Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY - SIPA Admissions Blog

Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY - SIPA Admissions Blog U.S. citizens, nationals, or permanent residents who are proficient in certain languages may be interested in submitting an application for a Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship (FLAS).   SIPA will consider newly admitted applicants for funding through this program.   Graduate school student recipients receive $18,000 toward tuition and a $15,000 stipend. The timing of our admission decisions and the FLAS deadline makes it a little tricky.   Basically those interested in the FLAS must submit an application   for FLAS before the SIPA Admissions Committee has made admissions decisions.   The FLAS application deadline is March 4th and full details regarding the application process and eligible languages can be found on the FLAS application web site. Unfortunately, it is not likely that we will start publishing admissions decisions prior to March 4th.   We will do our best to start publishing decisions early in March, but we do not set a specific date.   When decisions get sent is dependent upon a variety of factors and this is a topic I will address in a future blog entry. What this means is that if you are interested in being considered for a FLAS award, you should submit your FLAS application prior to knowing your SIPA admission decision.   Due to the extremely generous nature of the fellowship, I think it would well be worth the time if you qualify and are interested. Here is a brief description of the FLAS Award taken directly from the FLAS web site: The Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship Program is predicated on the belief that “the security, stability, and economic vitality of the United States in a complex global era depend upon American experts and citizens knowledgeable about world regions, foreign languages, and international affairs, as well as upon a strong research base in these areas.” FLAS fellowships strengthen the nation’s ability to respond to security threats and to compete effectively in the modern world by promoting foreign language competence and area and international knowledge and by ensuring the continuance of area expertise in a variety of fields, including academe. If you have questions or require further information regarding FLAS, please email Sandra Peters at scp3@columbia.edu