European Union Center

Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships support graduate study of foreign language and related area and international studies in preparation for careers in teaching, research, government service, and international organizations. Fellowships administered through West European Studies (WEST) fund students in the study of Dutch, French, German, Italian, Modern Greek, Portuguese, Spanish, Finnish, and Yiddish. Please note that the availability of approved languages in 2008-09 is contingent upon acceptance by the U.S. Department of Education. Study of modern foreign languages other than those listed above may be available. The availability of FLAS awards in 2008/09 is contingent upon receipt of grant funding from the U.S. Department of Education.

FLAS Fellowships include:

Tuition fee remission
Academic year stipend of $15,000 (estimated) and/or summer stipend of $2,500 (estimated)
Enrollment in graduate student health insurance program (academic year recipients only)

You are eligible to apply for this award if you are:

A U.S. Citizen or Permanent Resident
Admitted to a graduate program in the College of Arts and Sciences or one of the professional schools at IU, or (summer applicants only) are admitted or enrolled in a grad program at another university and applying to study language at the IU Summer Dutch Institute. Last hosted in 2007, the IU Dutch Summer Instiute will again be offered in summer 2009.
Undertaking an approved program of foreign language and area/international studies courses relevant to your academic and career goals

Instructions to Applicants

Students who are already enrolled in graduate study at Indiana University, or who have recently completed the steps required for admission, must send application materials to the appropriate world area center. The appropriate world area should be determined by the field of study and project, not by language. For example, only applications to study Spanish for a project involving Spain should be submitted to West European Studies. A project that addresses different countries or world areas may be submitted to the Global Center. Students may apply to more than one center. Application materials include the following:

One copy of the application for Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship;
- Apply online
One complete set of transcripts of college and university credits;
GRE scores;
Three letters of recommendation;
Completed Statement on Language Training and Proposed Program of Study as described in the FLAS Fellowship application. Please include list of proposed courses.

IU students may have photocopies of transcripts and one file recommendation from application dossier sent to the WEST center. Official IU transcripts are not required. Prospective students may submit transcripts and recommendations from their application dossier. It is recommended that at least one recommendation address the student's language-learning potential. It is the student's responsibility to have copies of all transcripts and recommendations forwarded to the WEST center from the department or school to which they are applying for admission. Separate applications must be submitted for Academic Year and Summer awards.

Receipt of a FLAS Fellowship is contingent upon acceptance into a graduate program at IU. If you have not yet been accepted for graduate study at Indiana University, you should apply immediately to the department or professional school in which you plan to study. In addition, you must also submit the five items listed above to the appropriate world area center. Please send your application materials for West European Studies to Ballantine Hall 542, Bloomington, IN 47405. Online applications will be sent to the appropriate world area center electronically.

Additional Instructions for Summer Award Applicants

Students applying for summer fellowships should indicate and submit a brochure for the program they plan to attend. Intensive summer programs must be a minimum of 6 weeks in duration and must meet for a minimum of 140 contact hours for beginning and intermediate levels and 120 contact hours for advanced level. All programs overseas must be approved by the US/DE. (WEST requests this approval when a candidate is selected.)*

Criteria for WEST FLAS Awards:

Department and field of study - priority will be given to students who may be more likely to pursue government service (NOTE: Fellowships are not available for graduate work in a language department if the candidate is majoring in that language);
Language background (general);
Target language background - priority will be given to students in the least commonly taught languages who are pursuing advanced level language proficiency;
Program of Study- the application statement should include a description of the candidate's program of study and relevant project (dissertation, thesis) on which the applicant is working or intends to work and the relevance of target language skills for this project. Statement should include a list of language and area/international courses that applicant intends to take.

Further information about West European FLAS fellowships may be obtained from West European Studies, Ballantine Hall 542, Bloomington, IN 47405, 812-855-3280, west[at]indiana.edu. Applicants are encouraged to contact WEST to set up an advising appointment with the FLAS advisor.

*Summer FLAS awards are for language study only.