The graphic above lists some of the fields explored by UCLA students via FLAS fellowships over the past three years.
The Asia Institute's East Asia consortium with USC and the Center for Southeast Asian Studies consortium with UC Berkeley receive grants to fund Foreign Language and Area Studies fellowships in 8 languages.
By Clayton Dube
UCLA's Asian Studies programs have received a strong endorsement and financial support for the next three years from the U.S. Department of Education. On April 28, the Department announced the results of its nationwide Title VI Foreign Language and Area Studies competition and awarded $280,000 in fellowship support for each of the next three years to our East Asian and Southeast Asian Studies programs.
These grants recognize the depth and quality of UCLA's Asian language and area studies programs. With roughly one hundred full-time faculty, UCLA's programs are among the largest and most distinguished in the country. These grants also acknowledge the achievements of our students. Because the FLAS program's mission is to enlarge the pool of Americans fluent in the languages and cultures of Asia, an important evaluation criterion for the Department's reviewers is where our graduates work and what they have accomplished. UCLA graduates are serving in important governmental and business posts, and many are working hard to train others in their capacity as professors at institutions throughout the country. Columbia, Stanford, Virginia, Wesleyan, Minnesota, Iowa, Arizona, Georgia Tech, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Middle Tennessee are among the universities where UCLA Asian Studies grads are teaching. Closer to home, UCLA has produced faculty for Pomona, Occidental, UC Riverside, UC Irvine, Cal State Fullerton, and other colleges and universities.
UCLA's East Asia FLAS grant is administered by the Asia Institute. The Asia Institute applied for the grant in tandem with the USC East Asian Studies Center. This partnership, begun in 1975, is one of the oldest in the nation. East Asian Studies students at UCLA are eligible to apply for grants in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. For each of the next three years, UCLA may award $125,000 in academic year grants and $12,000 in summer grants.
In Southeast Asian Studies, UCLA's Center for Southeast Asian Studies partners with the UC Berkeley Center for Southeast Asian Studies. This collaboration began in 2000. One of the youngest of UCLA's Asia centers and programs, the UCLA Center for Southeast Asian Studies has quickly established itself as one of the nation's strongest collections of faculty and talented students. Southeast Asian Studies students at UCLA may apply for FLAS awards in Indonesian, Tagalog (Filipino), Thai, and Vietnamese. For each of the next three years, UCLA may award $125,000 in academic year grants and $18,000 in summer grants.
These are among the most prestigious and desirable of the awards available to UCLA students and the competition is rigorous. Schools, departments, and interdisciplinary programs nominate non-native speakers for FLAS awards. Separate East Asia and Southeast Asia committees evaluate the nominations and select about nine students for academic year awards and two to four students for summer intensive language study fellowships. The academic year awards provide a stipend of $14,000 and the summer awards provide a stipend of $2,400. Academic year tuition or fees are provided by the nominating unit. Summer tuition is paid for by the FLAS program.
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UCLA students interested in learning more about Asian Studies FLAS opportunities at UCLA should visit:
FLAS awards are not the only fellowships available to UCLA students working on Asia. Please visit the Asia Institute fellowship catalog to learn about more than 200 other opportunities.
For the first time in a decade, all six of the UCLA International centers applying for FLAS support have received awards from the US Department of Education. In addition to the Asia Institute and its Center for Southeast Asian Studies, the following centers received awards:
Click here to read about the $4.3 million in FLAS grants awarded to UCLA's International Studies centers.