FLAS FAQs

 

The fellowship will be awarded to full-time students attending Ohio State in a degree-granting program.  You must have been admitted to an Ohio State program, be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident and have attained intermediate or higher level of proficiency in the proposed language of study. (Please note that full-time for a fellow is 6 credit hours during Summer term and 12 graded credit hours per semester during the academic year.)

 

Yes, all FLAS applicants are now required to submit the FAFSA in order to be eligible for the fellowship.  Check with OSU's Student Financial Aid office for priority processing deadlines. Failure to complete the FAFSA by this deadline will result in ineligibility.

 

FLAS applicants must be current OSU students or have applied to be admitted to the university, in which case, your award is contingent upon being accepted to OSU.

 

Yes. In fact, students from other majors and concentrations are encouraged to apply.

 

No, fluency in a language disqualifies you as an applicant.

 

Due to increasing demand, the Committee has stated that after three FLAS fellowships have been awarded to the same individual, the applicant is expected to explore other funding options.

 

Yes, but it is rare, as strict regulations are in place.  First, one must be completing his/her research at OSU Libraries.  Second, the research must be completed in the foreign language for which the fellowship is awarded.  Third, dissertation research is only available to academic year fellows. 

A request must be made to MESC by August 15 in order to obtain dissertation research status.  After obtaining written approval from your advisor, send an email to Melinda McClimans (you must include your advisor’s approval) with the subject line “FLAS Dissertation Status Approval Request” and provide confirmation that you meet all of the following criteria:

1. The student is at the advanced level and has taken all of the courses available;

2. The student has the ability to conduct research in the FLAS language without guidance or supervision;

3. The student has access to all of the documents necessary for the research (additional confirmation from the Middle East Studies Library is suggested); and

4. The research will improve the language proficiency equal to the proficiency that would have been obtained from a full year’s worth of study.

Once dissertation research permission is obtained, the fellow must still register for dissertation research courses and one independent study language course in the language s/he is utilizing every semester.  

 

 

The application will be available mid-November.

 

All materials must be submitted by 11:59pm on Monday, February 2, 2015 - no exceptions.

 

A complete fellowship application package consists of: completed application form, submission of FAFSA by OSU's priority processiing deadline, official up-to-date transcripts, one-page single-spaced Statement of Intent, three letters of reference, and a completed Study Abroad/Domestic non-OSU form. 

 

Yes, OSU has three additional Centers that award FLAS Fellowships.  You may submit applications to more than one Center, but you will not be allowed to receive two simultaneous awards.

 

Yes, it is allowable to receive both fellowships in the same year.  Keep in mind that these are two separate competitions, so two different application forms will need to be completed.  You only have to submit one set of transcripts, Statement of Intent and recommendation letters.

 

You must complete a new application and submit updated transcripts. You may reuse your letters of recommendation, should you so choose, but make sure you inform the Center of this ahead of time. 

 

Due to the volume of applications that we receive, we are unable to verify receipt of materials. You may try contacting the sender and asking them to confirm that the information was sent.

 

In that case, your third recommendation should be completed by another professor or instructor who can speak to your general academic abilities.

 

Your recommender can submit a .pdf version of the recommendation form and electronically sign or s/he may submit a letter via email in lieu of that.  Please note that if the letter and/or recommendation form is to be sent electronically, it must come from the recommender’s email directly to MESC (i.e. it cannot be sent to you to forward to us).

 

Undergraduate and first-year graduate students must submit official transcripts from all colleges and universities attended.  Second-year graduate students need only submit his/her official graduate transcript.

 

No, the Committee will accept official transcripts only.

 

Please give your level of proficiency as of the start of the fellowship.

 

Fellowships are awarded to students who have already established some degree of knowledge and competency in the language (or perhaps even in another foreign language). One of the requirements of the application is the submittal of three letters of recommendation. If an applicant is unable to provide a referral that can speak to his/her ability and proficiency in the language, the Committee will note that.

 

The fellowship cannot be used to support study at institutions abroad for students ranked below the intermediate level.  However, should you wish to attend OSU or a non-OSU domestic institution, you would be able to utilize FLAS funds for your study.

 

A student must enroll in a foreign language course (specifically, the foreign language for which they received the award) for each term of the fellowship in order to fulfill the FLAS requirements.

 

As long as you are enrolled in one language course and one area studies course each semester, the remaining courses you take are at your discretion. Please note, though, that all courses must be for graded credit.  Pass/fail, independent study, and audits are not allowable.  The courses must be full-time, graded and taught in the classroom. Additional courses outside of the mandated 12 credit hours have no such restrictions.

 

Fill out the application as though you’ve been accepted.  We’ll deal with your status as the process moves along. 

 

The area studies course does not need to be offered by any particular department but the course content must be at least 25% ME-related in order to satisfy FLAS requirements. If you have any questions about whether a course meets the percentage needed, we suggest looking over the syllabus and/or speaking with the instructor to clarify.

 

Try clicking "Print" and then changing the name to "Adobe PDF".  If that doesn’t work, you may also print out the form, handwrite the information and then upload.

 

 

Summer FLAS fellows receive up to $5,000* toward tuition and a $2,500 stipend.  Undergraduate academic year fellows receive up to $10,000* in tuition and a $5,000 stipend, while graduate and professional fellows receive up to $18,000* in tuition and a $15,000 stipend. *Less a required benefits charge.

 

Summer stipends are allocated in two equal installments, paid on the last working day of June and July.  Academic year fellows will receive their first stipend payment at the end of August. You will receive ½ your monthly stipend in August and May, and the full stipend amount September through April.  You may also visit the Office of the Controller's website to see the most current Pay Period Schedule. (You are on the Monthly Schedule.)

 

No. Though stipends are taxable, the university does not withhold state or federal income taxes from your monthly stipend.  However, you will receive a letter with the financial information you'll need to properly file your taxes.  Should you have questions regarding your tax situation in regards to the fellowship, please contact the Office of the Controller. Please do not direct your questions to MESC, as we are unable to provide assistance in this matter due to potential legal obligations.

 

The award will cover up to a certain amount of your tuition (see above), excluding any previously applied scholarship or grant funds. The Center will not decrease the amount applied toward tuition in the case of student loans, so long as the total award amount is not exceeded.

 

You may not hold two fellowships at one time.  You will need to decline one of them.

 

Yes, as it can affect the total aid you are awarded.

 

No, the fellowship cannot be deferred.  You would have to decline the award so that it may be given to another applicant.

 

Yes, though only in limited circumstances.  Your “job” is to engage in intensive language study during the summer award period, or full-time foreign language and area or international studies coursework during the academic year. However, OSU policy will allow an additional appointment such as a TA, GAA, RA, etc., at .25 FTE (10 hours per week for graduate students).  It must be approved by:  1) your advisor, 2) MESC, and 3) the Graduate School or your department.  Permission must be obtained in that order.

 

Not necessarily.  Students may be eligible for reimbursement of travel expenses up to $1,000.  Regulations stipulate, however, that the student must be flying to and from his/her program site within an allowable time frame (1-2 weeks before and after the program’s start and end dates) and flight plans must comply with the Fly America Act.  The U.S. Department of Education must approve the travel itinerary in advance, and reimbursement may only be sought for the complete itinerary.  One cannot ask for reimbursement for only one leg of the journey.

 

No, the fellowships are intended to cover a full academic year of study.

 

No, regulations stipulate that all area studies courses must contain at least 25% ME-related content.  Focusing your final paper or project on the ME does not meet the spirit of that requirement. 

 

Yes, as long as it is graded and we are able to obtain DOE approval in advance of the start of term.  You must email Melinda McClimans the course information (include verification from the course-offering department that there is a dearth of available courses, necessitating the need for independent study) at least three weeks before the start of term.

 

No, the fellowship is intended for summer or academic year study. 

 

No, summer programs must be at least 6 weeks in duration and consist of 140 contact hours for intermediate study and 120 contact hours for advanced study (meaning formal instruction in a classroom), according to federal regulations. 

 

Should the travel warning be lifted in advance of your travels, you would be able to attend.  However, we suggest you submit a back-up program as well, so that you have something to fall back on.

 

All fellows are required to complete pre- and post-award reports and proficiency assessments for the U.S. Department of Education.  Additionally, they will be surveyed by the DOE periodically in the years following their award.

 

 

No later than April 1st.

 

No, all applicants are notified in the same timeframe.  If you have plans to study at another institution, you must be sure to meet their deadlines, regardless of whether you’ve received notification from the Center.

 

FLAS has recently switched to a two-tier selection process.  The Center's Committee, composed of OSU faculty members, will individually evaluate and rank the applicants by merit.  Once the final rankings have been established, the Student Financial Aid office will supply data on each applicant's financial need. Awards will then be distributed based off of merit and financial need.

 

There is no set number of fellowships awarded.  The Committee will rank all of the applications and the Center’s staff will then determine how many awards are available based on several criteria.