FLAS (Foreign Language and Area Studies) Fellowships for Undergraduate Students

FLAS (Foreign Language and Area Studies) Fellowships for Undergraduate Students

For CU-Boulder Undergraduate Students and Metropolitan State University of Denver Undergraduate Students

Program Description

FLAS fellowships administered by the Center for Asian Studies (CAS) are awarded competitively to students studying modern Asian languages. The U.S. Department of Education (ED) funds and oversees these awards, under the provisions of Title VI of the Higher Education Act. Funding is contingent upon annual ED program approval, Federal regulations, and continued Congressional funding, all of which may change from year to year. FLAS awards cannot be deferred.

CAS has been offering summer fellowships for CU-Boulder and Metropolitan State University of Denver undergraduate students who can demonstrate financial need beginning in summer 2023.

Summer 2025 application deadline is February 15, 2025.

Eligible Languages

All modern Asia languages offered on the CU-Boulder campus; additional Asian languages can be considered for summer awards pending additional approval.

  • Arabic
  • Chinese
  • Hindi/Urdu
  • Indonesian*
  • Japanese
  • Korean
  • Tibetan*

* Additional approval required after selection; consult with CAS for information.

Program Eligibility

Students are eligible to receive a Summer fellowship if they meet all of the following criteria:

  • Continuing CU-Boulder or MSU Denver undergraduate full-time, degree-seeking student
  • Citizen, national, or permanent resident of the United States
  • Will be enrolled in a formal modern Asian language course during the period of the fellowship (native speakers of the language to be studied are not eligible)
  • Have completed at least one year of study of the Asian language they will study during the period of the fellowship
  • Can demonstrate financial need, as indicated by FAFSA Estimated Family Contribution
  • Have completed at least one year of study of the Asian language they will study during the period of the fellowship, or already have advanced proficiency in a different Asian language. (Alternatively, advanced proficiency may be in a non-Asian language if it is directly relevant to applicant鈥檚 interest in Asian studies, such as advanced proficiency in French related to an interest in Vietnam.)
  • Additional information for MSU Denver students 

Summer Fellowship Program Requirements

  • Intended to provide the equivalent of one AY of intensive language study
  • All programs require approval prior to program start; CU鈥檚 credit-bearing summer Asian language offerings are pre-approved
  • Advanced (3rd year and above) programs must offer a minimum of 120 contact hours
  • Intermediate (2nd year) programs must offer a minimum of 140 contact hours
  • Field trips or other cultural content does not count toward contact hours
  • Program duration must be at least 6 weeks
  • Domestic and overseas intensive language programs can receive approval from ED, provided that they meet above criteria
  • Students should receive grades and credit for all FLAS coursework

Summer Language Program Opportunities (Note: any overseas programs that are not on this list will require that students register through the mandatory International Travel Registration application process. Approval may require additional review depending on location, so students are encouraged to start this process as early as possible.)

Selection Priorities and Criteria

The following criteria will be given consideration (not inclusive and not necessarily in this order):

  • Fellows will be selected on the basis of previous academic achievement, language ability, strength of recommendations, commitment to apply language and area studies in future career, promise of high academic or professional achievement, and the significance of the proposed course of study to the academic or professional world. 
  • Candidates who have already achieved at least intermediate competence in the Asian language will be given priority; native speakers of the target language will be excluded. 
  • Preference will be granted for one award to a student from Metropolitan State University of Denver each summer.

Fellows are expected to complete the full summer program and should receive grades and credit for all FLAS coursework and submit transcripts to CAS. FLAS fellows must complete a Student Performance Report at the end of the fellowship. Failure to submit this report precludes future participation in the program.

Award Benefits

2025 Summer FLAS Fellowship 

  • Tuition: FLAS will cover up to $5,000 of tuition and required fees. 
  • Stipend: FLAS will provide a stipend of $3,500. If the summer program fee includes room and board, those costs will be deducted from the stipend amount.

Optional Travel Award

  • Awards up to $1000 or actual cost of travel, whichever is lower, may be made in addition to FLAS Fellowship. 
  • Pre-approval and compliance with the Fly America Act is required for international travel.
  • Indicate on the application form if you would like to be considered for a travel award and what your estimated travel (airfare, mileage, ground transportation) costs will be.

FLAS Fellows may receive additional funding from other sources to support their study as long as they do not duplicate what is covered by FLAS. For example, a student who receives funding from other sources to cover 100% of tuition and fees costs will not receive the tuition portion of the FLAS award, but may still receive the full associated stipend. FLAS Fellows will be required to report all other awards to the FLAS Coordinator.

Application Materials:

Download Undergraduate FLAS application form here. Be sure you have the most current application form prior to submission. Forms were updated on October 1, 2024.

In addition to the application form, the following materials will need to be submitted to CAS:

  • Statement of Purpose (2-3 pages double spaced) 
  • Transcripts of all College-Level Work 
  • Two Academic Letters of Recommendation, including one from a language professor/instructor if possible
  • (MSU Denver students only; see additional information for MSU Denver students for details)

Application Deadline is February 15, 2025.

Complete all forms and collect all supporting documents (with the exception of the letters of recommendation) and send one PDF to the Center for Asian Studies to FLAS@colorado.edu.

Contact FLAS Coordinator Lucy Lin (flas@colorado.edu) with any questions.

If you are a graduate student who would like to apply for a FLAS fellowship, please click here