Contingent upon US Department of Education funding, the Center for Russian, East European & Eurasian Studies offers academic year Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships. The graduate FLAS Fellowship is a prestigious award funded by the US Department of Education that provides recipients up to $18,000 toward Pitt tuition or up to full graduate tuition and most fees (based on availability of supplementary funding), in addition to a living stipend of at least $20,000. Only US citizens and permanent residents are eligible to receive FLAS Fellowships. To apply for an academic year FLAS, you must submit a FLAS graduate application via InfoReady for approval by the department or professional school in which you are currently enrolled or to which you are seeking admission. Currently, academic year FLAS-eligible languages include: Russian, Bosnian / Croatian / Montenegrin / Serbian (BCMS), Hungarian, Polish, Slovak, Turkish, and Ukrainian. Fellowship competitions are held each winter. Applications for AY 2025-26 must be submitted to your department or school in InfoReady by February 3, 2025.
FLAS awards are also available for intensive summer language study through Pitt’s Summer Language Institute (SLI), or for intensive summer programs external to Pitt in REEES regional languages and/or levels that are not offered by the SLI. For Summer 2025, applications must be submitted to REEES in InfoReady by February 17, 2025.
FLAS Fellowships are authorized under Title VI of the Higher Education Act and are administered by the US Department of Education. The purpose of the FLAS Fellowship program is: “To assist in the development of knowledge, resources, and trained personnel for modern foreign language and area studies, to stimulate the attainment of foreign language acquisition and fluency, and to develop a pool of international experts to meet national needs.”
Eligibility:
In order to apply, students must be:
- A U.S. citizen or permanent resident
- Enrolled in a master's or doctoral degree program at the University of Pittsburgh during the fellowship period
- Prepared to enroll in a FLAS-eligible language course at the intermediate level (second year) or above and at least one area studies course per term during the fellowship tenure, or be engaged in full-time dissertation research or writing. Under limited circumstances, beginning level language study may be eligible; please consult REEES for guidance.
FLAS Graduate Fellows are expected to register and devote full time to their study, and thus, during the period of their Fellowship, they are typically not permitted to hold a teaching or other remunerative position at the University of Pittsburgh. Some limited exceptions may apply; please contact REEES well in advance for guidance.
Evaluation Criteria:
- Overall quality of academic record
- Relevance of target language to student’s plan of study and future career goals
- Evidence of commitment to language and area studies of the REEES world region
- Financial need will be considered for applicants who have submitted a current Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to the University of Pittsburgh
Application Materials:
Applications should be submitted in InfoReady by February 3, 2025 to the student's department or school, which will forward approved applications to REEES by February 17. Applications should contain all of the following materials. Only complete applications will be accepted.
- FLAS graduate application form (completed online in InfoReady)
- Curriculum Vitae (no more than 2 pages)
- All undergraduate and graduate transcripts
- Language Study Plan: 1-2 page statement indicating the FLAS-eligible language you propose to study, how you will combine language and area studies to satisfy FLAS requirements, the extent of current or previous language training, your native language if other than English, and how you will continue developing language proficiency after the FLAS fellowship year
- Personal Study Plan: 2-3 page statement indicating your interest in REEES area studies, how your anticipated career goals would be advanced by the FLAS, a brief personal history including any experience(s) related to the REEES world region, and the title and brief description of your dissertation topic, if applicable.
- Two letters of recommendation
- Optional Financial Aid Information Release (if you choose not to submit a FAFSA and sign this release, please be aware that while your FLAS application will remain eligible for merit-based consideration, you will forfeit any need-based consideration of your application)
Please see the University Center for International Studies (UCIS) FLAS site or contact REESAdvising@pitt.edu for more information.