Graduate FLAS Fellowship FAQ

 

FLAS Academic Year Fellowships FAQ

When are applications due?

Summer 2024 and AY 2024-25 FLAS fellowship applications will be due February 19, 2024. In order to be fair to everyone, this is a very strict deadline and we cannot accept applications beyond that date and time.

Letters of recommendation are due one week after the applicaiton period closes. 

What is the graduate AY FLAS?

The European Studies graduate FLAS (Foreign Language and Area Studies) is a Fellowship awarded to graduate students who are studying an approved modern foreign language and are engaged in coursework at UT that has a European focus. The Fellowship is interdisciplinary and open to students from all departments and schools at UT. Students need not be European Studies majors to apply.

What does the Graduate Fellowship provide?

Beginning September 1, 2022, the FLAS AY Fellowship provides a nine-month stipend of $20,000 (paid monthly September-May) plus tuition and required course-related fees up to $18,000 per academic year. Students who are taking more than 12 hours should contact the Center to discuss whether the additional hours can be covered by the Fellowship. 

The FLAS fellowship does not automatically confer UT health insurance coverage. Thanks to the generosity of the College of Liberal Arts, COLA graduate students will receive a stipend to cover the cost of UT AcademicBlue Student Health Insurance policies beginning AY 2022-23. Graduate Students in departments outside of the College of Liberal Arts are encouraged to seek supplemental funding for health insturance or ask their home departments and schools/colleges if health insurance funding is available

Where does the money come from?

The Center for European Studies was awarded FLAS Fellowship funding from the U.S. Department of Education through its Title VI grant. The award was received in August 2022 and has a four year cycle.

What languages qualify as "approved" foreign languages?

• Bosnian
• Croatian
• Czech
• Danish
• Dutch (Flemish)
• French^
• German^
• Italian
• Norwegian
• Polish
• Portuguese*
• Romanian
• Serbian
• Spanish*^
• Swedish
• Turkish
• Ukrainian
• Yiddish

We also strongly encourage students studying non-European languages - such as Arabic, Persian, Hindi, and Russian - to apply for FLAS fellowships when a contemporary application of those language skills will significantly enhance their work as distinctly European Studies scholars. For example, a student studying Russian must have a clearly defined reason why the study of Russian would help him/her in research/study about a country in Western or Central Europe such as Russian immigration to Germany.

Students may NOT be native speakers of the language nor possess fluency equivalent to educated native speakers in the language for which the award is sought.

*Please note that this Fellowship is not available for students studying Brazilian Portuguese or for those studying Spanish for the study of Mexico, Central America, etc. The language MUST have a European focus.

^Please note that graduate applicants wishing to study French, Spanish, or German must do so at the intermediate or advanced level. No "novice" or "beginner" level FLAS fellowships awarded for these languages. 

Do I need to have a certain level of proficiency to be eligible?

Graduate students may be at the beginning*, intermediate, or advanced levels. Again, students may NOT be native speakers of the language nor possess fluency equivalent to educated native speakers in the language for which the award is sought.

*If students are applying at a beginner/novice level, they must already be at the advanced level of another language and indicate the second language in the FLAS application. However, graduate students MUST be at the intermediate or above level of study for Spanish, French or German.

Who is eligible?

Academic-year Fellowships are awarded to students enrolled from all fields of study who are in good standing at UT or who have been recently accepted for admission. Students must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents. We especially encourage applications from students from the professional schools. Graduate students must be engaged in pre-dissertation study, preparation for dissertation research, or, in rare cases, dissertation research or dissertation writing. However, students must be enrolled in one language course and one area studies course both semesters.

Is financial need a consideration?

Yes, the new DoE guidelines beginning with the 2015 application round is now a two-tiered system. Students will first be ranked on academic merit. The second round will review the financial needs of each ranked student based on their FAFSA score.

Do I have to complete a FAFSA application?

You do not have to complete a FAFSA application, but it is HIGHLY recommended that you do so. Any student who has not completed a FAFSA application and had it reviewed by financial aid (typically a three week turnaround) before our application date will not have a FAFSA score and will, therefore, be ranked lowest among students during the second tier of the review process.

How do I complete the FAFSA application?

Applicants should refer the the UT Office of Student Financial Aid website to create and submit a FAFSA application: http://finaid.utexas.edu FAFSA applications can be submitted starting on October 1 of each year. There is a multi-week processing time for the applications, so we strongly encourage FLAS applicants to complete the FAFSA applications as soon as possible: https://studentaid.gov

How will you know my FAFSA score?

On the FLAS applications, you will indicate whether you have completed the FAFSA application and, if so, the date it was submitted. There is also a place on the application where you will give us permission to receive your FAFSA score directly from UT's Office of Student Financial Aid.

What must I be willing to do if awarded the Fellowship?

If awarded a FLAS, you must agree to:

• Take at least one grade-based language course both fall and spring semesters.*

• Take at least one grade-based European area studies course each semester.*

• Be registered full time both semesters.

• Complete information sent to you through the U.S. Department of Education's online computer system.

• Meet with assigned faculty at the beginning and end of the academic year for language assessment.

• Must be willing to complete a final online report of your activities at the end of the award period.

• Participate in limited events held during the academic year for the Center.

• Participate in brief surveys after graduation, for eight years.

  *Courses must be approved by the Center.

Will the FLAS affect financial aid?

Yes, the FLAS will affect financial aid. Upon receiving a Fellowship, you will want to speak with your Financial Aid counselor to discuss the specifics of the changes. In some cases, receiving a FLAS may drastically reduce or eliminate your financial aid from the Office of Student Financial Services.

What does the graduate Fellowship NOT cover?

The graduate FLAS Fellowship does not cover: 1) fees not related to coursework; 2) books and materials; and 3) medical insurance. Thanks to the generosity of the College of Liberal Arts, COLA graduate students will receive a stipend to cover the cost of UT AcademicBlue Student Health Insurance policies beginning AY 2022-23. Graduate Students in departments outside of the College of Liberal Arts are encouraged to seek supplemental funding for health insturance or ask their home departments and schools/colleges if health insurance funding is available.  

Can I accept other Fellowships or work during the academic year?

Generally students who are awarded a FLAS are not allowed to accept other Fellowships or be employed; the FLAS is designed to allow you to focus on your studies full time. However, special cases may be approved by the Director of CES.

Can I reapply for the FLAS for multiple years?

Yes, students may apply for the academic year and summer FLAS Fellowships for multiple years, although you will need to turn in a new application and supporting documents each time.

Do I need to provide copies of my GRE scores?

CES has waived the GRE score requirement beginning with the AY 2021-22 cycle. If you would like to submit your test scores, you may although it is not required.  

Can I turn in an unofficial transcipt?

CES believes that students should not have to pay to access their grades. Therefore, CES will accept UT Academic Summaries, which my be obtained in person at the UT Registrar's office. More information, including how to request, can be found on the UT Austin Registrar's website. 

How do I submit letters of recommendation?

Several weeks before the application deadline, be sure to secure two references, who will agree to submit letters of recommendation on your behalf to CES. Your references cannot access the recommendation upload tool until you submit your application, and they will only have one week after the application deadline to submit the letters, so be sure to complete your application in a timely manner to give them as much time as possible to submit their letters.

When you submit your application, the references will automatically receive an email with a link to the recommendation upload tool. Applicants are responsible for providing correct email addresses for their references in the application form and for giving their references ample time to submit a recommendation. 

Upon your submission of the application form to CES, your recommenders will receive an email with a link to the recommendation upload tool, where they can upload their letters of recommendation directly to CES.

FLAS Summer Graduate FAQ

What is the Graduate Summer FLAS?

The European Studies graduate summer FLAS (Foreign Language and Area Studies) is a Fellowship awarded to graduate students who are studying an approved modern foreign language at UT or an approved university or school in the U.S. or abroad. The summer program must be intensive and be the equivalent of one academic year of study, typically 120 in-class hours for advanced students and 140 in-class hours for beginner/intermediate students. The course must be a minimum of six-weeks. Students must be at the intermediate or advanced level of language study to use an award for an approved overseas language program.

What does the Graduate Summer FLAS provide?

The FLAS Graduate Summer Fellowship provides a stipend of $3,500 plus tuition and required course-related fees up to $5,000 per summer. Typically, travel expenses are not covered by the FLAS but may be paid by the student using the stipend. Occasionally, however, CES may be in a position to provide some financial assistance for travel.

What languages qualify as "approved" foreign languages?

• Bosnian
• Croatian
• Czech
• Danish
• Dutch (Flemish)
• French^
• German^
• Italian
• Norwegian
• Polish
• Portuguese*
• Romanian
• Serbian
• Spanish*^
• Swedish
• Turkish
• Ukrainian
• Yiddish

We also strongly encourage students studying non-European languages - such as Arabic, Persian, Hindi, and Russian - to apply for FLAS fellowships when a contemporary application of those language skills will significantly enhance their work as distinctly European Studies scholars. For example, a student studying Russian must have a clearly defined reason why the study of Russian would help him/her in research/study about a country in Western or Central Europe such as Russian immigration to Germany.

Students may NOT be native speakers of the language nor possess fluency equivalent to educated native speakers in the language for which the award is sought.

*Please note that this Fellowship is not available for students studying Brazilian Portuguese or for those studying Spanish for the study of Mexico, Central America, etc. The language MUST have a European focus.

Do I need to have a certain level of proficiency to be eligible?

Graduate students may be at the beginning, intermediate, or advanced levels. However, graduate students MUST be at the intermediate or above level of study for Spanish, French or German. Again, students may NOT be native speakers of the language nor possess fluency equivalent to educated native speakers in the language for which the award is sought.

*If students are applying at a beginner/novice level, they must already be at the advanced level of another language and indicate the second language in the FLAS application. 

Is financial need a consideration?

Yes. Per the new Department of Education guidelines, the application round is now a two-tiered system. Students will first be ranked on academic merit. The second round will review the financial needs of each ranked student based on their FAFSA score.

Do I have to complete a FAFSA application?

You do not have to complete a FAFSA application, but it is HIGHLY recommended that you do so. Any student who has not completed a FAFSA application and had it reviewed by financial aid (typically a three week turnaround) before our application date will not have a FAFSA score and will, therefore, be ranked lowest among students during the second tier of the review process.

How do I complete the FAFSA application?

Applicants should refer the the UT Office of Student Financial Aid website to create and submit a FAFSA application: http://finaid.utexas.edu FAFSA applications can be submitted starting on October 1 of every year. There is a multi-week processing time for the applications, so we strongly encourage FLAS applicants to complete the FAFSA applications as soon as possible. https://studentaid.gov

How will you know my FAFSA score?

On the FLAS applications, you will indicate whether you have completed the FAFSA application and, if so, the date it was submitted. There is also a place on the application where you will give us permission to receive your FAFSA score directly from UT's Office of Student Financial Aid.  Please note: if you have not yet filed the appropriate tax returns or received your W-2s , you can estimate your income and correct your document after you have filed your taxes: https://studentaid.gov

Where does the money come from?

The Center for European Studies was awarded FLAS Fellowship funding from the U.S. Department of Education through its Title VI grant. The award was received in 2018 and has a four year cycle.

Who is eligible?

Summer Fellowships are awarded to students enrolled from all fields of study who are in good standing at UT or who have been recently accepted for admission. Students must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents. We especially encourage applications from students from the professional schools.

Do I need to have a proposed program of study?

Yes, applications should include a proposed program of study. We understand that this program may change, but funding will be offered on the proposed program and any changes will need approval from the Director of CES.

What type of UT transcript do you need?

CES believes that students should not have to pay to access their grades. Therefore, CES will accept UT Academic Summaries, which my be obtained in person at the UT Registrar's office. More information, including how to request, can be found on the UT Austin Registrar's website. 

How do I know if a summer language program is "intensive?"

Summer language programs must be a minimum of six week with 140 contact hours (in-class instruction) for beginner and intermediate level of study and 120 contact hours for advanced level.

Do I need to be enrolled at UT during the summer?

Students who receive a FLAS award and are traveling abroad are required to complete the mandatory Texas Global International Travel Process for individual students, and if traveling to a UT-designated restricted region, they must receive approval from the UT Austin International Oversight Committee before FLAS funding will be disbursed. Summer FLAS recipients traveling abroad must register their travel in the UT Austin International Travel Registry (ITR), which automatically enrolls students in UT System mandated On Call International Overseas Insurance coverage.

All undergraduate, graduate and professional students participating in activities or events abroad (whether required or optional) must adhere to UT Austin international travel policies. Please visit the Texas Global Risk and Safety website for more details.

Will courses completed under a Summer FLAS award show up on my UT transcript?

Maybe. Graduate students may only transfer graduate-level courses to UT.

How do I submit letters of recommendation?

Several weeks before the application deadline, be sure to secure two references, who will agree to submit letters of recommendation on your behalf to CES. Your references cannot access the recommendation upload tool until you submit your application, and they will only have one week after the application deadline to submit the letters, so be sure to complete your application in a timely manner to give them as much time as possible to submit their letters.

When you submit your application, the references will automatically receive an email with a link to the recommendation upload tool. Applicants are responsible for providing correct email addresses for their references in the application form and for giving their references ample time to submit a recommendation. 

Upon your submission of the application form to CES, your recommenders will receive an email with a link to the recommendation upload tool, where they can upload their letters of recommendation directly to CES.