FLAS Summer Fellowship

Graduate FLAS Summer Fellowship

Graduate summer FLAS supports students enrolled in formal domestic and overseas programs of intensive language study.

  • Eligibility Requirements
  • Summer FLAS Fellowship Requirements
  • Languages Classified by Area
  • Financial Provisions
  • Applications

Related information

FLAS Summer Application

Please note that the Fact Sheet and Application is in PDF format. Adobe Acrobat Reader is required for viewing PDF format files. You may download Acrobat Reader from the Adobe Web site.

Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible to apply for a FLAS fellowship, a student must meet the following criteria:

  1. Be a citizen or eligible permanent resident of the United States, or be in the process of becoming a citizen or permanent resident of the United States (in the latter case, immigration documentation is required);
  2. Be enrolled full time in a Harvard graduate degree program that requires further development of language proficiency;
  3. Demonstrate potential for high academic achievement;
  4. Agree to pursue full-time intensive summer language study (minimum of 6 weeks 140 hours).
  5. All non-GSAS applicants must notify thier school's financial aid office that they have appliced for a FLAS fellowship

Summer FLAS Fellowship Requirements

To be eligible to receive a summer fellowship under the FLAS program, a student must meet the following additional requirements:

  1. Be enrolled in a program that will provide the equivalent of one academic year of advanced language training or;
  2. Be enrolled in a summer program that will provide the equivalent of one academic year of beginning or intermediate language training, after having already mastered another language in the same World Area. Both languages must be a necessary and integral part of the student's degree program. Students studying a second language at the beginning or intermediate level will have to submit a letter from their advisor verifying that the second language is necessary for the student's degree program.
  3. Summer FLAS Fellowships used overseas must be at the intermediate or advanced level and must be approved by the U.S. Department of Education. Beginning level programs must be in the US. All programs are required to be at least six weeks in duration. Beginning and intermediate level programs must provide a minimum of 140 hours of instruction. Advanced level programs must provide a minimum of 120 hours of instruction. Beginning level programs must be in the US. All programs must be graded.
  4. All students applying for summer fellowships are expected to apply for financial aid at the institutions they plan on attending.
  5. FLAS Fellows must complete an electronic Student Performance Report at the end of the summer. Failure to submit this report precludes future participation in the program.

Languages Classified by Area

The following languages, classified by World Area, are approved by the US Department of Education for Harvard University to offer FLAS Fellowships:

Africa
Akan, Amharic, Bamanankan, Chichewa, Dinka, Hausa, Igbo, Kinyarwanda, Swahili, Wolof, Xhosa, Yoruba, Zulu

East Asia
Mandarin Chinese*, Japanese*, Korean, Tibetan, Vietnamese

East Europe
 Armenian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Polish, Russian, Ukrainian, Uzbek, Yiddish

Middle East
Arabic, Armenian, Hebrew, Kurdish, Persian, Turkish, Uzbek


* Applicant must have completed the equivalent of two years of college study in Mandarin Chinese or the equivalent of two years of college study in Japanese.

Financial Provisions

Summer fellowships provide a grant of up to $5,000 (to cover actual tuition costs) plus a stipend of $2,500.  Please note that many summer language programs report the total program costs as “tuition.” This total must be broken down into to determine the actual tuition and fees as separate from room, board, and travel costs. Because the stipend is a fixed amount, it is possible that a summer FLAS Fellowship will not cover the total cost of a student’s program. At the time of application, please submit a copy of the brochure or a website address for the summer program you plan on attending (web versions acceptable). This information should include the language of study, the program start and end dates, the number of contact hours per week, the level of study,  the required tuition and fees, start date, and end date

Students should request that their tuition bills be sent directly to the FLAS Fellowship Coordinator, Holyoke Center 3rd Floor, 1350 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138. Students may have to submit a deposit before the FLAS Fellowship is disbursed. If that deposit results in an overpayment once the FLAS Fellowship Coordinator pays the tuition, the summer program should reimburse the student. The FLAS Fellowship will not reimburse students for any money paid toward tuition.

Applications

Applicants must note on their FLAS application other fellowship programs to which they have applied and, if possible, the results of the applications. Please include this list at the end of the Statement of Purpose.

2 letters of recommendation are required of all applicants, one from a language and one from an area studies instructor.

For further information please contact:

FLAS Coordinator
Holyoke Center, 3rd Floor
1350 Massachusetts Ave
Cambridge, MA 02138
Phone: 617-495-5396
Fax: 617-496-5333
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.