General Info for All Fellowship Applicants
Each year, the Center selects a limited number of deserving students (in any field of study) for Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships (for academic year and for summer), Center Fellowships, and Center Field Research Grants. Applicants must demonstrate the student’s commitment to the study of a Southeast Asian language and area studies, and applicants for FLAS fellowships must be citizens or permanent residents of the United States. Applications and supporting materials for these fellowships must be submitted by the application deadline (usually mid-February) each year (see below and the current application forms and deadlines).
If you are applying for the FLAS Fellowship, the Center Fellowship and/or the Center Field Research Grant for the 2025-2026 school year, you do not need to submit separate sets of supporting materials. You may request us to use supporting materials such as transcripts, your GRE report, and three letters of recommendation interchangeably for your different sets of applications. You may want to submit different statements of purpose for each of these applications.
The Center for Southeast Asian Studies has offered FLAS fellowships to graduate students enrolled in intermediate (2nd-year), advanced (3rd-year), or higher level study of Filipino (Tagalog), Hmong, Indonesian, Thai, or Vietnamese at UW-Madison. Graduate student FLAS Fellowships for the academic year provide a monthly stipend, full tuition payment, and health benefits. Only citizens and permanent residents of the United States are eligible for FLAS Fellowships, which are funded by the U.S. Department of Education.
Selections will be based on the following criteria:
- Commitment to a career relating to Southeast Asia or involving use of the language to be studied.
- Academic performance.
- Appropriateness of the applicant’s chosen program of academic study and experience to meet his or her stated goals.
Information and applications for academic year FLAS Fellowships can be obtained from the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s FLAS website. Information about Summer FLAS Fellowships is available on the SEASSI website.
The Center for Southeast Asian Studies has offered FLAS fellowships to undergraduate students enrolled in intermediate (2nd-year), advanced (3rd-year), or higher level study of Filipino (Tagalog), Hmong, Indonesian, Thai, or Vietnamese at UW-Madison. Undergraduate FLAS Fellowships for the academic year provide a monthly stipend and full tuition payment. Only citizens and permanent residents of the United States are eligible for FLAS Fellowships, which are funded by the U.S. Department of Education.
In the awarding of these fellowships, priority will be given to students who are (1) studying one of the five Southeast Asian languages at the intermediate (2nd-year) level or beyond, and (2) students who are majoring in Southeast Asian Studies (BA in Asian Studies, concentration on Southeast Asia) or those who are working toward the Undergraduate Certificate in Southeast Asian Studies.
All eligible students may apply. In your application statement, please discuss the following:
- Describe how your study of a Southeast Asian language at the intermediate or advanced level relates to your undergraduate education.
- Describe your present career goals and discuss how your undergraduate studies at UW-Madison, in particular your study of Southeast Asia and a Southeast Asian language, will facilitate your professional engagement with Southeast Asia after your graduation.
Information and applications for academic year FLAS Fellowships can be obtained from the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s FLAS website. Information about Summer FLAS Fellowships is available on the SEASSI website.
The Center offers a limited number of graduate student fellowships supported by our endowment funds: Center Fellowships (one semester support: Fall or Spring) and Center Field Research Grants (for field research projects). These awards are intended to support the study of Southeast Asia by graduate students in any department and are open to all students, including international students.
CSEAS FELLOWSHIPS (LINK TO APPLICATION)
Center Fellowships are awarded as 40% Research Assistantships or Project Assistantships and pay a modest living stipend, as well as provide health insurance and tuition remission. Fellowship recipients must be enrolled in at least six credits per semester of Southeast Asian Studies courses while receiving this fellowship.
Who is Eligible: All students enrolled in graduate degree programs at UW-Madison and whose primary research area is Southeast Asia. Applicants can be at any level of graduate study, incoming students to dissertators.
FIELD RESEARCH GRANTS (LINK TO APPLICATION)
CSEAS also offers a limited number of field research grants for pre-dissertation, dissertation, and thesis research on Southeast Asia. These awards are supported from the Center’s endowment funds and are intended to provide limited support for field research and the acquisition of research-related materials. Grants will be awarded up to $7,000, depending on the nature of the research and the duration of the trip (from 1 to 4 months). These awards are not intended to cover the full cost of dissertation research but are aimed at providing funds: 1) to conduct pre-dissertation research aimed at enhancing major research proposals (Fulbright, SSRC, NSEP, etc.) for dissertation projects; and 2) to facilitate or supplement field research for dissertation projects themselves. These awards are also not intended for travel to conferences or for short-term visits (less than 1 month). Applicants can use these awards to conduct research in Southeast Asia or at archives with holdings of relevant Southeast Asian materials. Field research awards cannot be held concurrently with Center or FLAS fellowships or with major external grants. They can be utilized before and after such grants, particularly when they pertain to aspects of the research project that are not covered by other support.
Who is Eligible: Applicants must be graduate students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison with at least one year of graduate work completed. Pre-dissertators must have a letter from their departmental advisor clarifying that the field research is directly related to the intended dissertation (or thesis) topic and that it is aimed at strengthening the dissertation proposal and future applications for major dissertation research grants. Those applying for dissertation research must be dissertators by the time the field research begins.
Application materials and procedures for both: All applicants should submit a completed online Center Fellowship and/or Summer Research Grant Application Form with the following materials uploaded directly to the online application(s) by February 14th.
- Official transcripts from all college/university study
- A statement of purpose that provides specific plans for graduate study and research and/or describes ongoing work and progress in thesis and/or dissertation writing.
- Three (3) letters of recommendation sent by the recommenders directly to mmcullin@wisc.edu.