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 will award a number of fellowships for Academic Year 2023-2024. FLAS is now open and accepting applications, with a deadline of January 16, 2023. We will also be running a competition for a limited number of fellowships for Summer 2023.
Applicants for Academic Year 2023-2024 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: Applicants must be U.S. citizens or have permanent resident status in the United States.
 

Competitive priorities for AY 2023-24 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, Persian, Turkish and Urdu).
  • Summer FLAS fellowships cover the cost of full tuition (up to $5000) plus a stipend of $2,500. Summer language awards must be used to attend programs that meet language proficiency standards set by the U.S. Department of Education, and may take place domestically or overseas.

APPLICATION FORMS

Academic Year 2023-2024: 

  • Incoming Students: 
    • FLAS Applications are part of the application to the Kevorkian Center MA program [Under - Program and Term: once you indicate that you are applying for Near Eastern Studies, a question pops up asking, "Do you wish to apply for a FLAS Fellowship?" Please click yes and the application for FLAS will be available for you fill out]
  • Rising Second Year Kevorkian Center Student (Please note that current FLAS recipients must reapply for FLAS to receive an additional year of funding
    • Please apply for FLAS using the link here.  
  • Matriculated NYU Graduate/UG Students
    • Please apply for FLAS using the link here. 

Summer FLAS Fellowships:


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 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 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 $2,500.
  6. Applicants must advise the Center if other funding is awarded for study in the same or similar program.
  7. FLAS fellows may receive funding from other sources to cover tuition above the $5,000 tuition cap.
  8. FLAS deadline is January 16, 2023. 

Please note: The Summer FLAS Awards are only open to current, not incoming, students.

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.