Contingent upon US Department of Education funding, the Center for Russian, East European, & Eurasian Studies offers academic year Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships. The undergraduate FLAS Fellowship is a prestigious award that provides recipients up to $10,000 tuition scholarship in addition to a stipend of approximately $5,000. Only US citizens and permanent residents are eligible to receive FLAS Fellowships. Currently, academic year FLAS-eligible languages include: Russian, Bosnian / Croatian / Serbian (BCS), Hungarian, Polish, Slovak, Turkish, and Ukrainian. Fellowship competitions are held annually; applications for the following academic year are due in February.
FLAS awards are also available for intensive summer language study. Application forms for Summer FLAS Fellowships should be submitted to Pitt’s Summer Language Institute.
FLAS Fellowships are authorized under Title VI of the Higher Education Act and are administered by the US Department of Education. The purpose of the FLAS Fellowship program is: “To assist in the development of knowledge, resources, and trained personnel for modern foreign language and area studies, to stimulate the attainment of foreign language acquisition and fluency, and to develop a pool of international experts to meet national needs.” As such, these fellowships may only be awarded to US citizens or US permanent residents.
The deadline for 2024-2025 applications to be submitted to REEES will be on February 15, 2024.
Eligibility:
In order to apply, students must be:
- A U.S. citizen or permanent resident
- Enrolled or planning to enroll in the REEES Undergraduate Certificate or the Related Concentration in European and Eurasian Studies
- Prepared to study a FLAS-eligible language at the intermediate level (second year) or above and at least one area studies course per term during the fellowship tenure
- Hold a minimum QPA of 3.0
Note that while Undergraduate FLAS fellows are allowed to hold non-University employment during their fellowship, they cannot work as nonexempt student workers for the University of Pittsburgh while also receiving FLAS payments. This is University policy.
Evaluation Criteria:
- Overall quality of academic record
- Relevance of target language to student’s plan of study and future career goals
- Evidence of commitment to language and area studies of the REEES world region
- Financial need will be considered for applicants who have submitted a current Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to the University of Pittsburgh
Application Materials:
This application requires that you upload pieces of supporting documentation. Only complete application packets will be accepted.
- Completed FLAS undergraduate application
- Language Study Plan: 1-page, double-spaced statement indicating the FLAS-eligible language you propose to study, how you will combine language and area studies to satisfy FLAS requirements, the extent of current or previous language training, and your native language, if other than English
- Personal Study Plan: 1-2 page, double-spaced statement articulating the relationship between your area of study and anticipated career goals, and a brief personal history including any experience(s) in or related to the appropriate area
- Two letters of recommendation (one from a language instructor and one from a non-language faculty member)
- All undergraduate transcripts
- Optional Financial Aid Information Release (if you choose not to submit a FAFSA and sign this release, please be aware that while your FLAS application will remain eligible for merit-based consideration, you will forfeit any need-based consideration of your application)
For more information, contact REESadvising@pitt.edu.