FLAS Fellowships for Undergraduate Students

Funding for summer intensive language study.*

Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) fellowships, authorized under Title VI of the Higher Education Act and administered by the U.S. Department of Education, provide the majority of program fees for intensive study of a Less-Commonly-Taught-Language (LCTL) of Latin America at a FLAS-eligible summer program in the U.S. or Latin America. Such languages include Brazilian Portuguese, Haitian Creole, Quechua, and Nahuatl, as well as other Indigenous languages.

Award

The Summer FLAS Fellowship provides a $3,500 stipend and up to $5,000 tuition for a FLAS-approved intensive language course taken in the U.S. or abroad.*

Application Deadline

The application period for summer 2024 FLAS Fellowships has ended. Applications for summer 2025 will open in late fall 2024.

Program Requirements

  • Summer FLAS Fellowship awardees are required to participate in an intensive language program that has been approved by the U.S. Department of Education for FLAS. A list of  FLAS-eligible summer 2024 programs can be found on the CLASP Language Committee web page.
  • The summer program must provide a minimum of 140 language contact hours of instruction at the intermediate level or 120 language contact hours at the advanced level.
  • Undergraduate students must study at the intermediate or advanced level.
  • NOTE: FLAS Fellowships provide funding to attend a program; students must apply to and be accepted by the program separately. For more guidance on eligible programs as well as language preference/selection, applicants are encouraged to contact clas-flasfellowship [at] stanford.edu (clas-flasfellowship[at]stanford[dot]edu). 
  • Travel Requirements: Due to U.S. Department of Education guidelines, awardees who do attend a program outside of the U.S. are required to abide by the “Fly America Act” and travel on a U.S. air carrier.

Eligible Applicants

  • Applicants must be full-time Stanford undergraduate students in any discipline who are focusing on the study of Latin America. 
  • Applicants must be accepted to a FLAS-eligible program (see above).
  • Applicants must be citizens, nationals, or permanent residents of the U.S.
  • Undergraduate applicants must be prepared to study a LCTL at the intermediate or advanced level.
  • Students with or without financial need are encouraged to apply; however, preference will be given to those who demonstrate financial need.
  • Students planning a career in U.S. government service are highly encouraged to apply.

Selection Criteria

Department of Education guidelines include the following:

  • Awards may be made to applicants in a wide variety of humanities and social science degree programs.
  • High priority is given to qualified students who demonstrate financial need.
  • Low priority is given to applicants whose fluency in the proposed language of study approaches that of a native speaker.

CLAS priorities include the following:

  • Preference is given to students undergoing studies of Portuguese, Quechua, Nahuatl, or Haitian Creole who plan to continue their study during the 2024-2025 academic year.
  • Preference is given to qualified students who demonstrate financial need.

The selection of awardees is made annually by the CLAS FLAS fellowship selection committee, composed of Stanford-affiliated faculty.

Letter Submitting Instructions

  1. Provide recommenders with a signed letter of recommendation waiver form.
  2. One letter of recommendation, with waiver form, from a Stanford faculty. (Letters from instructors in LAS disciplines are encouraged.)
  3. A second letter of recommendation, with waiver form, from your Stanford language instructor (if applicable).

Letter of Recommendation Upload Form
 

Application Instructions

Gather the following documents and upload through the Summer FLAS Fellowship online application form (link below):

  1. Letter of intent. No more than 500 words double-spaced. The Letter of Intent should outline the relevance of the study of Nahuatl, Quechua, Portuguese, Haitian Creole, or other Indigenous language to the applicant’s academic training and career goals.
  2. Academic transcripts. Unofficial transcripts are acceptable.
  3. Student Aid Report (SAR). Complete a Free Application for Federal StudentAid (FAFSA). Once the FAFSA is completed, generate a Student Aid Report (SAR). Applicants MUST delete or black out social security numbers and date of birth on any materials submitted to CLAS.

    If you are unable to get the SAR by the application deadline, instead submit the confirmation email that you submitted a FAFSA. Once the SAR is available to you, please email a copy to clas-flasfellowship [at] stanford.edu.

*Summer travel is contingent upon Stanford University COVID-19 pandemic travel restrictions.

For questions concerning FLAS Fellowships, contact clas-flasfellowship [at] stanford.edu (clas-flasfellowship[at]stanford[dot]edu).