FLAS (Foreign Language and Area Studies) Fellowships for Graduate Students

FLAS (Foreign Language and Area Studies) Fellowships

For CU-Boulder Graduate Students
Program Description

FLAS fellowships administered by the Center for Asian Studies (CAS) are awarded competitively to students studying modern Asian languages. The U.S. Department of Education (ED) funds and oversees these awards, under the provisions of Title VI of the Higher Education Act. Funding is contingent upon annual ED program approval, Federal regulations, and continued Congressional funding, all of which may change from year to year. FLAS awards cannot be deferred.

CAS has been offering summer and academic year fellowships to CU-Boulder graduate and professional school students beginning in summer 2023 and academic year 2023-24. 

All awards are contingent upon continued funding from the Department of Education.

The Summer 2025 and AY 2025-2026 application deadline has passed. Please check back in the Fall of 2025 for updated application information. 

Watch video from November 30 information session.

Eligible Languages

All modern Asian languages offered on the CU-Boulder campus; additional Asian languages can be considered for summer awards pending additional approval.

  • Arabic
  • Chinese
  • Hindi/Urdu
  • Indonesian*
  • Japanese
  • Korean
  • Tibetan*

* Additional approval required after selection; consult with CAS for information.

Program Eligibility

Students are eligible to receive an Academic Year or Summer fellowship if they meet all of the following criteria:

  • AY fellowships: Incoming or continuing degree-seeking CU graduate student; must pursue full-time study in accordance with CU requirements
  • Summer fellowships: Continuing CU full-time, degree-seeking graduate student or will be enrolled in an intensive Asian language course at CU in the summer
  • Citizen, national, or permanent resident of the United States
  • Will be enrolled in a formal modern Asian language course during the each term of the fellowship (native speakers of the language to be studied are not eligible)
  • Will enroll in at least one Asian area studies course each semester (AY fellows)
  • Have completed at least one year of study of the Asian language they will study during the period of the fellowship, or already have advanced proficiency in a different Asian language. (Alternatively, advanced proficiency may be in a non-Asian language if it is directly relevant to applicant’s interest in Asian studies, such as advanced proficiency in French related to an interest in Vietnam.)

Fellows should receive grades and credit for all FLAS coursework. FLAS fellows must complete a Student Performance Report at the end of the fellowship. Failure to submit this report precludes future participation in the program.

Additional Summer Fellowship Program Requirements

  • Intended to provide the equivalent of one AY of intensive language study
  • All programs require approval prior to program start; CU’s credit-bearing summer Asian language offerings are pre-approved
  • Advanced programs (3rd year and above) must offer a minimum of 120 contact hours
  • Beginning (1st year; only allowed for graduate students studying a second Asian/related language, as described above) or Intermediate (2nd year) programs must offer a minimum of 140 contact hours
  • Field trips or other cultural content does not count toward contact hours
  • Program duration must be at least 6 weeks
  • Both domestic and overseas intensive language programs can receive approval, provided that they meet above criteria
  • Students should complete the full program and receive grades and submit transcripts to CAS for all FLAS coursework

Summer Language Program Opportunities (Note: any overseas programs that are not on this list will require that students follow the mandatory International Travel Registration application process. Approval may require additional review depending on location, so students are encouraged to start this process as early as possible. Additional information will be provided to awardees)

Selection Priorities and Criteria

In reviewing applications, primary priority will be given to graduate students demonstrating financial need. The following additional criteria will be given secondary consideration (not inclusive and not necessarily in this order):

  • Fellows will be selected on the basis of previous academic achievement, language ability, strength of recommendations, commitment to apply language and area studies in future career, promise of high academic or professional achievement, and the significance of the proposed course of study to the academic or professional world.
  • Candidates who have already achieved at least intermediate competence in the Asian language will be given priority; native speakers of the target language will be excluded.
  • Preference will be granted for one award to a student from CU’s College of Engineering and Applied Science. 

Award Benefits

2025 Summer FLAS Fellowship 

  • Tuition: FLAS will cover up to $5,000 of tuition and required fees.
  • Stipend: FLAS will provide a stipend of $3,500. If the summer program fee includes room and board, those costs will be deducted from the stipend amount.
  • ****FLAS Full Funding at Middlebury Language Schools***
  • Middlebury Language Schools will cover the remaining cost in tuition, on-campus housing, and food for our summer language programs if a student receives the FLAS fellowship ($8,500). In other words, a FLAS student can come to the Language Schools fully funded – more details on Middlebury supplementary funding.

2025-26 Academic Year FLAS Fellowship 

  • Tuition: FLAS will cover up to $18,000 of tuition and required fees ($9,000/semester).
  • Stipend: FLAS will provide a stipend of $20,000 ($10,000/semester). 

Optional Travel Award

  • Awards up to $1000 or actual cost of travel, whichever is lower, may be made in addition to FLAS Fellowship.
  • Pre-approval and compliance with the Fly America Act is required for international travel.
  • Indicate on the application form if you would like to be considered for a travel award and what your estimated travel (airfare, mileage, ground transportation) costs will be.

FLAS Fellows may receive additional funding from other sources to support their study as long as they do not duplicate what is covered by FLAS. For example, a student who receives funding from other sources to cover 100% of tuition and fees costs will not receive the tuition portion of the FLAS award, but may still receive the full associated stipend. FLAS Fellows will be required to report all other awards to the FLAS Coordinator.

Application Materials:

Download Graduate FLAS application form here.  Be sure you have the most current application form prior to submission. Forms were updated on October 1, 2024.

In addition to the application form, the following materials will need to be submitted to CAS:

  • Statement of Purpose (2-3 pages double spaced)
  • Transcripts of all College-Level Work  (including graduate school as appropriate)
  • Two Academic Letters of Recommendation, including one from a language professor/instructor if possible
  • Letter of Nomination (incoming graduate students only)
  • Copy of full Graduate School Application (incoming graduate students only)
  • Documentation of Expected Family Contribution (for incoming graduate students who want financial need to be taken into consideration)

Application Deadline is February 15, 2025. Complete all forms and collect all supporting documents (with the exception of the letters of recommendation) and send one PDF to the Center for Asian Studies at FLAS@colorado.edu.

Contact FLAS Coordinator Lucy Lin (flas@colorado.edu) with any questions.

If you are an undergraduate who would like to apply for a FLAS fellowship, please click here.