FLAS Fellowship

Online Application | Reference Form | FAFSA Form

Southeast Asia Calls! If you want to answer in Thai, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Khmer, or Tagalog, we invite you to study Southeast Asian languages at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa! The Center for Southeast Asian Studies offers academic year and/or summer Foreign Language & Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships that include tuition and stipend. Open to U.S. citizen and permanent resident undergraduate and graduate students for study at UH-Mānoa.

Eligibility & Fellowship Information

• FLAS awards are subject to funding by the U.S. Department of Education.
• Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents.
• Applicants must be full-time, classified students at UH-Mānoa (UHM) or in the process of applying to a degree-granting undergraduate or graduate program at UHM at the time of application.
• FLAS recipients must be full-time, classified, degree-seeking undergraduate or graduate students in residence at UHM to receive the Fellowship.
• East-West Center Degree Fellows are not eligible for academic year FLAS, but are eligible for summer FLAS.
• Graduate students holding an academic year FLAS are not eligible to hold a concurrent GA/TA/RA position.
• Fellowships are awarded for one academic year and/or one summer at a time (see below) and recipients may apply again for continued funding for up to two years of the Fellowship.
• Fieldwork/Research: FLAS Fellowships are not a stipend for research or fieldwork. Please check with your academic department for possible research/fieldwork funding opportunities from other sources.

All questions related to FLAS Fellowships and the application process can be directed to:

CSEAS Associate Director | Email: cseas@hawaii.edu

FLAS Fellowship Application Information

Summer 2025 and All Year 2025-2026 Fellowships

Award Notification: Friday, March 14, 2025

Eligible Applicants: Undergraduate & Graduate Students

Click HERE to access the form.

Term of Award: Summer 2025 OR All Year 2025-2026

For U.S. citizen or permanent resident graduate or undergraduate students at UHM who combine modern Southeast Asian language training at the second-year level or above with a Southeast Asia area studies focus. FLAS recipients must be full-time, classified, degree-seeking undergraduate or graduate students at UHM at the time of the award.

Summer 2024 Benefits for both Undergraduate and Graduate Students: $2,500 stipend and up to $5,000 for tuition for undergraduate and graduate students for summer language classes.

Graduate Student Benefits: $20,000 stipend and up to $18,000 for tuition for up to 9 credits per semester for one academic year.

Undergraduate Student Benefits: $5,000 stipend and up to $10,000 for tuition for up to 12 credits per semester for one academic year.

Language Requirement: All FLAS recipients must take a Southeast Asian language at UHM ⎯ Cambodian (Khmer), Indonesian, Thai, or Vietnamese ⎯ during the award period. Both undergraduate and graduate students must be enrolled in a 2nd year or higher language course during the FLAS application period.

Southeast Asian Coursework Requirement: In addition to the language requirement, all FLAS recipients must also take at least one upper division (300 level or higher) Southeast Asia area studies course each semester.

Fieldwork/Research: The FLAS is not a stipend for research or fieldwork. Please check with your department for possible research/fieldwork funding opportunities from other sources

Academic Year Fellowship section

FLAS Application Process

Please take note of the deadline above.

1. Complete the online application Google Form. 
2. Send reference forms to three references (access the form HERE).
3. Submit a COPY of your UH transcript via email to chizuko@hawaii.edu. If newly entering a UH grad program, please include a COPY of the transcript from the school in which you earned your BA/BS. No originals needed.
4. The transcript(s) should be sent as a SINGLE pdf file to: chizuko@hawaii.edu. Please label the file as “FLAS_ApplicantLastName.pdf” and note “SEA FLAS Supplemental Materials_ApplicantLastName” as the subject of your email.
5. FLAS applicants must also complete and submit the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) as part of the application.

Request References

SEND THE FORM-FILLABLE REFERENCE FORM TO YOUR REFEREE AND REQUEST THAT THEY SEND THE COMPLETED FORM TO THE FLAS COORDINATOR, Chizuko Allen <chizuko@hawaii.edu>, BY THE APPLICATION DEADLINE.

1. You must have three (3) references submitted. Please consider your referees wisely. Do not leave this requirement to the last minute as professors are often inundated with requests for letters of reference.
2. Send your selected referees the reference template (access the template HERE). You must remind them of the deadline for receiving these recommendations. They should be emailed to the FLAS COORDINATOR, Chizuko Allen <chizuko@hawaii.edu>.

If you have any questions about FLAS, you can email Associate Director at cseas@hawaii.edu