Award:
This fellowship is for students who wish to enroll in intensive language programs at the beginning, intermediate, or advanced level. S-FLAS fellowships are broken down into two awards. The first award is a stipend in the amount of $2500. This can be used for any expenses incurred during the language program. The second award is paid directly to the sponsoring institution which covers tuition. This award is up to $4,000. This amount does not cover application/registration fees. Supporting documentation of program fees must be provided to CILAS in order to determine the amount of this second award.

The fellow may study at any approved institution in the United States or abroad which offers the equivalent of an academic year of language instruction in Brazilian Portuguese or Amerindian languages during the summer.
NOTE: It is the candidate's responsibility to register for the program and to ensure that it complies with the Title VI Summer FLAS guidelines. Many of these programs require that students apply beginning in early January to late March. Title VI guidelines state that for purposes of this fellowship, "intensive summer language programs are those that offer a minimum of 120 contact hours of advanced level language instruction and 140 contact hours of beginning or intermediate level instruction. In order to be considered intensive, summer language programs should last a minimum of 6 weeks; longer programs are preferable because they are more likely to provide the student with the equivalent of a full year of language study."

Previous fellowships have been granted for Brazilian Portuguese, Maya, Nahuatl, Quechua, Zapotec and Haitian Creole. The program should be affiliated with a U.S. university, must conform to U.S. Department of Education standards and must be approved by CILAS. Comprehensive lists of summer programs in lesser taught Latin American languages offered in universities language programs throughout the United States can be found on the CLASP website. Additional lists of language schools in Latin American Studies can be found on the LANIC website and the University of Michigan site.

Eligibility:
All graduate students who are accepted for enrollment or who are enrolled in a program that requires modern foreign language training.

In addition, the applicant must meet all of the following criteria:

• Study Latin American area or international studies
• Research and train in the international aspects of professional and other fields of study in Latin America
• Be in good academic standing
• Be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States

Students who will complete their course of study in 2009 are ineligible. They must use the fellowship to pursue Latin American Studies, either as part of their coursework at UCSD or as field research required for their degree. Applications will be considered and given priority in the humanities and social science disciplines, as well as other professional fields which focus on Latin America.

Procedures:
See Application Requirements for basic application procedures. In addition, please include a copy of the language program brochure, including tuition costs and registration costs. You must include a program chart in the beginning pages of your application. Click here for a sample. To study outside of the U.S. you must be at an advanced level of the chosen language; for beginning and intermediate levels, study abroad is only permitted if a language program is NOT offered in the United States. You must also submit written documentation from the program director that it is FLAS/Title VI approved if it is not listed on the CLASP, LANIC or University of Michigan websites.

Reporting Requirements:
Awardees must complete a confidential self-evaluation form at the end of their study. This must be completed via email. You will receive notification to submit your report online from the IRIS reporting system of the Department of Education. It is required that you submit this report because our funding in the future is contingent upon your report.

Note: If you receive a S-FLAS award and your program begins prior to July 1 and you wish fellowship disbursed prior to that time, please notify the Student Affairs Coordinator at CILAS (858) 534-7967 as to whether or not you receive financial aid. If you do, a letter to financial aid must be mailed stipulating this is an award for summer study.

Evaluation Of Applicants

An interdisciplinary committee composed of faculty will evaluate the fellowship proposals. Faculty committee members are representative of the sciences, social sciences, humanities, and other professional schools that focus on Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula.

S-FLAS Fellowship Language Priority:

Priority is given to less commonly taught languages of Latin America, which are indigenous languages. Students should show potential for high academic achievement based on such indices as GPA and technical competence.