Academic Year FLAS: Graduate students in the Elliott School, Columbian College of Arts & Sciences, or the Graduate School of Education & Human Development who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents.

Yes. Graduate students in the Elliott School, Columbian College of Arts & Sciences, or the Graduate School of Education & Human Development are eligible for the Academic Year FLAS fellowship as long as they enroll in one eligible language course (in Arabic, Chinese, Hebrew, Japanese, Korean, Persian, or Turkish) and one eligible area studies course (that covers the Middle East or East Asia) each semester. Undergraduate and Graduate students from any program are eligible for the Summer FLAS, which covers the costs of summer language study in Arabic, Chinese, Hebrew, Japanese, Korean, Persian, or Turkish.

As long as you enroll in one eligible language course (in Arabic, Chinese, Hebrew, Japanese, Korean, Persian, or Turkish) and one eligible area studies course (that covers the Middle East or East Asia) each semester, the remaining courses you take are at your discretion. Your eligible language and area studies courses must be taken for credit and you must receive a formal letter grade (they cannot be taken pass/fail).

The area studies course does not need to be offered by any particular department, but to be eligible the course should typically have the region in its title (ie, “Middle East” or “Arab World” or “Korean Peninsula” or “East Asia” etc). If the course title does not reflect the regional focus you should inquire with the relevant FLAS coordinator to see if the course will satisfy the requirement. For students studying the Middle East please contact: imes_flas@gwu.edu For students studying East Asia please contact asia@gwu.edu Please obtain a copy of the syllabus or course description from the faculty member leading the course and supply this to the FLAS coordinator so they can make a timely decision.

The fellowship provides a $20,000 living stipend and covers 20 credits of tuition. (Approximately half of this tuition assistance is provided by the US Department of Education, the other half is covered by the George Washington University). The living stipend of $20,000 is allocated in equal monthly payments during the fellowship period. This fellowship does not pay for university fees, which remain the responsibility of the student.

Students are permitted to undertake work totaling no more than 20 hours a week during the fellowship period (on or off campus).

Yes. However, Academic Year winners using the FLAS award abroad must remain enrolled at GW through a formal study abroad partnership or ensure their study abroad credits transfer to GW.  This is determined by the Office of Study Abroad.  All programs abroad must also be approved by the U.S. Department of Education prior to departure. Fellows should submit their program choices to their FLAS coordinators to secure Department of Education approval. For students studying the Middle East this contact is: imes_flas@gwu.edu For students studying East Asia this contact is: asia@gwu.edu

If you study any of the FLAS-eligible languages at a level that is over what is currently offered at GW, you may consult directly with a language instructor at GW to design an independent study course which matches your skill level while fulfilling award requirements. The syllabus and schedule of the course, as well as the instructor’s CV, must then be sent to your FLAS coordinator for approval by the Department of Education.

Yes, these courses may be approved on a case-by-case basis by the FLAS coordinator and Department of Education. Awardees should forward information about the course and final project to their coordinator before the semester begins.

These consist of short oral evaluations (no more than 15-20 minutes in length) with a GW language instructor at the beginning and end of the academic year to measure progress in proficiency, as required by the Department of Education. Awardees are recommended to request that their current language instructors serve as their FLAS evaluators. If they do not have an instructor, their FLAS coordinator can help pair them with one as appropriate.

In addition, for the East Asian languages award, awardees are required to complete a self-assessment of their proficiency level in their chosen language using GW’s online self-administered diagnostic test at the beginning and end of the academic year for reporting purposes. A link to the testing website will be sent to awardees by their FLAS coordinator.

No. You will need to reapply with a new proposal.