The application for Summer 2025 and AY 2025-26 FLAS Fellowships is closed.

CERS is organizing a competition for Summer 2025, and Academic Year 2025-2026 Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships funded by the U.S. Department of Education. The FLAS program supports training in modern foreign languages and related area studies for entering and continuing undergraduate and graduate students in any disciplinary area whose studies focus on Europe.

Eligibility criteria, application procedures, and fellowship requirements are outlined below. The application period for both awards, Summer 2025, and Academic Year 2025-2026, will close on February 21, 2025 at midnight. Students who will be enrolled at UCLA for the duration of the fellowship period may apply for both awards. The selection process will be completed by April/May 2025.

Fellowship Amounts

Academic Year FLAS

The Academic Year fellowship requires that students take one language and one pertinent area studies course for a letter grade every quarter for the entire academic year while enrolled full-time and in residence at UCLA. Graduate students are allowed to take independent study courses if advance approval is obtained. Academic Year awards may be used for dissertation research abroad or dissertation writing for students who have completed their degree coursework and are at the advanced level of language proficiency, but this must be approved in advance and are of low priority for consideration in the selection process.

Summer FLAS

The Summer fellowships are for an in-person intensive summer language programs offered through a U.S. university or abroad. A letter grade for the course is also required. Students should apply separately for admissions into their chosen summer language program. Non-language programs are not eligible for summer FLAS funding, nor is dissertation research. In order to qualify for funding, the summer intensive language program must last at least 6 weeks and provide at least 140 synchronous contact hours for beginning and intermediate level courses, or 120 synchronous contact hours for advanced level coursework.

Eligible Languages

Eligible languages include: Basque, Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian, Catalan, Czech, Dutch, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Swedish, Spanish, Turkish, Ukrainian, and Yiddish.

FLAS fellowships can be awarded to undergraduate and graduate students studying the target language at the intermediate or advanced level (2nd year or above). Preference is given to applicants who propose to study a less commonly taught language (i.e. any European language with the exception of French, German, and Spanish). The following restrictions and exceptions apply:

• FLAS fellowships cannot be awarded to undergraduate students for the study of French, German, and Spanish (i.e. commonly taught languages) at any level.
• FLAS fellowships cannot be awarded for the study of a language at the beginning level. However, exceptions can be made for graduate students studying a less commonly taught language at the beginning level if the students have already achieved advanced proficiency in another European language and if the students can demonstrate that learning a second European language is required for their overall training and expertise.

Eligibility

• To apply for a FLAS fellowship, students must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents
• Fellowship recipients must be engaged in full-time study for the duration of their awards  

Since the purpose of the program is to enrich the nation's pool of area and international specialists, applicants must intend to use their training to teach, to serve in government or international agencies, or to engage in private sector or non-profit work that advances American understanding of other countries.

Fellowship recipients must agree to submit quarterly reports on their progress, submit before and after language assessments to the U.S. Department of Education, take a before and after oral proficiency examination with a designated instructor, and provide reports to the U.S. Department of Education on employment and use of the target language every two years for a minimum of eight years after graduation.

Application Procedure

All FLAS applications must be submitted online using an online application form:

• Apply for Summer 2025 FLAS

• Apply for Academic Year 2025-2026 FLAS

Students may apply for both competitions, Summer 2025 and Academic Year 2025-2026, but separate applications including submitting duplicate letters of recommendation are required.

All application materials, including letters of recommendation, must be submitted by the deadline. Late or incomplete applications will not be considered for funding.

Required Application Materials

• Online application form
• Statement of purpose of no more than two pages (double-spaced, 12-point font) describing your research and language study plans and explaining how language study will enhance your research project and/or academic training and career goals. Note that preference is given to applicants who demonstrate how the combination of their language study and research/training will advance knowledge of modern European societies, histories, or cultures.
• Two academic letters of recommendation submitted electronically and due on FLAS application deadline.
• Unofficial UCLA transcripts and transcripts from other institutions for graduate students (for previous degrees) and transfer students combined into a single PDF
• CV or resume
• Summer language program details and budget information (for summer FLAS only)

Note: Preference is given to applicants who demonstrate financial need by competing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). If students want their financial need to be considered in the selection process for this fellowship, students can give authorization to CERS to have this financial aid information verified through the UCLA Financial Aid Office.  

Further Information

• Review the FLAS Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
• Review information on FLAS dissertation awards

Contact

• Fellowship information and application procedures: Caitlyn Gvon, Program Coordinator, cgvon@international.ucla.edu.
• Technical assistance only with document upload or online application portal access: UCLA International Institute, IT Support Team, support@international.ucla.edu. All other questions should be directed to Caitlyn Gvon at above contact.