Foreign Language & Area Studies Fellowships

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Fellowships for Undergraduate and Graduate Students

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS - Please read the FAQ thoroughly, as there is important information you will need prior to applying. You can learn more by viewing our recorded information session on FLAS fellowships, including eligibility requirements, the application process, and tips for submitting a competitive application.

FLAS fellowships are administered by the U.S. Department of Education through selected grantee institutions. The University of Pittsburgh has been selected as a grantee institution for Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships for the 2022-23, 2023-24, 2024-25, and 2025-26 academic years. The FLAS Fellowship program is a prestigious and competitive federal award that allows eligible Pitt undergraduate and graduate students to compete for fellowships that will allow them to devote greater attention to the study of a chosen modern foreign language and area studies specialty.  

The Fellowship covers some or all tuition costs, may cover fees, and provides awardees with a stipend. The Fellowships are offered for the 2025 summer term or the 2025-26 academic year. 

 

For information on Summer 2025 and AY 2025-26 Fellowships, click the buttons below to jump to the relevant sections.

Undergraduate FLAS Information

Graduate FLAS Information

 

Applications for the 2025-26 academic year fellowships offered through all six of the UCIS Centers open on November 1, 2024. Please read below for details on deadlines and how to apply.

Undergraduate FLAS Fellowships

 

Summer 2025

AY 2025-26

Tuition:

$5,000

$10,000

Stipend:

$3,500

$5,000

Study of:

Intensive modern foreign language

Modern foreign language combined with international/area studies or international aspects of professional or other fields of study

Application forms and deadline:

Apply online by February 17 for all Centers. You can click into applications here:

Apply online by February 17 for all Centers. You can click into applications here:

Apply to:

Asian Studies Center for Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese

Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies for Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian, Czech, Hungarian, Polish, Russian, Slovak, Turkish, Ukrainian

European Studies Center for Arabic, Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian, Gaelic, Greek (Modern), Hebrew (Modern), Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Swedish, Turkish (Undergraduate students are not eligible for FLAS awards to support the study of commonly taught languages [French, German, or Spanish])

Center for Latin American Studies for Haitian Creole, Portuguese (Brazilian) and Quechua

Center for African Studies for Amharic, Arabic, and Swahili

Global Studies Center for Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, Farsi, Hindi, Portuguese, Swahili, and Turkish

Note: If you are interested in studying a language that is not currently listed, please contact one of the FLAS Coordinators (indicated below) before submitting to your school or department coordinator as additional information may be required for your application to be eligible for funding.

Eligibility:

US citizen or permanent resident enrolled at Pitt

Will study a FLAS language at intermediate or advanced level

 

 

Graduate FLAS Fellowships

 

Summer 2025

AY 2025-26

Tuition:

$5,000

 Federal funding provides up to $18,000; additional funding from Centers, Schools, and the Office of the Provost may cover additional costs up to full tuition and most fees.

Stipend:

$3,500

 Federal funding provides a stipend of $20,000; additional funding from Centers may be provided to supplement the stipend and cover the costs of health insurance.

Study of:

 Intensive Modern foreign language.

Modern foreign language combined with international/area studies or international aspects of professional or other fields of study

Application forms and deadline:

Applications due to UCIS Centers no later than February 17. You can click into applications here:

Applications due to UCIS Centers no later than February 17. You can click into applications here:

Important: Graduate AY 2025-26 applications need to be submitted to a school or department-level approver two weeks prior to the Center application deadline. A list of school/department approvers is included in the application.

Apply to:

Asian Studies Center for Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese

Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies for Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian, Czech, Hungarian, Polish, Russian, Slovak, Turkish, Ukrainian

European Studies Center for Arabic, Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian, French, Gaelic, German, Greek (Modern), Hebrew (Modern), Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish

Center for Latin American Studies for Haitian Creole, Portuguese (Brazilian) and Quechua

Center for African Studies for Amharic, Arabic, and Swahili

Global Studies Center for Arabic, Mandarin Chinese, Farsi, Hindi, Portuguese, Swahili, and Turkish

Note: If you are interested in studying a language that is not currently listed, please contact one of the FLAS Coordinators (indicated below) before submitting to your school or department coordinator as additional information may be required for your application to be eligible for funding.

 Your school or department FLAS coordinator (typically the Director of Graduate Studies or the graduate admissions coordinator). Note: If you are interested in studying a language that is not currently listed, please contact one of the FLAS Coordinators (indicated below) before submitting to your school or department coordinator as additional information may be required for your application to be eligible for funding.

Eligibility:

US citizen or permanent resident

Enrolled or accepted for enrollment at Pitt
Summer Fellows 
Must pursue a program of intensive modern foreign language study lasting for a minimum of six weeks.
 
1. The language program must consist of at least 140 hours for intermediate courses; 120 hours for advanced level courses.
2. The language program must last a minimum of 6 weeks.
3. The course must be taken for a letter grade that is based on tests administered during the course.
 
Students enrolled in a Pitt graduate or undergraduate degree program should identify an intensive summer language study program (run by Pitt or another provider) that meets these criteria.
 
Students enrolled in a graduate or undergraduate degree program at any institution of higher education may apply for FLAS funding to attend Pitt’s Summer Language Institute (through ESC, GSC, and/or REEES) or the Andes Amazon Field School (through CLAS).
 
Pitt’s Summer Language Institute (SLI) meets FLAS requirements for instruction time.  Students studying one of the languages offered at the SLI may be eligible for FLAS funding from the ESC, the GSC, and/or REEES. Please review individual center requirements closely to see if your language is relevant to the center(s) to which you are applying.
 
Academic Year Fellows

Must be enrolled in an area studies course and a language course during each term of the award period. In certain cases, graduate students may receive FLAS funding to conduct field research in the target language. Please contact the FLAS Fellowship coordinator in the appropriate international studies center for restrictions regarding the use of an academic year fellowship for dissertation-level students

Students may not be permitted to undertake additional employment on campus during their FLAS fellowship period (see FAQ section for more information).

 
Selection Process
The awards are made on the basis of academic merit with demonstrated financial need also taken into account. Financial need applicants must complete the FAFSA (see FAQ section for further details). Language priorities are determined by the US Department of Education and are important criteria in the selection process. Other important factors in the review of applicants include the overall quality of the student’s academic record and the relevance of the FLAS Fellowship target language to the student’s plan of study. Fellowships are contingent on the awarding Center's continuation of FLAS grant funding from the US Department of Education for the period of the award.
 
Undergraduate Students
Must be studying a modern foreign language at the intermediate or advanced level to be eligible for a FLAS award.

 

Graduate Students
Graduate applicants interested in a less commonly taught language may be eligible for enrollment in the first year of their target language if certain conditions are met. Students studying a commonly taught language (French, German, or Spanish) must be studying the language at the advanced level to be eligible. Contact the relevant Center’s FLAS coordinator with inquiries.

 

 

FLAS Languages

  • Amharic (African Studies) 
  • Arabic (European Studies; African Studies; Global Studies) 
  • Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian (European Studies; Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies) 
  • Chinese (Asian Studies; Global Studies)  
  • Czech (Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies, summer only) 
  • Farsi (Global Studies) 
  • French (European Studies) (For graduate students at 3rd year and above only) 
  • Gaelic (European Studies) 
  • German (European Studies) (For graduate students at 3rd year and above only) 
  • Greek (Modern) (European Studies) 
  • Haitian Creole (Latin American Studies) 
  • Hebrew (Modern) (European Studies) 
  • Hindi (Global Studies) 
  • Hungarian (European Studies; Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies) 
  • Italian (European Studies) 
  • Japanese (Asian Studies) 
  • Korean (Asian Studies) 
  • Polish (European Studies; Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies) 
  • Portuguese (European Studies; Latin American Studies; Global Studies) 
  • Quechua (Latin American Studies) 
  • Russian (Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies) 
  • Slovak (Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies)  
  • Spanish (European Studies) (For graduate students at 3rd year and above only) 
  • Swahili (African Studies, Global Studies) 
  • Swedish (European Studies) 
  • Turkish (European Studies; Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies; Global Studies) 
  • Ukrainian (Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies) 
  • Vietnamese (Asian Studies) 

*Additional languages possible. Please contact one of the FLAS Coordinators (indicated below) in the relevant international studies center to determine if you can be awarded a FLAS in a language other than those on this list.

FLAS Awarding Centers

Pitt has six international studies centers offering FLAS Fellowships.

 

Asian Studies Center
FLAS coordinator, Emily Rook-Koepsel (rookkoepsel@pitt.edu)

Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies
FLAS coordinator, Gina Peirce (gbpeirce@pitt.edu) 

European Studies Center
FLAS coordinator, Erica Edwards (eee36@pitt.edu)

Global Studies Center
FLAS Coordinator, Veronica Dristas (dristas@pitt.edu)

Center for African Studies
FLAS Coordinator, Anna-Maria Karnes (awk19@pitt.edu) 

Center for Latin American Studies
FLAS Coordinator, Luis G. Van Fossen Bravo (bravo@pitt.edu) 

Eligibility

Undergraduate Students
Pitt undergraduate students must be US citizens or permanent residents and must study a FLAS language at the intermediate or advanced level during the fellowship period.

 

Graduate Students
Pitt graduate students must be US citizens or permanent residents and must be 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. Please contact the relevant center's FLAS coordinator if proposing beginning-level language study.

 

Application Process

There are separate competitions for the Academic Year FLAS and the Summer FLAS, for which two separate and complete applications are required. Two letters of recommendation are also required.
 
Undergraduate Students
  • Academic Year 2025-26 FLAS competition
  • Summer FLAS competition: Please see Undergraduate FLAS Fellowship table above for center-specific deadlines and application forms.
 
 
Graduate Students
  • Academic Year 2025-26 FLAS competition
  • Summer FLAS competition: Please see Graduate FLAS Fellowship table above for center-specific deadlines and application forms.

 

What are the Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowships?

The Foreign Language and Area Studies (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. 
 
At Pitt, six (6) centers are offering Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowships for Pitt graduate and undergraduate students for the 2025-26 academic year and/or Summer 2025. They are the Asian Studies Center; Center for African Studies; Center for Latin American Studies; Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies; European Studies Center; and Global Studies Center.