Less-Commonly Taught Language and Area Studies Curriculum Development

2026-2027 UISFL Curriculum Development Awards

Deadline: Monday, February 16, by 11:59 PM

Submit application at: https://unm.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_e3V2IA3YrX36Ajc 

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 taught in the 2026-2027 academic year and 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:

  • Category 1: 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. Courses comparing different world regions will be considered if at least 40% of course content is dedicated to one of the priority world regions.

  • Category 2: STEM/Professional Fields Courses 

    • Adding 25% of area-studies or global content into courses in STEM or professional fields (i.e., any undergraduate program outside the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences). Courses comparing different world regions will be considered if at least 25% of course content is dedicated to one of the priority world regions.

  • Category 3: 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 and Latin American Indigenous Language instructors. Faculty with interim, temporary, or visiting appointments are not eligible. Selected candidates will receive payment upon completion of a 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, or 25% (or more) for category 2 proposals.

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