Four National Resource Centers housed at the Jackson School offer the opportunity for University of Washington undergraduate, graduate and professional students across all three campuses to apply for Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) fellowships. FLAS funding supports students undergoing training in modern foreign languages and related area or international studies.

Chiwa Lee, FLAS Fellow (French)
“Learning French as my third or fourth language is a process of ‘rebooting’ or ‘undoing’ myself rather than just updating an old version,” said Chiwa Lee, a Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) fellow (Academic Year 2023-2024) in French from the Canadian Studies Center enrolled in the Jackson School’s master’s program in China Studies.
He encourages other students to apply to FLAS, noting that language learning and area studies opens doors to deeper understanding. “Learning foreign languages empowers our language competence, which is a powerful tool for understanding different cultures,” Lee said. “Area study enriches our knowledge of different social and political systems in the world. These two integrated elements also sharpen our interdisciplinary lens, which we learn from the Jackson School.”

Safaa Turner-Rahman, FLAS Fellow (Bangla)
For Jackson School international studies major Safaa Turner-Rahman, a FLAS fellowship (Academic Year 2023-2024) in Bangla from the South Asia Center played a crucial role in expanding her focus from general interests in Bangladesh to a specialized study of Bangladeshi diplomacy. It also gave her, she said, an opportunity to explore and reconnect with her Bangladeshi roots.
“The award was a moment of personal pride that I was eager to share with my family. It represented not just a significant step in my academic journey, but also a meaningful connection to our heritage.”
Each FLAS fellowship consists of an institutional payment and a subsistence allowance; current funding levels are as follows:
- Academic Year Graduate: $18,000 tuition; $20,000 living stipend
- Academic Year Undergraduate: $10,000 tuition; $5,000 living stipend
- Summer Graduate/Undergraduate: $5,000 tuition; $3,500 living stipend
University of Washington FLAS Program Statistics 2023-2024:
FLAS grants were awarded to four National Resource Centers in the Jackson School:
- Canadian Studies Center
- Center for Southeast Asia and its Diasporas
- East Asia Center
- South Asia Center
A total of 50 FLAS fellowships were awarded at the UW in the 2023-2024 academic year, including summer 2024. This represents nearly $1.2 million in funds.
Students who received a fellowship represented nine schools and colleges, namely:
- College of Arts and Sciences*
- College of Engineering
- College of the Environment
- Daniel J. Evans School of Public Policy and Governance
- Michael G. Foster School of Business
- School of Law
- School of Public Health
- School of Social Work
- The Information School
*College of Arts and Sciences FLAS recipients represented 11 departments:
- Anthropology
- Art/Art History/Design
- Asian Languages and Literatures
- Economics
- French and Italian
- History
- Jackson School of International Studies
- Law, Societies & Justice
- Linguistics
- Political Science
- Psychology
A total of 13 languages were awarded FLAS Fellowships in 2023-2024:
- Bengali
- Chinese
- French
- Hindi
- Japanese
- Khmer
- Korean
- Nuu-chah-nulth
- Tagalog
- Telugu
- Thai
- Urdu
- Vietnamese