When is the application deadline?
The deadline for applications for FLAS and Title VIII fellowships is March, 1. All application materials must be received by this date to be considered. Applications for admission from students not applying for funding are considered on a rolling basis. Students are encouraged to apply as early as possible to ensure space is available.
Yes. For fellowship information go to: Funding. You may apply for a Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) fellowship or a Title VIII Fellowship by completing the “Fellowship Information” page of the on-line SWSEEL application.
If you are an IU student, you may apply for loans at: www.indiana.edu/~sfa/
Non-IU students should check with their home institution for additional funding and loan opportunities.
3. Do I need to fill out a separate application for fellowships?
If you are participating in the 8-week or 9-week Summer Workshop in Bloomington, you need only fill out the “Fellowship Information” page on the online Summer Workshop application. You DO NOT need to fill out a separate FLAS or Title VIII application.
4. When will I be notified if I have received a fellowship?
Notification will be made about three weeks after the March 1 deadline to the first group of fellowship recipients. Additional fellowship offers are made throughout April and May due to the fact that: 1) some recipients decline fellowship offers; and
2) funds become available from other FLAS Centers.
5. If I receive a letter that I am an “alternate,” how likely is it that I will receive a fellowship?
An “alternate” is the next person to receive a fellowship award if more funding becomes available from other FLAS Centers, or if a fellowship recipient declines a fellowship offer. If you receive an alternate letter in April, there is a strong chance that you will receive a fellowship award.
6. Am I eligible to apply for a FLAS for 1st or 2nd year Russian?
The beginning levels of Russian (levels 1-3, or 1st and 2nd year Russian) are lowest priority for fellowship allocations for FLAS according to the guidelines established by the organization funding this award (the U.S. Department of Education). Undergraduates will be considered for FLAS only at level 5 (3rd year Russian) or above. Graduate students may be considered for FLAS awards at levels 2 (for 1st/2nd year Russian) or above. We normally do not have our fellowship committee read applications at the level 1 with the exception of applications for First-Year Russian (Level 1) from students enrolled in professional degree programs (i.e. Business, Engineering, Medicine, etc.).
Please let us know if you believe you are eligible to apply for FLAS for Russian Level 1. If you do not qualify for an exception, please be advised that your chances of receiving a fellowship are not great. In most years, we expend our entire fellowship budget without making any awards to beginning level Russian students. Only when we have received extra fellowship funding very late in the process (after the workshop has already begun) have students at that level been supported. If you believe you do qualify for the exception, please contact the Assistant Director of the Russian and East European Institute, Mark Trotter at matrott
indiana.edu.
7. If I receive a fellowship do I need to pay the $130 application/administrative fee? When is the $130 administrative fee due?
Every SWSEEL participant must pay the $130 application/administrative fee, regardless of whether you receive a fellowship. Once you have been accepted to SWSEEL, you will receive instructions as to how to pay the fee online. This fee covers administrative costs and reserves your space in SWSEEL. The fee must be paid before you can be registered in your courses.
8. Can the same recommendations and transcripts be used for my SWSEEL application as well as my FLAS and Title VIII applications?
Yes. Send only one set of supporting documents (transcripts, letters) to:
Marianne Davis
SWSEEL Coordinator
Indiana University
Ballantine Hall 571
1020 E. Kirkwood Avenue
Bloomington, IN 47405.
9. What kind of transcripts are necessary?
If you are an IU student, SWSEEL will print your unofficial transcripts from Onestart, you do not need submit transcripts yourself. Students from other institutions are required to send transcripts to: Marianne Davis, SWSEEL Coordinator, Indiana University, Ballantine Hall 571,1020 E. Kirkwood Avenue, Bloomington, IN 47405.)
Graduate students should send graduate transcripts and undergraduate transcripts.
10. Can high school students participate in the Summer Workshop?
Yes. We do accept applications from exceptional high school students. We require two letters of recommendation from high school teachers. Please note that IU Residential Program Services will not allow students who are under 18 at the start of the Workshop to live in the Wilkie dorm, but alternative dormitory housing can be arranged.
11. Who attends the Summer Workshop?
Graduate students, undergraduates, professionals, exceptional high school students, and others participate in our courses. Participants come from all over the United States, as well as from other countries.
12. Do I need previous background in the language in order to participate in the Summer Workshop?
No. All languages offered at SWSEEL begin with first-year instruction.
13. Do I have to live in campus housing?
While on-campus housing is an option for all participants, and is strongly encouraged, you are not required to live on-campus. Make sure to mark your preference on the online summer workshop application. If you do not choose to stay in on-campus housing, the responsibility of finding housing is yours.
14. Do I need to purchase course materials before I arrive in Bloomington?
No. All books and course materials will be available at the IU Bookstore or in class. Students will receive information about their course materials in the weeks before SWSEEL to help them decide if they would prefer to purchase materials in advance.
15. When do I have to arrive for SWSEEL?
All students are expected on the first day of SWSEEL: Tuesday, May 29 for all levels of Arabic and Russian 1 or Monday, June 4 for all other languages. Students in the nine-week program (Russian 1 and all levels of Arabic) need to be at orientation Tuesday, May 29 at 8:00 am. All other students are expected at orientation Monday, June 4 at 8:00 am. All classes will have their first meetings after orientation.
Students studying a Central Eurasian Language must report on the first day of the program as assessment and final placement decisions are made on the basis of a pre-test administered that Friday. All students must send any specific inquiries about the schedule and programmatic expectations and any related requests to the SWSEEL director at swseel@indiana.edu. Any requests for exceptions should be submitted before May 1, 2012.
16. Can I leave the program a few days earlier?
All students are expected to stay through the last day of their program (June 29 or July 27).
Any requests for exceptions must be directed to the SWSEEL director at swseelindiana.edu.
17. What if I need to be absent in the middle of the program?
SWSEEL, like all other intensive summer language programs, has a very strict attendance policy. The accelerated rate of SWSEEL courses means that each day’s class meeting is about the equivalent of one week’s instruction in a regular academic year course and the credits assigned are based on students meeting a specified number of contact hours. Excessive or prolonged absences impact individual student performance. They also create potential problems for instructors, who expect to follow their curriculum at a specific pace and for fellow students who attend class regularly and whose progress may be slowed by students who, because of such absences, are unable to keep up with the pace of the class.
All course syllabi outline specific grade-related penalties for absences and the attendance policy will be reviewed during student orientations.
Students should not plan to be absent in the middle of the program. Any planned absences must be brought to the attention of the director before May 1, 2012.
Any questions about the policy should be addressed to the SWSEEL director swseelindiana.edu.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have questions that we have not addressed!
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