Foreign Language & Area Studies

Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships* provide tuition support and a stipend to undergraduate and graduate students studying designated foreign languages in combination with area studies or international aspects of professional studies. The priority is to encourage the study of less commonly taught languages; in the case of the FLAS awards administered by LACS, the primary languages are Brazilian Portuguese and Quechua.

There are two types of FLAS awards. Academic Year Awards cover full tuition for the year and pay a stipend; in return, the FLAS awardee is required to take the foreign language of her/his choice and at least one area studies course each semester. Summer Awards cover full tuition to an intensive summer language program (minimum 6 to 7 weeks) and also pay a stipend; the Summer FLAS can also be used at some overseas programs, such as the LACS summer Quechua program at Centro Tinku in Cusco, Peru.

*FLAS Fellowships are administered by the University of Michigan Area Studies Centers and are awarded competitively through annual fellowship competitions. The U.S. Department of Education (US/ED) funds these awards under the provisions of Title VI of the Higher Education Act. The amount of funding and number of awards granted is contingent upon annual US/ED program approval, federal regulations, as well as continued congressional funding, all of which may change from year to year.