African Studies Center

at Michigan State University

Eligibility and Benefits

PURPOSE

The Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship Program is designed to meet critical needs for specialists in American education, government and "other service of a public nature" who will utilize their skills in training others, and in developing throughout the United Stated a wider knowledge and understanding of other countries and cultures. Fellowships are awarded to graduate students for advanced training in a modern foreign language and an international studies program. See the attached flyer for the specific proposed languages and eligible departments at Michigan State University.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

To be considered for fellowship support in this program, you must:

  1. Be a citizen or a permanent resident of the United States
  2. Provide reasonable assurance that upon the completion of your training, you will: a. Teach in an institution of higher education, or in an elementary or secondary school in the United States, or b. Be available for service of a public nature as an employee of a governmental agency, of an international organization in which the United Stated participates, or of a private (for profit or non-profit and non-sectarian) organization which contributes significantly to international understanding.
  3. Have earned a baccalaureate or a comparable degree before the fellowship period begins and be admitted to or currently enrolled in a graduate degree program at Michigan State University.

  4. Intend to complete an advanced graduate program at Michigan State University, normally to the Ph.D. level, with a concentration on Africa.

In addition, applicants are expected:

  1. a. To use the language of award in a substantial way for dissertation research. b. Submit a description of dissertation topic and research as outlined in the application instructions.
  2. Agree to pursue full time graduate study and propose a course of study that includes both language training and related area course work. (Students at dissertation stage may engage in full time research, if the previous criteria and other related requirements are met and if they have been given permission to do so by the Program Coordinator.) The course of study for the academic year must include a minimum of two semesters of the study of an African language and two courses of African area studies courses. The area courses should be selected from a list of courses from the African Studies Core Curriculum. On occasion, other courses may be substituted for those on the core curriculum in consultation with the Program Coordinator if the substituted course is taught by an Africanist faculty member and at least one-half of the course concerns Africa.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

The U. S. Department of Education lists the following criteria for the selection of Nominees and Alternates:

  1. A high level of academic ability as evidenced by such indices as grade point average or other measures. (At MSU, applicants are expected to meet the normal criteria for fellowships on this campus-preferably to have an undergraduate GPA and/or graduate grades of 3.5 or better, good GRE scores, and strong letters of recommendation.)
  2. Preference will be given to persons likely to complete a Ph.D. and use the African language studied in their research or field work.
  3. Students who do not owe a referral on any federal or state grants or who are not in default on any Federal (national) or state educational loans.

LANGUAGE STUDY

Fellows must be enrolled in their language of concentration for each term they hold the fellowship until they have achieved advanced competency relevant to field research in the language and have completed all requirements for the Ph.D. degree except the dissertation.

The purpose of the language training program is to provide the student of Africa with advanced competency for use in archival and field research work using the language; therefore, the student should demonstrate that the language for which he/she applies is likely to be utilized in advanced research. Normally the student should not begin a new language until advanced competency is achieved in languages already initiated.

TERMS OF THE AWARD

  1. Award benefits include: a. Payment of most tuition and fees (both applicable to normal core college rates)

    b. A stipend of $15,000 for the academic year. If it becomes necessary to resign or withdraw during the year, the award will be prorated on a monthly basis.

  2. Fellows are expected to engage in full time graduate study and to register for 9-12 credits, including one language course each term and two area studies courses each academic year.

  3. Fellows must enroll in two African area courses from the Center Core Curriculum for each year of the award. One of the courses must be outside the college of the student's major field. The other must be one of the Center's interdisciplinary courses or seminars. Permission from the Program Coordinator is needed if the area studies courses are less than 2 credit hours each.

  4. By the end of the second year of holding one of the Center's fellowships, a student must have taken one of the following seminars: (a) Archival and Library Research Methods for Africa or (b) Field Research Methods in Africa.

  5. In the first year of holding a fellowship, all new fellows are required to attend a one-evening seminar concerning library materials about Africa at MSU under the direction of one of our two library specialists in the Africana Collection.

  6. The student must include at least one member of the African Studies Core Faculty on the doctoral studies and dissertation committee(s) as a channel for insight and resources in planning the student's graduate program.

  7. For students at dissertation stage (who have completed prelims and Ph.D. residence requirements): you may register for 2 credits of research. Since we must submit anticipated tuition costs at the time of nomination, please do the following if you are applying for an award during the year you are writing your dissertation. If you do not plan to take prelims until next fall, list 9 credits of research of courses for the first semester on your application. If you take and pass prelims by the end of the third week of classes and have completed Ph.D. residence requirements, you will then be permitted to drop to 2 credits of research. Or, if you must take courses in addition to 2 credits of research, list these in the proposed course of study with a notation of the reasons, e.g., minor field requirement, additional course required by the major department, or essential for dissertation research.

  8. Fellowships are only for the academic year (September-May). Renewals are not automatic; you must reapply each year.

  9. Employment, no more than half-time teaching/research assistantship, limited to a quarter-time research position, is permitted if it is related to your program of study. It is preferred that FLAS fellows work no more than 10 hours a week unlesss the employment they get is only half-time assistantship.

  10. Final reports from Fellows are required at the end of the award year. Detailed contents of these reports may be obtained from Program Coordinator.

HOW TO APPLY

  1. All material should be sent directly to the African Studies Center and should include:

    a. A completed application form if it is not submitted online, which is the preferred way. (Keep a third copy for reference.)

    b. Copies of transcripts of all undergraduate work and any graduate work up to the time of the application.

    c. At least two letters of recommendation to be completed on the forms provided on-line by the African Studies Center. At least one recommendation must be from a professor in the student's major department. Additionally, you need a recommendation letter from your language instructor if you have an African language course formally (in an institutional offering) during the previous two years.

    d. Graduate Record Examination scores if applicable in the student's department.

    e. Those students who plan to apply later to use their spring semester FLAS fellowship for dissertation research abroad (e.g. on-site preparatory language training) should be aware that the U.S. Department of Education requires the following information be provided before an application can be considered:

    (1) The definition title of the project with signature of your graduate advisor;
    (2) Project statement of purpose;
    (3) Definition and delimitation of the precise topic to be investigated;
    (4) A description of methods of research;
    (5) A statement indicating the foreign language to be used and its relevance as a major research tool;
    (6) A description of any proposed travel within the United States considered to be research-related;
    (7) A statement of progress to date and of work remaining to be done, which should also be confirmed by your academic advisor.

  2. If you are not currently a Michigan State University graduate student, you also must apply for admission to a graduate department. You should refer to the Graduate School Bulletin in working out your proposed program of study. (Note: you may obtain applications for Graduate School and a Bulletin by writing to the department you are interested in.)

TIME CONSTRAINTS: IMPORTANT !

In order to facilitate a student's future plans, the Center may conditionally announce fellowship winners subject to approval of funding from the U.S. Department of Education. After the federal government announces the number of fellowships to be awarded to each university, nominees are contacted to accept or reject, and alternates are notified. This is time-consuming; therefore, it is extremely important for you to keep the African Studies Center informed of address changes, of dates and addresses during spring, summer, and other vacation periods, and of pertinent telephone numbers. For those who are or will be overseas this summer, the timing is especially critical. Provide your direct overseas mailing address rather than a forwarding address. If you apply late or if your packet is not returned in time to meet the U.S. Department of Education's deadline, you will not be considered for the award or for approved alternate status.