The Center for Russia, East Europe and Central Asia (CREECA) has opened a second FLAS competition for students who will be studying a Central Eurasian language at CESSI 2020. Applications are due by 11:59 p.m. on Monday, June 1, 2020.
Please read the information below carefully to ensure that you are eligible before applying for a CESSI FLAS.
FLAS (Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowships) are provided by the U.S. Department of Education. A FLAS fellowship for CESSI covers the program fee as well as a fixed stipend of $2,500. Fellowships are awarded based on a national competition and are open to undergraduate students studying a CESSI language at the intermediate level or above and graduate students who are currently enrolled* in a degree program and who are citizens or permanent residents of the United States. Thus, non-students and undergraduate students studying a language at the elementary level are ineligible for CESSI FLAS fellowships. The same is true of international students who are not permanent residents of the U.S. However, if you fall into either of these categories, you are still eligible to receive CESSI Tuition Remission; please email cessi@creeca.wisc.edu if you are interested in applying for CESSI Tuition Remission.
The Department of Education has prioritized students applying for the 2nd or 3rd year of study for FLAS funding. Students may be granted an exception to allow study of the beginning level if the student has achieved at least intermediate proficiency in another language of the world area of specialization or has other extenuating circumstances. Students who are applying for beginning language study will need to justify why an exception should be granted as part of their application. The Department of Education has final say as to whether an exception for first-year study will be granted.
*If you have applied for graduate school for the fall semester following CESSI, you can apply for a FLAS, but you must show proof of acceptance into a graduate program prior to receiving the award.
For additional information, please refer to the FLAS FAQ page or contact the CREECA FLAS coordinator.
Because the initial application has closed, you will need to do the following to submit an application:
- Go to the FLAS website (https://flas.wisc.edu/) and click on “Applicants can check on the status of their application here.”
- Log in as either a UW-Madison user or a non-UW-Madison user to create a new application.
- Select the following competition: “CREECA Summer 2020, Supplemental” and complete the application process.
Eligible Classes: Elementary Kazakh (graduate students only), Intermediate/Advanced Kazakh, Intermediate Tajik, Intermediate Uyghur/Uighur, Elementary Uzbek (graduate students only), and Intermediate Uzbek.