Student Fellowships

Please read the eligibility requirements carefully. The graduate and undergraduate requirements differ. If you are not eligible, please do not apply. The fellowship requirements apply to both graduate and undergraduate students. If you receive a fellowship, you will be asked to sign a form indicating that you will comply with all requirements.

FLAS Eligibility

Graduate Students

To be eligible for FLAS as a graduate student: 

  • You must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
  • You must be currently enrolled as a graduate student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and in good standing with the Graduate College OR you must have been admitted to a graduate program at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (students can apply with a pending application to an Illinois graduate program but can only accept a FLAS Fellowship if admitted).

The FLAS award is generally for intermediate or advanced study of a less commonly taught language; however “an exception might be made for the beginning level of a less commonly taught language if a graduate student has achieved advanced proficiency in another language of the world area of specialization, and if learning a second language of that world area is required for the student’s overall training and expertise.”

Undergraduate Students

To be eligible for FLAS as an undergraduate student: 

  • You must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
  • You must be currently enrolled in or have a demonstrated proficiency at least at the intermediate level in the language for which you are applying. Acceptable proof of proficiency includes reference letter from a language instructor, placement test, or high school or college transcripts. Students should check with the languages department to learn what year of study is considered as intermediate for the language for which they are applying as some departments accept second year and some departments accept third year as the intermediate level. Please note: undergraduates fellowships are not available for Spanish, French, or German.
  • You must have a minimum 3.0 GPA.
    1. You must be enrolled full-time (12 credit hours) each semester.
    2. You must be enrolled for graded credit in formal language instruction in the language of the award as well as in an international or area studies course.

Summer Fellowships Requirements

To be eligible for a summer FLAS Fellowship: 

  • You must be enrolled in the equivalent of a full year of formal language study. See Summer FLAS and Resources for more details.

Overall Requirements

All FLAS Fellowship recipients must: 

  • Complete an online periodic evaluation of the program the semester after your award and later as an alum of the program.
  • Complete a biennial questionnaire for eight years after graduation, as specified by U.S. Department of Education grant requirements.