Area Studies Certificates
The area studies certificate programs combine foreign language training and multidisciplinary area studies necessary for both communicative and cultural competence. Each of them has unique application and credit requirements.
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FELLOWSHIPS AVAILABLE
The University's Center for International Studies (UCIS), which coordinates the area studies programs, offers fellowships for participation in some of those programs. CILE coordinates those fellowship applications for law students. These FLAS fellowships represent the single largest scholarship available to a law student, with each one covering full tuition and a stipend of $18,000 for the academic year (a total of nearly $45,000 for a student with out-of-state tuition).
FLAS fellowship application
2012-2013 FLAS Fellowship Winners:
Trevor Krost - Russian
Nikolay Markov - Serbian / Croatian / Bosnian
Ngofeen Mpotubwele - Swahili
Sarah Paulsworth - Turkish
Caleb Pittman - Chechua
ACADEMIC CREDIT
Until 1999, it was extremely difficult for a law student not in a joint degree program to meet the requirements for a graduate area studies certificate. Each program requires the completion of at least four courses outside the department of the student’s major discipline. Only 6 credit hours from courses in University schools and departments outside the Law School are allowed toward the total of 88 credit hours required for the J.D. Thus, to complete a certificate program, a student would have to take two courses (4-6 credit hours) above the 88 credits required for graduation.
The area studies programs have agreed to reduce the out-of-school requirement to 3 courses for law students (while retaining the requirement for the total number of courses in the area). Now, a student may obtain a certificate and the J.D. with a total of one course over 88 credit hours. This should make the certificate option more manageable for law students.
