Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships

MIDDLE EAST FOREIGN LANGUAGE AND AREA STUDIES FELLOWSHIPS AT NEW YORK UNIVERSITY

Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) fellowships support graduate and undergraduate students who will study Arabic, Hebrew, Hindi, Persian, Turkish and Urdu as an integral part of an academic program focusing on the Middle East. The Hagop Kevorkian Center for Near Eastern Studies currently has a number of fellowships for Academic Year 2022-2023 and a limited number of fellowships for Summer 2022.

Applicants for Academic Year 2022-2023 must plan to enroll full-time in a graduate or undergraduate degree program at NYU for the duration of the Fellowship. Incoming applicants to NYU graduate programs and currently enrolled NYU students at the graduate and undergraduate level are eligible to apply. Students from all eligible NYU degree programs in all eligible NYU schools may apply for FLAS Fellowships. FLAS applicants should have scholarly and professional interests that focus on the Middle East and must demonstrate a strong commitment to the study of the Middle East in their applications. Please note:

• The application deadline for all Academic Year 2022-2023 and Summer 2022 is January 15, 2022.
  
• Applicants must be U.S. citizens or have permanent resident status in the United States.

Competitive priorities for AY 2022-23 FLAS fellowships include

• Applicants who will achieve advanced level language proficiency before graduation
• Applicants who plan to pursue careers in government and public service
• Applicants studying the Less Commonly Taught Languages, as defined by the Department of Education (Arabic, Hebrew, Hindi, Persian, Turkish and Urdu).

Please see the information below for each of our FLAS opportunities:

• The 2022-2023 Academic Year FLAS will consist of 24 points of NYU tuition remission and a stipend of approximately $27,000 for eligible graduate students in GSAS, and up to $10,000 for registration fees/tuition and a $5000 stipend for undergraduate students. The award for Undergraduate Academic Year FLAS may be used for study abroad at institutions where all courses are taught in the target language. NYU graduate students who do not attend GSAS may receive an award for a lesser amount depending on whether their school has a tuition and stipend matching program. Schools with no matching program will receive the US DOE minimum of $15,000 for an annual stipend and $18,000 for tuition.

The Kevorkian Center is planning to reapply for FLAS funds from the Department of Education for the 2022-2026 competition cycle. All fellowships awarded in the competition for Academic Year fellowships will be contingent upon receipt of that award. We do not expect to know the results of the FLAS competition from the Department of Education before May 2022, at the earliest.

• Summer FLAS fellowships cover the cost of full tuition (up to $5000) plus a stipend of approximately $2,500. Summer language awards must be used to attend programs that meet language proficiency standards set by the U.S. Department of Education.
  
• Doctoral students who have completed course work may apply for Research Abroad awards to support extended research projects in the Middle East that will incorporate language acquisition equivalent to two semesters of language study; the awards will consist of NYU maintenance of matriculation fees and a stipend of approximately $15,000.

APPLICATION FORMS

Academic Year 2022-2023: 

• Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship Application for Academic Year 2022-2023: Note to Incoming Students: if you applied for the Academic Year FLAS on SLATE, you do not need to apply via these forms. They are only for returning students and for students applying from other NYU programs!  
• Recommendation Form. Note: Applicants need two copies of the form (one for each professor)

Research Abroad:

• Application for Research Abroad for 2022-2023.
• Recommendation Form. Note: Applicants need two copies of the form (one for each professor)

Summer FLAS Fellowships:


• Summer 2022 Application (deadline: January 15, 2022)
• Recommendation Form. Note: applicants need two copies of the form (one for each professor)

FOREIGN LANGUAGE AND AREA STUDIES (FLAS) FELLOWSHIPS - GENERAL GUIDELINES

1. All awards are subject to U.S. Department of Education guidelines.
2. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or have permanent resident status.
3. Eligible languages of study at NYU are Arabic, Hebrew, Hindi, Persian, Turkish, and Urdu. Applicants may apply to study other modern Middle East languages in order to support research on the Middle East. Competitive priority will be given to applicants studying the Less Commonly Taught Languages, as defined by the Department of Education (Arabic, Pashto, Persian, and Turkish) and to second ME language acquisition, for those who have already achieved advanced proficiency in one ME language.
4. Students in all degree-granting programs at NYU are eligible to apply. Competitive priority will be given to master's level students and applicants who are considering careers in government, public service, and professional fields.
5. Students at all levels of language proficiency, except those with native fluency, are encouraged to apply. Competitive priority will be given to students who plan to achieve Advanced level proficiency before graduation.
6. All applications must include a statement of purpose, a current transcript, and two letters of recommendation (preferably, one from a language instructor). Applicants to spring, summer and academic year submit only one set of supporting materials.

Summer 2022 Awards

1. Summer awards are for language study. Applications for research or non-language programs will be rejected.
2. Each individual program of language study must be approved by the Department of Education in advance of any payment for tuition or stipend (at least one month before the start of the language program).
3. Eligible programs must be the equivalent of one year of language study with a minimum of 140 classroom hours.
4. Students at the Elementary level are limited to studying at programs within the U.S. Students at Intermediate and Advanced levels are eligible to study outside the U.S.
5. Each award will include full tuition and will provide a stipend of approximately $2,500.
6. Preference will be given to applicants who have applied for other sources of funding, if available. Applicants must advise the Center if other funding is awarded.
7. Attendance at any particular summer program with a FLAS fellowship will be contingent upon the availability of matching funds beyond the $5,000 Department of Education tuition cap.
8. FLAS fellows may receive funding from other sources to cover tuition above the $5,000 tuition cap.

Academic Year 2022-2023 Awards

1. Students must have full-time status (a minimum of 9 points each semester), or full-time equivalency status, in each semester they apply for.
   
2. Students must enroll in at least one language and one Middle East area studies course for each semester they are awarded a fellowship.
3. Students must take an OPI exam at the beginning of the academic year and at the end to determine their progress or if awarded a Spring FLAS, student must take an OPI exam at the beginning of the semester and at the end. 

Research Abroad 2022-2023 Awards

1. Applicants must be doctoral students who have completed all course work.
2. Research Abroad awards support research performed outside the U.S. during the period September 2021 through May 2022.
3. A project proposal must be approved by the Department of Education no later than July 15, 2021, before the award is final.
4. Use of the target language in the research project must be the equivalent of one year of language study. Enrollment in language study programs is not covered by research abroad awards.
5. Research abroad applications must include a one-page dissertation abstract and a one-page project proposal.
6. Preference will be given to applicants who apply for other sources of funding, if available. Applicants must advise the Center if other funding is awarded.

The Title VI FLAS Fellowship program at NYU is administered under the directives of the Office of International Education Programs, Office of Postsecondary Education, US Department of Education.

For information about FLAS and other USDE OPE programs, follow this link to their home page:
http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/iegps/index.html

For further information, please contact Fidele Harfouche at fh38@nyu.edu or (212) 998-8871.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought with it an ever-changing set of circumstances that may impact travel to FLAS programs domestically and overseas this coming Summer. While it is our hope that students applying for these awards will have access to a wide range of programs, including online courses, we advise students to remain flexible in their plans and the proposals since any and all FLAS awards will be impacted by travel restrictions put in place by NYU or by the Department of Education.