The Latin American Institute administers the federally-funded Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship program for Latin America at UCLA, supporting graduate and undergraduate training in Quechua, Portuguese, Nahuatl and Advanced Spanish, combined with area studies.
FLAS fellowships are provided by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Title VI program.The purpose of the FLAS program is to enrich the nation’s pool of area and international specialists. Applicants should intend to use their training to serve in government, international or non-governmental agencies, or to engage in other work that advances American understanding of other countries.
Fellows will be selected on the basis of academic achievement, language ability, significance and applicability of proposed course of study, commitment to apply language and area studies in future career, strength of recommendations, and national demands to train specialists in particularly critical fields. In addition to the aforementioned, high consideration will be given to students who demonstrate financial need and those who plan to go into government service.
Eligibility
Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Continuing UCLA graduate students and continuing undergraduates may apply for academic year and/or summer awards. Incoming graduate students and undergraduate transfer students may apply for academic year awards.
All students must study target languages at the intermediate or advanced level during the fellowship period to be eligible for FLAS awards (restrictions apply for summer programs abroad, see below). Spanish may only be studied at the advanced level.
Please note: Spanish has the lowest priority.
Students are not allowed to combine a FLAS award with another funding source that covers tuition, this includes TAship, and GSR appointment.
Fellowship Requirements
All FLAS recipients are required to complete pre- and post-award assessment and language proficiency reports for the U.S. Department of Education. In addition, recipients will be surveyed every two years for eight years following graduation regarding their employment and the extent to which the FLAS language is being used.
ACADEMIC YEAR (2018-19) FLAS awards require that students take one language and one area or international studies course (with Latin American content) each quarter during the academic year. Recipients must be enrolled as full-time students during the duration of the fellowship.
• Courses must be taken for a letter grade. Independent study courses are not accepted.
• Awards for dissertation research carry the lowest priority, and require prior approval from the U.S. Department of Education. In addition, applicants must be at the advanced level of proficiency.
SUMMER (2018) FLAS awards provide funding for intensive language study programs in the U.S. or abroad, and must be approved by the U.S. Department of Education. Programs must be a minimum of six-weeks in length and offer a minimum of 140 contact hours for beginning and intermediate level students, or 120 hours for advanced level students.
• Other languages of the Americas, such as Haitian Creole, Zapotec, and Maya, may be eligible for summer study.
• FLAS awards may not be used for an overseas language program at the beginning level unless there is no equivalent program in the U.S.
• Students are not eligible for a summer FLAS awards if they will graduate June 2018.
• Summer FLAS is not available for dissertation research. Summer awards are intended to support intensive language study and should not be used for research purposes or to participate in an internship program.
Need help identifying summer programs? The CLASP website maintains a list of summer programs in less-commonly-taught and indigenous Latin American languages.
Estimated Award Amounts
• Academic-year graduate awards provide a $15,000 stipend and up to $18,000 in tuition and fees.
• Academic-year undergraduate awards provide a $5,000 stipend and up to $10,000 for tuition.
• Summer FLAS fellowships provide up to $5,000 toward tuition and fees (excluding room & board) as well as a $2,500 stipend, and up to $1,000 travel award.
Awards are contingent on UCLA receiving continued funding from the U.S. Department of Education
Application Requirements
All FLAS applications must be submitted online (see links below). Eligible students can apply for both a summer and academic year award, but must submit a separate application for each. Students will need to submit the following:
• 1-2 page statement of purpose outlining your language study plans and describing how study of the region and proposed language will enhance your academic and/or research interests, is relevant to your overall professional and career goals, and aligns with the purpose of the FLAS program.
• Resume/CV
• Unofficial Transcripts (not URSA)
• Financial Aid Documents: 2018-2019 FAFSA Student Aid Report (SAR) and your most recent Financial Aid Letter. (Optional but highly encouraged)
• Two academic letters of recommendation
• Language Evaluation: If you have some knowledge of the language that you are applying to, and will study at the intermediate level or above during the award period, you will need to complete a language evaluation (AP exams or other certificates are not allowed). See below for details.
In addition to the above, SUMMER FLAS APPLICANTS, must provide:
• Detailed Budget
• Summer Program Information: Program name, start/end date, total number of weeks, total number of contact hours and link to program website and/or program brochure.
APPLY NOW:
Summer FLAS Application
Academic Year FLAS Application
ADDITIONAL APPLICATION INFORMATION:
RECOMMENDATION LETTERS & THE LANGUAGE EVALUATION are submitted online through the application portal. Your recommenders and language evaluator will receive an email with a link to access your application and submit their documents once you submit your application.You will be asked to provide the names and email addresses for two recommenders and a language evaluator (if applicable) in the Academic References" and "Language Evaluator" section of each FLAS application.
What does the language evaluation form look like? View Sample Language Evaluation & Instructions
Who should conduct my language evaluation?:
UCLA Students
For Quechua: Contact Luz Maria de la Torre (luzm@humnet.ucla.edu)
For Nahuatl: Contact Kevin Terraciano (terra@history.ucla.edu)
For Portuguese: Please have your current (or most recent) instructor/TA conduct the evaluation. However, if you do not have a current or previous instructor contact Jose Luiz Passos (passos@humnet.ucla.edu)
For Spanish: Please contact your current (or most recent) instructor/TA. However, if you do not have a current or previous instructor contact Luz Maria de la Torre (luzm@humnet.ucla.edu
Prospective UCLA students (You have applied for graduate or transfer admission to UCLA but are not a current student): Please have a language instructor at your current/former institution or local university conduct a language evaluation.
Application Deadline: February 21, 2018