(a) Under the Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowships Program, the Secretary provides allocations of fellowships to Centers and other administrative units at eligible institutions of higher education that award the fellowships on a competitive basis to undergraduate or graduate students who are undergoing advanced training in modern foreign languages and area studies.

(b) The Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowships Program contributes to the purposes of the programs authorized by part A of title VI of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, listed in § 655.5(a), especially the development of a pool of international experts to meet national needs.

The Secretary awards an allocation of fellowships (grant) to an institution of higher education or to a consortium of institutions of higher education.

(a) An allocation of fellowships must support area studies and language instruction that aligns with all of the following requirements:

(1) A geographic world area or a geographically designated region that spans multiple world areas and serves as the focus of research, teaching, training, and instruction.

(2) Languages specific to the geographic area of focus.

(3) Existing programs or proposed instructional programs that will be developed and implemented during the grant period.

(b) An allocation of fellowships must be administered according to the institution's written plan for distributing fellowships and allowances to eligible fellows for training and instruction during the academic year or summer, provided that—

(1) The fellowship types are described in the budget narrative of an application selected for funding under this part; or

(2) The Secretary has approved any proposed changes to an approved Center's or Program's plan.

A student must satisfy the criteria in paragraphs (a) through (e) of this section during the fellowship period to be eligible to receive a fellowship from an approved Center or Program, and a student receiving an academic year fellowship must additionally satisfy the criteria in paragraph (f) of this section to be eligible:

(a) The student is a—

(1) Citizen or national of the United States; or

(2) Permanent resident of the United States.

(b) The student is accepted for enrollment, is enrolled, or will continue to be enrolled in the institution receiving an allocation of fellowships.

(c) The student demonstrates—

(1) Commitment to the study of a world area relevant to the allocation of fellowships; and

(2) Potential for high academic achievement based on grade point average, class ranking, or similar measures that the institution may determine.

(d) The student is engaged in modern foreign language training or instruction in a language—

(1) That is relevant to the student's educational program, as described in paragraph (c), as well as the allocation of fellowships; and

(2) For which the institution or program has developed or is developing performance goals for foreign language use, and in the case of summer programs has received approval from the Secretary.

(e) The student must engage in the type of training appropriate to their degree status:

(1) Undergraduate students must engage in the study of a less commonly taught language at the intermediate or advanced level.

(2) Non-dissertation or predissertation level graduate students must engage in the study of a modern foreign language at the—

(i) Intermediate or advanced level; or

(ii) Beginning level, provided they demonstrate advanced proficiency in another modern foreign language relevant to their field of study or obtain the permission of the Secretary.

(3) Dissertation level graduate students must—

(i) Engage in dissertation research abroad or dissertation writing in the United States;

(ii) Demonstrate advanced proficiency in a modern foreign language relevant to the dissertation project and the allocation of fellowships; and

(iii) Use modern foreign language(s) relevant to the allocation of fellowships in their dissertation research or writing.

(f) The student meets the criteria related to educational programs described in this paragraph (f)(1) or (2):

(1) The student is pursuing an educational program (including any major fields of study, general education requirements, certificates, concentrations, specializations, or minor fields of study, or other established components of an institution's curriculum) that requires or ordinarily includes—

(i) Instruction in at least one modern foreign language related to the allocation of fellowships or a demonstration of proficiency in at least one modern foreign language related to the allocation of fellowships; and

(ii) Instruction or, for graduate students, supervised research related to the allocation of fellowships in—

(A) Area studies; or

(B) The international aspects of professional fields and other fields of study, including but not limited to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields.

(2) The student is pursuing an educational program that includes all of the following:

(i) A requirement for substantial instruction in a professional field or in one or more science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields.

(ii) The option to incorporate international aspects of fields of study through instruction in area studies and at least one modern foreign language.

(iii) Courses that meet fellowship duration and purpose requirements described in § 657.30(b) and are selected under the guidance of an individual or committee who possesses area studies and modern foreign language qualifications relevant to the allocation of fellowships as well as knowledge of requirements for the student's educational program.

(a) Each fellowship consists of an institutional payment, a stipend, and any additional allowances permitted under this part.

(1) A fellowship may include additional allowances payable to a fellow in addition to the stipend, as determined by the Secretary and as allocated by an approved Center or Program.

(2) If the institutional payment determined by the Secretary is greater than the tuition and fees charged by the institution, the institutional payment portion of the fellowship is limited to actual costs.

(b) The Secretary announces the following in a notice published in the Federal Register:

(1) The amounts of the stipend and institutional payment for each type of fellow during an academic year.

(2) The amounts of the stipend and institutional payment for each type of fellow during a summer session.

(3) Whether travel allowances of any type will be permitted.

(4) Whether dependent allowances of any type will be permitted.

(5) The amounts of any permitted allowances.

(6) Any limitation on the applicability of the amounts or allowances addressed in this paragraph (b).

(c) Allowances are only permissible if the Secretary announces such allowances are permitted.

(d) If the Secretary limits the applicability of fellowship amounts or the permissibility of allowances by reference to time, including the performance period of one or more awards, in a notice published in the Federal Register and the applicability period lapses, the amounts contained in the most recent notice or notices addressing each topic will remain in force as provisional amounts until the Secretary publishes a new notice but any allowances will no longer be permitted until expressly authorized in a new notice.

The following regulations apply to this program:

(a) The regulations in 34 CFR part 655.

(b) The regulations in this part 657.

The following definitions apply to this part:

(a) The definitions in 34 CFR 655.4.

(b) The following definitions, unless otherwise specified:

Approved Center means an administrative unit of an institution of higher education that has both received an allocation of fellowships under this part and a grant to operate a Center under 34 CFR part 656.

Approved Program means a concentration of educational resources and activities in modern foreign language training and area studies with the administrative capacity to administer an allocation of fellowships under this part.

Fellow means a person who receives a fellowship under this part.

Fellowship means the payment a fellow receives under this part.

Institutional payment means the portion of the fellowship used to pay the tuition associated with a fellow's training or instruction and any associated student fees that are required of such a large proportion of all students pursuing degrees at the same degree level as the fellow at the institution receiving an allocation of fellowships or at an approved language program during the fellowship period that the student who does not pay the charge is an exception.

Stipend means the portion of the fellowship paid by the grantee to a fellow in support of living expenses and the costs associated with advanced training in a modern foreign language and area studies.

Travel allowance means the portion of the fellowship used to pay for reasonable costs associated with a fellow's travel to or from a site for language instruction or training during the fellowship term, such as transportation costs or visa fees, and other reasonable costs that directly support the safety and security of fellows during the fellowship term while outside of the United States, such as overseas medical insurance or evacuation insurance.

If any provision of this part or its application to any person, act, or practice is held invalid, the remainder of the part or the application of its provisions to any other person, act, or practice will not be affected thereby.