CLAS Fellowship Announcement: Encouraging exploration of scarcely taught languages and cultures in Latin America
Did you know the Center for Latin American Studies offers fellowships for undergraduate and graduate students interested in learning Portuguese, Quechua, and Haitian Creole? Through the Foreign Language & Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship, we offer summer and academic year fellowships for students. For the academic year, we pay full tuition for graduate students and up to $10,000 tuition for undergraduates, and $20,000 as a stipend for graduate students and $5,000 for undergraduates. Undergraduate students can receive additional financial aid and outside employment alongside their FLAS fellowship. For summer, we cover up to $5,000 in program tuition, and fellows receive a $3,500 stipend. Additionally, if funding is available, we cover up to $1,000 of travel expenses. Recipient testimonials below:
“FLAS helped me learn about Portuguese-speaking cultures. Because of my interests in Latin America and in FLAS, I plan to take a Latin American literature class as a requirement for one of my Gen-Eds that fulfills FLAS requirements. I would not have taken this course but because of FLAS and my study in Portuguese I found an increased interest in Latin America. I find that my knowledge in Portuguese and Lusophone Countries has helped me in different instanc es and I hope to focus my work on those countries because of FLAS and what OSU has taught me. FLAS helped me financially since now I worry much less when bills such as tuition and rent come up because I know that my fellowship helps with these charges.” – Elijah Fidder, 3rd year student; Political Science and International Relations and Diplomacy double major, with Portuguese minor.
“After studying Portuguese for one year, I was fortunate enough to receive an FLAS fellowship to continue my studies over the summer in Brazil. During that time, I applied the basics I learned in previous semesters and my Portuguese ability improved exponentially. By the end of my 6-week program, my Portuguese ability was to a standard where I communicated fluidly with Lusophones and my comprehension in Portuguese reached high levels. This benefitted me in my volunteer work as a medical interpreter where I have interpreted for Brazilian & Angolan patients, and in my future, this skill will only help more as I become a doctor who may work with Portuguese-speaking patients. This language skill has opened doors for future travel, and I’m very thankful to have received the FLAS fellowship, which helped to fully fund my study abroad experience.” – Mateo Zevallos, 2nd year student Biomedical Science major and Portuguese minor on a pre-med track.
The application period for FLAS is November 1, 2023—February 1, 2024. For questions, reach out to LeilaVieira.31, Assistant Director for Center for Latin American Studies.
Links of Interest
Center for Latin American Studies
Spring 2024 CLAS Events (Events, workshops, and programs offered this spring)