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FLAS Frequently Asked Questions
- Questions about Benefits and Terms of the award
- Questions about eligibility
- Questions about the application process
- Questions about FLAS usage
- About ACADEMIC YEAR awards
- About SUMMER awards
- Specific notes about languages
Further questions or suggestions for additions to this list?
Contact the Fellowships Advisor!If you have questions about a particular language, or questions about the selection process of the competition, please contact the FLAS coordinator of the appropriate area studies program.
Benefits and Terms of the award
1. Award benefits include a stipend plus all tuition and fees. For the academic year 2009-2010, the Title VI stipend will be a minimum of $15,000. In addition, on this campus, there has been a policy of permitting concurrent appointments of a maximum 1/4 time Teaching or Research Assistantship, or eligible Project Assistantship or student hourly position. There is an approval process that is detailed in the fellowship appointment letter; the appointment must be approved by: a) the major advisor, b) the area program giving the FLAS, and c). the Dean’s office of the Division of International Studies. No other employment is allowed.
2. Fellowships are for the academic year. If awards are resigned and/or grant funds allow, it may be possible to move up Alternates either at the beginning of Semester I or Semester II.
3. Fellows must engage in full-time graduate or professional field study during the tenure of the award. Full registration is required, and awardees must take 1 course in the language of the award and a related world area course each semester. Dissertators must enroll for three credits of research (additional course work at dissertation stage would require prior approval), devote full time to dissertation research and writing, and be on campus to consult with advisors as needed, unless they have demonstrated the necessity for off-campus research. All dissertators must have prior approval of the Department of Education. The approval process is initiated by the Area Studies office prior to awarding a fellowship; no approval is needed at time of application. Those dissertators proposing overseas research must also demonstrate an affiliation with a university or research organization in the country of research, and a research visa, if required. A two-page dissertation proposal, signed by the advisor, must be included with the application of all dissertators. A final report is required of all fellows at the end of the fellowship period.4. Government regulations require that FLAS fellows remain in academic good standing. For our purposes this means that a student will be making satisfactory progress toward his or her degree, that students will be working on their dissertation or enrolled for 8-12 graduate credits taken for credit, attending classes faithfully, and completing course requirements on schedule (unless special arrangements are made with the instructor). No pass/fail courses permitted. Several courses with incompletes will be considered unsatisfactory progress.
Questions about eligibility
Who is eligible to receive a FLAS fellowship?
Graduate students who are US citizens or nationals or permanent residents and who are enrolled (or accepted for enrollment) in a program that combines modern foreign language training with international or area studies or with the international aspects of professional or other fields of study.
May an undergraduate apply for and receive a FLAS?
No.
Can I receive a summer FLAS if I will graduate in the previous spring?
Possibly. See the FLAS coordinator for your language.
May I apply for a FLAS if I am not a UW student?
Yes.
Is there a limit on the number of FLAS fellowships I can receive?
No.
What areas and languages are NOT eligible?
The study of the following groups, territories and languages is considered to be domestic studies and therefore ineligible for Title VI funding:
- communities of immigrants in the United States;
- American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico;
- any other US territory or protectorate;
- Hawaii and the Hawaiian language; and
- native North American languages.
In addition, FLAS fellowships are to support the study of modern foreign languages. Latin, Sanskrit, Greek, Classical Chinese, Old Church Slavonic or other ancient languages are not eligible.
What languages are offered and where do I apply?
Questions about the application process
Can I apply to more than one center?
Yes. You will not be allowed to receive two simultaneous awards, but you are welcome to submit applications to more than one center.
Who should fill out my language evaluation form if I have never taken courses in the language I want to study?
If you have no knowledge of the language for which you want to receive a FLAS, have someone evaluate you for a foreign language you have already studied. If you have never taken courses but have some knowledge of the language for which you want to receive a FLAS (for example, if you lived abroad), try to find someone who can evaluate your knowledge of the language.
If you don't already know someone who is qualified to fill out your evaluation form, contact the department here on campus where the language is taught.
How can I get a copy of my GRE scores?
Check with your department to see if a copy of your GRE scores can be forwarded directly to the FLAS coordinator.
What happens after I submit my application?
Recipients, alternates, and non-recipients will receive notification of their status within about a month after the application deadline. Award letters will contain more information about payment processes, registration, etc.
Questions about FLAS usage
(see below for specific answers about Academic Year and Summer awards)
Can a FLAS award be used to participate in an internship program?
Generally not, because an internship program is neither a formal academic program of full-time study nor dissertation research. Contact your FLAS coordinator about a specific internship if you feel it meets the full-time study requirement.
Is a FLAS fellow allowed to work during the award period?
Yes. But remember that FLAS fellows are required to be engaged in full-time foreign language and area or international studies course work or dissertation research during the academic year, or in intensive language study during the summer award period.
Also note that UW-Madison policy is to allow only up to 25% additional employment as a TA, RA, or PA, and permission must be requested in advance. No hourly paid positions are permissible. Contact your FLAS coordinator for more details.Can I receive both a FLAS and another fellowship during the same period?
Sometimes. Please consult your FLAS coordinator.
Can I get a single semester award during the academic year?
No.
Can I take a semester off and finish the award during a subsequent period?
No.
Can I request a Pass/Fail grade for my courses?
No.
Can I use my FLAS at a different U.S. institution?
Yes.
Can I use my FLAS overseas?
Yes, if you are at the intermediate or advanced level of language proficiency (5th semester or above). The exception to this is in cases where an appropriate beginning language program in the student’s language is not available in the United States.
About ACADEMIC YEAR awards:
What can I use an academic year FLAS for?
Academic Year FLAS fellowships are awarded for a full academic year to students engaged in:
- a formal overseas or domestic program of full-time language and area studies coursework
OR
- full-time dissertation research abroad. The use of the foreign language in the dissertation research must be extensive enough to be able to consider the language improvement facilitated by the research equal to the improvement that would be obtained from a full academic year’s worth of formal classroom instruction.
What if I'm a dissertator but I don't have advanced language skills?
Dissertators may choose to suspend their dissertator status and pursue full-time language and area studies coursework (one language course and one area studies course each semester).
Do I have to take specific classes?
FLAS recipients must take at least one language course and one area studies course each semester.
How many credits do I need to take?
If you are enrolled at the UW-Madison, you must take at least 8 credits each semester. (A FLAS recipient must be a full-time student as defined by grantee institution).
About SUMMER awards:
Summer FLAS fellowships are intended to help students gain the equivalent of a year's worth of college level language study. They support students enrolled in:
- formal domestic programs of intensive language study at the beginning, intermediate or advanced level;
OR
- formal overseas programs of intensive language study at the intermediate or advanced level (5th semester and beyond);
OR
- formal overseas programs of intensive study at the beginning level of languages for which appropriate equivalent instruction is not available in the United States
To be considered "intensive", a beginning or intermediate language program must offer a minimum of 140 contact (class-time) hours (at the advanced level the minimum is 120 contact hours) and must last a minimum of 6 weeks.
Does a summer FLAS include a travel award?
Not always. Students *may* be eligible for a summer travel award of up to $1,000, or the actual cost of travel too and from the program site, whichever is less. Travel awards may be made at the discretion of the area studies program and only with the permission of the US/ED. Contact your FLAS coordinator for more information.
May I switch programs and/or languages after I submit my application?
Requests to change programs and/or languages are handled by the FLAS coordinator and are rarely granted. Before students prepare an application for a Summer FLAS, they should thoroughly research available programs for their proposed language of study.
Specific notes about languages:
SPANISH: Applications for Spanish will only be accepted from students in the "Professional Schools" (e.g., Law). Applications should be submitted to the Global Studies Program.
