Incoming and current graduate and professional students from all departments and schools may apply for Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) fellowships from the University of Washington. The deadline for the current and coming academic years has already passed, but this a unique opportunity to consider for the future.

Incoming and current master’s and doctoral students, who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents, and plan to study a modern foreign language, in combination with area or international studies or international aspects of professional fields, are eligible for academic year awards from the University of Washington. Summer fellowships are granted to those who will be engaged in intensive foreign language study in the U.S. or abroad.

The 2009-10 FLAS award languages cover a broad spectrum: Arabic, Bengali, Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian, Bulgarian, Burmese, Chinese, Czech, Danish, Estonian, Filipino/Tagalog, Finnish, French, German, Hebrew, Hindi, Indonesian/Malay, Italian, Japanese, Kazakh, Kirghiz, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Persian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Tajik, Thai, Turkish, Uighur, Urdu, Uzbek and Vietnamese.

FLAS fellowships are funded by the U.S. Department of Education through eight National Resource Centers located in the Jackson School of International Studies at the University of Washington: Canada, East Asia, Global (International) Studies, Middle East, Russia/East Europe/Central Asia (REECAS/Ellison), South Asia, Southeast Asia, and West Europe.

Summer 2009 awards provide tuition up to USD 4,000, plus a living allowance of USD 2,500. Travel awards up to USD 1,000 are available with summer awards only. Academic year 2009-10 fellowships grant tuition up to USD 12,000, plus a stipend of USD 15,000. Graduate appointee health insurance is paid out of the tuition amount.

Students may assemble the information needed to apply by downloading materials from jsis.washington.edu.

For further informatin, contact the FLAS coordinator, Mary Ann Curtis, at +1 (206) 616-8679 or macurtis@u.washington.edu.

The Center for Russia, East Europe and Central Asia (CREECA) and the Department of Scandinavian Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison will host the Baltic Studies Summer Institute (BALSSI) in the summer of 2009 (June 15-Aug. 7).

Elementary Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian language courses will be offered, as well as lectures (in English) on Baltic history and culture and a rich program of cultural events related to the Baltic countries.

Information and application materials are available on the BALSSI Web site: www.creeca.wisc.edu/balssi. The application deadline is April 13.

BALSSI is sponsored by a consortium of 12 U.S. universities and receives additional support from the Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies. For further information about BALSSI 2009, contact Nancy Heingartner, BALSSI program coordinator, balssi@creeca.wisc.edu, +1 (608) 262-3379.

Professor and BALSSI Director Thomas DuBois said he is hoping to begin a Baltic Studies program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, similar to the one already in place at the University of Washington-Seattle. For further information, contact DuBois at tadubois@facstaff.wisc.edu.

Mudinu katru, kas vēlas mācīties latviešu valodu, šovasar doties uz Madisonu, Viskonsīnā. Šādi kursi—8 nedēļas, 4 stundas dienā—nav atrodami nekur citur pasaulē. Ir dabūjamas arī stipendijas studentiem, kas mācīsies intensīvajā latviešu valodas kursā.

BALSSI direktors—profesors Thomas DuBois—ir liels baltiešu draugs. Viņš vēlas dibināt Baltijas studiju progammu Madisonā, līdzīgu tai, kādu viņš dibināja Sietlā, kad viņš strādāja Vašingtonas universitātē. Sietlā Baltijas studiju programmai no paša sākuma 1994. gada vasarā bija liels atbalsts no igauņu, latviešu un lietuviešu organizācijām. Cerēsim, ka Viskonsīnas universitātei paveiksies šis lielais darbs!

Lai saņemtu vairāk informācijas par iespējamo Baltijas studiju programmu, vai lai pieteiktos palīdzēt profesoram Tomam DuBois, rakstiet uz adresi tadubois@facstaff.wisc.edu. Seko informācija angļu valodā par BALSSI valodas kursiem:

The Center for Russia, East Europe, and Central Asia (CREECA) and the Department of Scandinavian Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison will host the Baltic Studies Summer Institute (BALSSI) in the summer of 2009 (June 15 – August 7, 2009). Elementary Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian language courses will be offered, as well as lectures (in English) on Baltic history and culture and a rich program of cultural events related to the Baltic countries. Information and application materials are available on the BALSSI Web site: www.creeca.wisc.edu/balssi. The application deadline is April 13, 2009.

BALSSI is sponsored by a consortium of twelve US universities and receives additional support from the Association for the Advancement of Baltic Studies. For further information about BALSSI 2009, please contact Nancy Heingartner, BALSSI program coordinator, balssi@creeca.wisc.edu, +1 (608) 262-3379.

Guntis Šmidchens