Summer 2025 Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships

Summer Fellowships are awarded to undergraduate and graduate students for intensive language training in a less-commonly taught language, such as Nahuatl, Quechua, Portuguese, Yucatec Maya, or any other Latin American language, at a domestic or international FLAS-approved program. The fellowship provides up to $5,000 in tuition and fees and a $3,500 stipend to both undergraduate and graduate students.

• US citizens, nationals, and permanent residents

• UNM undergraduate and graduate students in any discipline, who are focusing on the study of Latin America, may apply. CNM and NMSU students as well as students from other minority-serving institutions in any discipline are also eligible to apply.
• Students in the professional schools and STEM fields and those planning a career in US government service are highly encouraged to apply
• Summer FLAS recipients must enroll in a summer intensive language program that is at least six weeks long and that teaches the equivalent of one academic year (two terms) of the language. FLAS fellows studying the language at the beginning or intermediate level must enroll in programs that offer a minimum of 140 contact hours of instruction. FLAS fellows studying the language at the advanced level must enroll in programs that offer a minimum of 120 contact hours of instruction
• Undergraduate student recipients must be prepared to study one of the approved languages at the intermediate or advanced level. Graduate student recipients may study one of the approved languages at the beginning, intermediate, or advanced level. Please note that graduate applicants who request to study a FLAS-eligible language at the beginning level must be able to demonstrate that they have achieved advanced proficiency in another language spoken within Latin America (excluding English)
• Students with or without financial need are encouraged to apply; however, among equally qualified students, preference will be given to those who can demonstrate financial need.  As such, applicants should submit their FAFSA to UNM’s Office of Financial Aid at the earliest date possible and fill out a Financial Need Analysis Request Form to have their financial need information shared with LAII. Non-UNM students will be asked to submit the FAFSA's Student Aid Report
• Non-UNM students will be required to enroll at UNM as non-degree seeking students during the tenure of the summer FLAS

For more information on the FLAS Fellowship, applicants are encouraged to contact FLAS Coordinator, Lenny A. Ureña Valerio (lurena@unm.edu).

• Fill out the online FLAS application form 
• CV/Resumé
• Unofficial transcripts
• 2 letters of recommendation from faculty (one of the letters should address the applicant’s linguistic skills or ability to learn a foreign language)
• 2-3 page double-spaced statement of purpose that outlines the relevance of the chosen language to the applicant’s academic training and career goals. If you are a graduate student applying to study a language at the beginning level, include a statement that addresses your demonstrated advanced proficiency in another language spoken within Latin America
• 2024-2025 UNM Office of Financial Aid’s Need Analysis Form to be submitted to UNM Office of Financial Aid, requesting the analysis to be sent to the Latin American and Iberian Institute (laiibusiness@unm.edu). Non-UNM students need to submit the 2024-2025 FAFSA’s Student Aid Report (please delete or black out the social security number and date of birth before uploading it to the application portal)
• Summer Program Information and Budget (please include name of the program, location, dates, and program cost)

Application Submission

Applicants must submit their materials electronically via Qualtrics at https://survey.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_7aH2bKwNJJheR3E. Faculty should submit their recommendation letters directly to LAII via email at laiibusiness@unm.edu.

The LAII asks that funding recipients formally acknowledge the Institute's role in supporting their scholarship. Please review our complete Expectations for Acknowledgement for more details.