a summer fellowship, the student must be enrolled in an intensive language program. Specific requirements apply for the summer language program. We encourage reading the FLAS FAQ on this page and contacting the FLAS coordinator for more information if needed.
Fellowships Offered
- Summer
Summer FLAS fellows receive $5,000 towards tuition and fees and $3,500 as a stipend for approved intensive summer language courses in the U.S. or abroad. A travel stipend of $1,000 is available for qualified fellows.
- Academic Year (AY)
AY FLAS fellows receive a $20,000 stipend plus full tuition and fees. Fellows are required to take at least one language and one area studies course each semester to meet the requirement. If selected as a FLAS fellow, you are required to obtain a confirmation from your home/academic department.
FLAS fellowships could affect financial aid packages. If awarded, we recommend that you contact the Office of Student Financial Aid to determine implications, if any.
Eligibility
Students must be a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident.
Undergraduate applications are accepted by the ASC for Summer study only and for Intermediate, 2nd year, and Advanced, 3rd year, and beyond levels only, not for 1st year of language study.
Graduate applications are accepted for all levels; however, FLAS requirements specify that graduate students at the beginning level, 1st year, of language study must speak another language of the region to proficiency.
Application
The application deadline for 2024-2025 FLAS Fellowships is February 2, 2024.
The FLAS committee reviews all applications and ranks them using a weighted scale that considers academic merit, priority languages, demonstrated financial need, and the extent to which the proposed study or use of the language matches Title VI priorities.
Application Components:
- Academic Information & FLAS Language Information
- Statement of purpose
- Resume
- Transcript(s) (can be unofficial copies)
- Two letters of reference
- For Masters level and JD students: short statement of research/study interests
- For PhD students: short research abstract
- FLAS Language Evaluation Form: Applicants must have their skills evaluated by a language instructor if they have any prior experience in the language of application.
Applicants must submit a complete FLAS Application Form by 11:59 p.m. EST, on the deadline. Recommendations, transcripts and other required documents are all due by the deadline. Any late submissions may result in disqualification.
Download Language Evaluation Form
FLAS Application
Download FAQ
For more information on FLAS, please see the Department of Education FLAS Brochure