Questions about Eligibility
1. Q: Who is eligible to receive a FLAS fellowship? UCLA graduate and undergraduate students who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents and who are studying a FLAS-eligible foreign language and associated area studies. FLAS recipients must be studying the language at the intermediate or advanced level.
2. Q: I am an incoming student. Can I apply for a FLAS? If you will be an incoming UCLA graduate student or a transfer undergraduate student, you can apply for the Academic Year FLAS but not the Summer FLAS. If you are selected for a FLAS fellowship, your award will be contingent upon your acceptance into UCLA. Incoming undergraduate freshmen are NOT eligible for any FLAS award.
3. Q: I am a current UCLA undergraduate. Am I eligible? Yes. If you are selected for a FLAS fellowship, you need to be enrolled during the fellowship period and studying the target language at the intermediate level or higher.
4. Q: I am student who will be graduating this spring. Am I eligible to apply for a FLAS? You are not eligible for the Academic Year FLAS. Recipients must be an enrolled student to receive a FLAS fellowship. But students who will complete their UCLA coursework in the Spring are eligible to receive a Summer FLAS fellowship for an intensive language program if they postpone graduation until the end of the summer (August).
5. Q: I am planning on attending Summer Session at UCLA. Can I apply for a Summer FLAS? Yes, if the intensive summer language program is offered at UCLA or if the dates of the intensive summer language program do not conflict with the UCLA Summer Session dates. However, Summer FLAS is considered financial aid and undergraduate students might not qualify for additional financial aid for UCLA Summer Session. Therefore, undergraduate students who receive the Summer FLAS fellowship must inform the UCLA Financial Aid Office (FAO) in advance if they will be participating in a non-UCLA summer language program and may be asked to provide additional documentation to FAO. In addition, undergraduate students must consult with FAO to verify how the Summer FLAS award will affect their overall summer federal financial aid and loan eligibility.
6. Q: I currently have a FLAS fellowship. Can I re-apply? Yes.
7. Q: Can I apply for beginning level language FLAS as a UCLA graduate student. I have no knowledge of the language. Yes, but only if you already have advanced level proficiency of another language of the same world region.
8. Q: I am interested in applying for a FLAS for a language outside of the target languages list. Am I still eligible? Yes, if the language is relevant to the world area to which you are applying. Final determination is contingent on approval by the U.S. Department of Education.
9. Q: Are professional school students eligible for a FLAS? Yes. Professional school students, particularly MA-level students, are especially encouraged to apply. Summer fellowships are especially recommended for professional school students. During the Academic Year, every FLAS fellow is required to take one language course and one area studies course each quarter. Professional school students should work with the FLAS coordinator as well as their departmental graduate advisor to determine if their degree program can accommodate Academic Year FLAS course requirements.
Questions about the Application
10. Q: Where do I find the application for a FLAS fellowship? FLAS applications are online and can be accessed at the center sites below.
11. Q: Can I apply for both Summer and Academic Year FLAS fellowships? Yes, but you must submit a separate application for each.
12. Q: I am an incoming UCLA graduate student and I don't have a student ID number yet. What do I do? In the online application, fill in the student ID number field with 9 zeros (000000000).
13. Q: I started the application but I'm not ready to submit. Can I save what I've done and return to make changes? Yes. The application allows you to save your work and return to make changes during the application process any time before the deadline. There is a convenient Save button on every page of the application. Please note that "saving" the application is not the same as "submitting" it. You do need to "submit" the application for it to be considered official. (You can continue to make changes before the deadline even if you have already "submitted" the application, but again, these must be "saved.")
14. Q: How do I submit my transcripts, CV, etc.? All supporting documents, including your unofficial transcripts, must be uploaded to the online application. First, scan and save your transcripts to your computer. Then in the application, browse for them and make sure that you click the "Upload" button to attach your documents to the application. Each required document should be uploaded as a single file. The application only accepts one upload per required field.
15. Q: Do I need to identify a language program on my summer FLAS application? Yes. For UCLA courses, please indicate the course title and number. For programs outside of UCLA, please provide the name of summer program and provide the web link to the program (if any) in the application. You can search for a summer program or instructor online. For recommendations of eligible summer programs outside of the U.S., contact the FLAS coordinator.
If awarded, you will need to provide documentation that the language program meets the following requirements:
Beginning and intermediate levels: 140 contact hours of instruction, over a minimum of six (6) weeks.
Advanced level: 120 contact hours of instruction, over a minimum of six (6) weeks.
You must also meet additional deadlines in submitting an invoice for program tuition and fees, program dates, a detailed course syllabus, language instructor’s email and CV, and your flight itinerary if attending an approved/allowed program abroad.
16. Q: I am applying for a summer program. Is the FLAS application on the center website the only one I need to complete, or do I need to complete a separate application with the summer program I am applying to? You would need to apply separately for admission into your actual summer intensive language program. Your FLAS fellowship will be contingent upon your admission to the summer program.
17. Q: What should recommenders discuss in the letter of recommendation? The recommender should be able to speak about your overall academic qualifications and the relevance of language training to your specific academic and career goals.
18. Q: Do I need to submit separate applications for summer and academic year FLAS? Yes, if you are applying for both summer and academic year, you need to submit two separate applications and request your recommenders to submit duplicate letters of recommendation to each application.
19. Q: Can the recommenders submit hard copies of the letters of recommendation? No. Application documents are submitted entirely online.
20. Q: How do I notify my recommenders to submit their letters? You should contact them to request a letter of recommendation as early as possible. The application allows you to enter their contact information, but you must “submit” the application for an email to be sent to your recommenders with a link to upload their letters. You can continue to make changes before the deadline even if you have already “submitted” the application.
21. Q: Can I change my recommenders? Yes, you can replace the contact information of your old recommenders with that of your new recommenders, check the box to indicate that you want an email sent to them with a link to upload their letters, then “submit” the application. You can continue to make changes before the deadline even if you have already “submitted” the application.
22. Q: Is it possible to apply to two different centers for two separate languages? Yes. Please notify the FLAS coordinators of your intent to apply to both centers. One separate, complete application is required for each center. If awarded, you can only accept one FLAS Fellowship.
23. Q: I am applying for the FLAS Summer Fellowship. What should I list in my budget? List all your anticipated tuition and fees for your selected program. The summer FLAS stipend is $2500 and covers lodging and living expenses. You should also list any other fellowships or sources of support in addition to FLAS that you anticipate receiving in your application.
Questions about Implementation
24. Q: Is a FLAS fellow allowed to work during the fellowship award period? FLAS fellows are allowed to TA during the award period. They are also allowed to work at UCLA or elsewhere during the award period but cannot be required to work in exchange for the FLAS fellowship. Check with your FLAS coordinator. Some Centers limit the amount of student employment of fellowship recipients.
25. Q: Can I study at the beginning level outside the United States (graduate students only)? No, unless there is no equivalent language program in the United States.
26. Q: I am a graduate student doing dissertation research. Can I use my academic year FLAS fellowship for dissertation research? Yes, but special permission is required and this is the lowest priority for funding. Graduate students who receive FLAS for dissertation research must have advanced level proficiency in all skills (listening, speaking, reading, and writing), conduct fieldwork partly abroad (if allowed) and must enroll in only dissertation research independent study courses with their department for the entire academic year. They usually declare in-absentia status for the duration of their fieldwork abroad.
27. Q: Can I take my coursework with a "pass/fail" grade? No. All FLAS required courses must be taken for a letter grade.
28. Q: What is a contact hour? A contact hour is one hour of face-to-face instruction.
29. Q: How do I know which courses fulfill the FLAS requirements? Check with your FLAS coordinator. Each center posts a list of eligible courses to their website every quarter.
30. Q: Can I fulfill my FLAS course requirements through an independent study? This is only available to graduate students. Check with your FLAS coordinator about this possibility.
Question about Reporting
31. Q: What are the reporting requirements? There are several. FLAS recipients are required to submit a post-fellowship report with letter grades for courses taken through the online reporting system of the U.S. Department of Education. In addition, students must arrange to take a language proficiency evaluation with an instructor at the beginning and end of the fellowship period. Finally, FLAS recipients are required to provide information every two years following graduation about their ongoing use of the target language and employment for 8 years following graduation from UCLA. FLAS recipients must provide their current contact information to the UCLA center awarding their FLAS in compliance with this requirement.
UCLA Contact Information