Academic Year FLAS

Deadline: January 6, 2009

Please email CREEES and cc Jack Kollmann to request an application if you are unable to download the form.
FLAS information:

FLAS fellowships, authorized under Title VI of the Higher Education Act and administered by the U.S. Department of Education, provide tuition and stipend to students undergoing advanced training in designated foreign languages in combination with either area studies, international studies, or international aspects of professional studies.

A. General Description: Academic Year FLAS Fellowship in Russian, East European and Eurasian Languages

The Center for Russian, East European & Eurasian Studies (CREEES) at Stanford University annually petitions the Department of Education for allocations of FLAS funds in Russian, East European & Eurasian Studies (REEES). In anticipation of continued funding for the 2009-10 academic year, CREEES is distributing this information and application form. Applicants should understand that CREEES's ability to offer FLAS fellowships is contingent upon Congressional funding and Department of Education approval.

Please note: The REEES languages eligible for a FLAS award at the Stanford campus during the academic year are Russian and some East European and Eurasian languages (check for eligibility).

Academic year FLAS fellowships provide full tuition plus a stipend of $14,000. The term of a fellowship is for one academic year or less. Applicants in multiple-year programs must reapply each year. The selection of awardees is made annually by the CREEES fellowship committee, which favors candidates who have not previously received FLAS support. A FLAS award will be reduced by the amount of any other funding that a student receives in excess of full tuition and the allowable stipend amount.

B. Who is eligible to apply?

To be considered for a Stanford academic year FLAS fellowship in REEES languages, an applicant must:
  • Be a citizen or permanent resident of the U.S. or a permanent resident of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands.
  • Be enrolled in or accepted to an advanced degree program at Stanford University.
  • Pledge to enroll each academic quarter of the FLAS award period in the REEES language course at the level appropriate for that student (literature and directed reading courses do not qualify)
  • Agree to devote the entire award period to full-time study, as defined by the University, without employment or research for which payment is received, unless it can be shown that the employment is part of the student's degree-earning requirements and does not prolong the time normally required for completion of University requirements.
C. What criteria are used to judge applications?

Department of Education guidelines include the following:
  • Awards may be made to applicants in a wide variety of humanities and social science graduate degree programs, as well as professional fields.
  • Low priority is given to applicants whose fluency in the proposed language of study approaches that of a native speaker.
  • Low priority is also given to applicants proposing to study Russian who have not taken the equivalent of at least one academic year of college-level Russian prior to the FLAS award period.
CREEES priorities include the following:
  • Highest priority is given to students at intermediate and advanced levels of Russian.
  • Applicants in the REEES A.M. program.
  • Applicants in professional schools (Law, Business, etc.).
All applicants are strongly encouraged to contact CREEES to confirm eligibility and to receive advice on writing their application.

D. How do I apply for a FLAS?

Applications will normally be available by November. Applications may be requested from, and completed applications delivered to:

Center for Russian, East European & Eurasian Studies
Encina Hall West 2nd floor
Stanford University MC 6045
Stanford, CA 943055-2006

tel. 650-723-3562
fax. 650-725-6119
e-mail: Jack Kollmann

For more information about eligibility and writing your application, contact:

Jack Kollmann
e-mail: Jack Kollmann
A complete FLAS fellowship application must include the following:
  1. A completed FLAS application form.
    A statement of purpose (approximately 300-500 words), discussing your educational and career goals, and the significance of the proposed language training to these goals.
    Transcripts from each college or university attended (unofficial photocopies of official transcripts are ordinarily acceptable).
    Most recent GRE, GMAT, LSAT, or MCAT scores (unofficial photocopies are ordinarily acceptable).
  2. Three letters of recommendation, with waiver form accompanying each letter (letters are encouraged from instructors in REEES disciplines).
Note: Eligible applicants to the REEES A.M. program need not submit items 2-5 (their REEES A.M. application file should contain the required information and recommendations).

Applications and supporting materials (letters of recommendation, transcripts, GRE scores, etc.) are due January 6, 2009. Please send your completed application via regular U.S. mail or courier (NOT U.S. certified mail). Announcements of awards will be made in April 2009; awardees should be aware that each award is in fact a nomination, subject to funding by the Department of Education.