The Russian Flagship works with many offices on campus to help students prepare for study abroad, financially and otherwise.

Explore study abroad resources

Scholarships

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Language Flagship Scholarship

The Language Flagship Scholarship provides merit-based scholarship funding to defray the cost of participation in the following activities.

For all Russian Flagship students:

For contracted ROTC cadets:

Contracted ROTC cadets in good standing are eligible for the Language Flagship ROTC Scholarship that covers all costs directly associated with participating on all the above activities.

The Language Flagship Scholarship and UW-Madison Russian Flagship Scholarship use the same application form.

Apply Here

Russian Flagship Scholarship Application Deadlines
  • ROTC students: January 20
  • All other students: April 1

UW-Madison Russian Flagship Scholarship

The UW-Madison Russian Flagship Scholarship provides modest scholarship funding via a limited number of awards to offset the cost of participation in the following activities:

Contracted ROTC students are not eligible for the UW-Madison Russian Flagship Scholarship because they are fully funded through the Language Flagship ROTC Scholarship.

The UW-Madison Russian Flagship Scholarship and the Language Flagship Scholarship use the same application form.

Apply Here

Russian Flagship Scholarship Application Deadlines
  • ROTC students: January 20
  • All other students: April 1

Boren Scholarship

The Boren Scholarship is for undergraduate students who are U.S. citizens to study abroad in areas of the world that are critical to U.S. interests and underrepresented in study abroad. Russian Flagship students who win a Boren-Flagship scholarship to participate in the Russian Overseas Flagship will be awarded up to $25,000 . If a student receives additional funding, such as a university scholarship or other federal scholarship, they must report this to their Boren advisor.

Recipients of the Boren Scholarship commit to one year of government service in a U.S. federal government agency following graduation. The Boren Awards maintains a list of departments and agencies where Boren alumni have entered government service, including: Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, Department of State, U.S. Agency for International Development, the Intelligence Community, Department of Commerce, Department of Energy, U.S. Congress, Center for Disease Control, Department of Agriculture, and many others. Boren alumni receive additional advantages and support when seeking federal employment.

Students planning to apply for the Boren Scholarship must meet with the UW-Madison Boren campus representative, Kate Hamoonga, before applying. Students can also contact the Boren Scholarship Team with questions. Boren Scholarship applications must be submitted by a campus deadline prior to the scholarship’s national deadline. In their application, applicants should explain in as much detail as possible how their country, language, and/or field of study relates to U.S. national security and demonstrate their commitment to public service.

Additional Boren Resources

Deadline (Campus): December 2, 2024

Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship

Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) fellowships are awarded for the summer or academic year in order to assist undergraduate students in completing intensive language study, in the U.S. or overseas, with an emphasis on area studies. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Academic year fellowships are granted for full-time study at U.S. or foreign institutions. Summer FLAS fellowships are intended to help students gain the equivalent of a year’s worth of college-level language study during the summer, in the U.S. or overseas. For Russian, students must be entering the third-year level or above in order to be eligible to apply for the FLAS. Interested Russian Flagship students apply for this scholarship in support of their participation in RLASP-Almaty, RLASP-Yerevan, and IRLCCB in Riga (to complete the pre-capstone study abroad requirement) and in the Russian Overseas Flagship capstone program in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Russian Flagship students are strongly encouraged to apply for the academic year FLAS to defray the cost of their participation in the Russian Overseas Flagship capstone program, and not to support academic year study of Russian at UW-Madison.

Deadline: February 14, 2025

 

Benjamin Gilman Scholarship

The Benjamin Gilman Scholarship is sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs in the U.S. Department of State and provides awards to Pell Grant-eligible undergraduates to study abroad on summer or academic year programs. Interested Russian Flagship students apply for this scholarship in support of their participation in RLASP or IRLCCB in Riga (to complete the pre-capstone study abroad requirement), or the Russian Overseas Flagship (ROF) capstone program.

Students preparing to study on the ROF should also look into applying for the Gilman-McKeown Scholarship, which supplements the Gilman Scholarship and Pell Grant to make full-year study economically feasible for qualified students. The Gilman-McKeown Scholarship gives priority to students from/in Minnesota or Wisconsin, but applications are accepted from any state.

Deadlines: March 6 @11:59pm PST

Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program

The Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) program, administered by the U.S. Department of State, is a fully funded overseas language and cultural immersion program for undergraduate students who are U.S. citizens. CLS programs focus on the study of federally-identified critical foreign languages, including Russian. Students of Russian must be at the intermediate or advanced level of proficiency to be accepted to the program. The CLS program fulfills the Russian Flagship Program pre-capstone study abroad requirement.

Deadline: November 19 @7:00pm CST

International Academic Programs: Study Abroad Scholars

Study abroad is an integral part of a UW-Madison education and can be one of the highlights of a student’s college experience. The Office of International Academic Programs (IAP) hopes to make this possible for as many students as possible by offering Study Abroad Scholars awards, starting at $2,500 towards IAP short-term/summer programs, $5,000 towards IAP semester programs, and $8,000 towards IAP year-long programs. Russian Flagship students receive special consideration from IAP for this award. Students applying for RLASP (to fulfill the pre-capstone study abroad requirement) or for the Russian Overseas Flagship (ROF) capstone program should definitely consider applying for this award.

Deadlines: March 2025 for Summer 2025, Fall 2025, and 2025-26 Academic Year.

International Academic Programs: General Scholarship

The Office of International Academic Programs (IAP) offers a variety of scholarships to support study abroad. Students applying for RLASP (to fulfill the pre-capstone study abroad requirement) or for the Russian Overseas Flagship (ROF) capstone program should definitely consider applying for an IAP General Scholarship.

Deadlines: March 2025 for Summer 2025, Fall 2025, and 2025-26 Academic Year.

International Academic Programs: Early Bird Scholarship

IAP’s Early Bird Scholarship provides earlier notification of study and intern abroad awards for undergraduate students with demonstrated financial need.

This $2,000 scholarship is intended to:

  • Provide assurance of some funding earlier in the study abroad process and encourage early financial planning.
  • Ease some of the financial barriers of study abroad.

This scholarship is open to students who:

  • are in the process of applying, or have already applied, to an approved study abroad, intern abroad, or domestic study away program (find and apply to approved programs at studyabroad.wisc.edu);
  • have a Student Aid Index of $8,000 or less (as determined by FAFSA) or are a part of Bucky’s Pell Pathway; and
  • are full-time degree-seeking undergraduate students at UW-Madison.
Deadline: November 25, 2024

Alice D. Mortenson Undergraduate Research Award

The Alice D. Mortenson Undergraduate Research Award is open to all UW-Madison undergraduates for research on a topic related to Russian history. Awards are given for a research project to be completed at UW-Madison, or for overseas language study, to be followed by the completion of an essay on Russian history or culture based on the use of Russian-language sources. Each year, up to three awards of $3,000 go to deserving students. Interested Russian Flagship students apply for this scholarship in support of their participation in RLASP (to complete the pre-capstone study abroad requirement) or the Russian Overseas Flagship (ROF) capstone program.

Deadline: Varies

UW-Madison Undergraduate Scholarship for Summer Study

Summer Term offers the Undergraduate Scholarship for Summer Study, a need-based award given to high-achieving undergraduate students seeking financial support to attend Summer Term at UW–Madison. Interested Russian Flagship students apply for this scholarship to support their participation in UW-Madison intensive summer Russian courses.

Deadline: April 6, 2025

Summer Housing Boost Scholarship

Summer Term offers Summer Housing Boost, which can help students cover the cost of living in residence halls over the summer. Interested Russian Flagship students apply for this scholarship to support their participation in UW-Madison intensive summer Russian courses.

Deadline: Spring 2025