Less-Commonly Taught Language and Area Studies Curriculum Development

 

2024-2025 UISFL Curriculum Development Awards

Deadline: Monday, September 23, by 11:59 PM

Submit application at: https://survey.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_b90BHfNbDZITClg

The University of New Mexico has funding available through the Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language (UISFL) Title VI grant, awarded by the US/Department of Education, to support curriculum development at the undergraduate level. The grant provides $2,500 to individual instructors developing new or enhancing existing interdisciplinary courses with significant content in a world region, adding area-studies content into courses in the STEM and professional fields, and developing topic courses in less-commonly taught languages (LTCLs). Courses developed with UISFL funds must be subsequently offered at UNM on a regular basis. Priority will be given to courses proposing to cover any of the following world regions: Africa, East Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East.

We will consider proposals in the following categories for courses to be taught in Spring 2025 or the 2025-2026 Academic Year:

  • Interdisciplinary Courses 
    • Developing new or enhancing existing interdisciplinary courses with at least 40% content on Africa, East Asia, Latin America, or the Middle East. Priority will be given to GenEd courses, language across the curriculum, and Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) courses. Comparative courses will be considered if at least 40% of course content is dedicated to one of the world regions.
  • STEM/Professional Fields Courses 
    • Adding 25% of area-studies or global content into courses in STEM and professional fields (i.e., any undergraduate program outside the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences). Comparative courses will be considered if at least 25% of course content is dedicated to one of the world regions.
  • LCTL Courses 
    • Developing new topic courses in a less-commonly taught language (i.e., any international language other than French, German, and Spanish) or courses taught in English with enough exposure to the LTCL language. Priority will be given to Arabic, Chinese, Latin American Indigenous languages, Portuguese, and Swahili.

Please note that these funds are only available to regular UNM faculty. Faculty with interim, temporary, or visiting appointments are not eligible. Selected candidates will receive payment upon completion of syllabus.

If the proposed course includes topics related to US/Mexican border, migration, Latina/o/x Studies, or any other ethnicity in the US, 40% (or more) of course content must be directly related to a world region for category 1.

For questions please contact Lenny A. Ureña Valerio, LAII Associate Director for Program Development, at lurena@unm.edu.

 

UISFL Less-Commonly Taught Foreign Language Professional Development Funds

Deadline: Tuesday, October 1, by 11:59 PM

Apply here: https://survey.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cOcnHt98UFxulcG

Thanks to funding provided by the Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language (UISFL), a Title VI grant from the U.S. Department of Education administered by the Latin American and Iberian Institute (LAII), the University of New Mexico (UNM) will award professional development funds to faculty teaching less-commonly taught foreign languages. Preference will be given to faculty teaching Arabic, Chinese, Portuguese, Quechua, Swahili, and Yucatec Maya. Faculty teaching other less-commonly taught foreign languages are also encouraged to apply. Funds are intended to support faculty participation in assessment (e.g., ACTFL) trainings and/or professional conferences related to language instruction and pedagogy that will strengthen less-commonly taught foreign language instruction at UNM. The LAII will be making 2-4 travel awards (up to $2,000/award) per year to be applied towards the following expenses:

  • Airfare
  • Registration Fees
  • Lodging 
  • Ground Transportation 
  • Per Diem

Please note that lodging and per diem expenses must not surpass the GSA rates (if domestic) or U.S. Department of State rates (if international). For international travel, airfare must be in compliance with the Fly America Act and travel information must be submitted for approval to the U.S. Department of Education at least 30 days in advance. To be able to fund more applicants, the full amount requested may not be awarded and all applicants are encouraged to seek additional funding.