For over 60 years, the University of Illinois has been a national leader in international education, providing students with specialized language, area, and global studies training that gives them a competitive edge in job prospects, research, and professional networks. Alumni use their linguistic expertise and cross-cultural communication skills across federal and local government, higher education, health care, public service, the tech industry, non-profits, and international business.
With the support of fellowships like the Foreign Language and Area Studies awards and the Illinois Global Institute (Graduate Language Fellowship, more than 1,500 Illinois graduate and undergraduate students have studied over 65 less commonly taught languages in more than 55 countries.
Now, with significant funding cuts to the FLAS program, it is imperative that the IGI and its associated centers broaden support for students who seek to study less commonly taught languages and pursue immersive global research opportunities. Your generosity helps ensure that these essential pathways remain open to every student who aspires to understand the world more deeply and contribute to it more effectively.