Funding Options

All applicants for funding must have completed the SASLI general application by the funding application deadline to be considered for SASLI funding competitions. It is completely acceptable to send the same personal statement for the funding and general application. In fact, you might complete your funding applications before your SASLI personal statement because many funding applications are due before the SASLI General Application.

Students are encouraged to apply for as many funding opportunities as they are eligible for (there is no penalty for applying to multiple opportunities). If students are selected to receive more than one award, SASLI staff will work with individuals to ensure the best funding package possible. Please review the funding options below, noting that each competition has varying eligibility and application processes.

The FLAS application for summer 2025 and academic year 2025-2026 awards is closed. The application deadline has passed.

If you plan to apply for this FLAS competition, please submit the online application and processing fee as soon as possible, as SASLI may cancel classes with low enrollment. Please contact SASLI with questions or concerns.

A FLAS fellowship for SASLI covers the full tuition and a fixed stipend of $3,500. Fellowships are awarded based on a national competition. They are open to undergraduate** and graduate students currently enrolled* in a degree program who are citizens or permanent residents of the United States. Thus, non-students and international students who are not permanent residents of the U.S. are ineligible for a FLAS fellowship. Please look into our Fee Remission options if you are not eligible for a FLAS award.

The Department of Education prioritizes students applying for the 2nd or 3rd year of study for FLAS funding. Students may be granted an exception to study at the beginning level if they have achieved at least intermediate proficiency in another language or have other extenuating circumstances. Students applying for beginning-level language study must justify why an exception should be granted as part of their application. The Department of Education has the final say as to whether an exception for first-year study will be given.

Important things to remember:

FLAS fellowships awarded by SASLI are only available for study at SASLI.
Sanskrit is not eligible for SASLI FLAS awards.
There is no lifetime limit on the number of SASLI FLAS awards you may receive.
SASLI FLAS awards are available through the consortium of South Asia National Resource Centers. Please check with the FLAS Coordinator or South Asia Center to determine eligibility. If your home institution offers a FLAS competition, we strongly recommend that you apply for a FLAS at your home institution, though you are welcome to apply to the SASLI competition. All eligible FLAS candidates are welcome to apply to the SASLI FLAS competition administered by the Center for South Asia at UW-Madison.
FLAS awardees must complete certain reporting requirements set forth by the Department of Education. The Center funding the study will work with students to ensure all requirements are met.
Leaving the program early may result in being required to pay back some or all of the FLAS award.

When applying for a SASLI FLAS, please keep the following in mind:

When prompted, select the “South Asia Summer Language Institute (SASLI), Summer 2025” option.
For “Center Applying To,” please choose the South Asia Summer Language Institute (SASLI) option.
For Hindi and Urdu, you may select 1st (if eligible), 2nd, or 3rd year. For all other languages, please only choose 1st (if eligible) or 2nd year instruction, as SASLI does not offer classes beyond 2nd year in these courses.

*If you have applied for graduate school for the fall semester following SASLI, you can apply for a FLAS, but you must show proof of acceptance into a graduate program before receiving the award.

**Undergraduate students may be eligible to apply for awards for 2nd-year or higher language study through one of SASLI’s consortium members. Please contact SASLI with questions.

Deadlines to apply for non-SASLI FLAS vary. Please check with your home institution.

If you are currently a student (or will be) at one of the National Resource Centers or FLAS-granting institutions below, please apply for a FLAS at your home institution.

Check with your institution for appropriate guidelines and restrictions, as eligibility and deadlines may differ from the SASLI FLAS. While limited FLAS awards may be available directly from SASLI, we encourage all students to apply at your home institution for a FLAS if possible.

Columbia University
Cornell University
Syracuse University
University of California, Berkeley
University of Michigan
University of Pennsylvania
University of Texas at Austin
University of Washington
University of Wisconsin-Madison

The Deadline to apply for the WISLI Tuition Scholarship has passed.

A WISLI Tuition Scholarship covers 50% of the tuition for summer language study at SASLI. The WISLI Tuition Scholarship aims to broaden support for learning less commonly taught languages. See Tuition and Fees for information about estimated costs for the WISLI Summer session.

Eligibility: All applicants to a Summer Language Institute are eligible for a WISLI Scholarship, including adult learners, domestic and international students, and students in degree programs at UW-Madison and other institutions of higher learning.

WISLI Tuition Scholarships are made possible through the generous support of the International Division’s Office of the Dean. Learn more about the International Division at international.wisc.edu.

Before You Submit

Applicants are responsible for ensuring that all application materials are complete and submitted on time. To apply for a WISLI Tuition Scholarship, you will need to:

Have submitted a complete application to a Summer Language Institute by March 2, 2025.
Prepare a one-page Statement of Purpose describing your intended personal, academic, and/or professional goals and the broader impact of these goals for language study at a WISLI Institute. (This statement may be the same document submitted for your general WISLI program application – no changes are needed!).
Prepare a brief Statement of Financial Need addressing any major sources of income for academic study, the financial support needed to participate in WISLI, and other circumstances that may demonstrate your need for support.
Solicit two letters of recommendation. Recommenders must email their recommendation letters to wisli@lpo.wisc.edu. If your program or another financial aid application requires letters, those exact same letters can be re-submitted for this application.
Complete the general WISLI Tuition Scholarship application.

NOTE: Applicants must complete separate applications if applying multiple languages and address the rationale in their statement of purpose.

Award Notifications and Distribution

Students should expect to receive information regarding the status of their scholarship in early April. Those offered an award must accept or decline within two weeks of receiving the award letter.

The WISLI Tuition Scholarship will be applied directly to tuition costs. Recipients of the WISLI Tuition Scholarship must complete the entire 8-week program with a passing grade.

Awards are competitive. See the WISLI funding page for additional resources and suggestions for identifying other funding sources.

What A WISLI Tuition Scholarship Does NOT Cover

The WISLI Tuition Scholarship excludes expenses such as segregated fees, textbooks, living expenses, housing, incidentals, travel, or other costs. International students are required to have UW–Madison approved health insurance coverage and may need to enroll in the UW Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP) if not able to get a waiver. Students who have not previously attended UW–Madison will be charged a one-time official document fee of $130.00.

The application for SASLI Fee Remissions is closed, along with the WISLI Tuition Scholarship Application. The deadline has passed.

All SASLI applicants are eligible for a fee remission, regardless of nationality/citizenship, student status, or chosen language. SASLI Fee Remissions do not include a stipend.

PLEASE NOTE: SASLI Fee Remissions are highly competitive and would most likely cover only half of the tuition you would otherwise pay (maximum $2,500). Therefore, all applicants are strongly encouraged to apply for the WISLI Tuition Scholarship, which can be combined with the SASLI Fee Remission award to cover the remaining half of the SASLI tuition. You may use the same application materials and recommendation letters for both competitions.

Please review the following before applying:

Fee Remission recipients should expect a fee remission of at most $2,500 (i.e., half the of the standard $5,000 tuition rate).
WI and MN residents will receive a partial award because their cost of tuition is already lower than the standard $5,000 tuition rate.
The review process is competitive and based on financial need and academic/other reasons for language study.
Students who accept a FLAS award are not eligible for a SASLI Fee Remission.
To receive a Fee Remission, you will sign and submit an acceptance form indicating that your funding situation does not conflict with the rules set forth by SASLI.
If you accept a SASLI Fee Remission, your application will not be considered for the $1000 Fee Remission. These awards cannot be combined. However, you may combine a SASLI Fee Remission with a WISLI Scholarship.
Leaving the program early may result in being required to pay back some or all of the fee remission.

A complete Fee Remission application includes:

Online application form. Google Forms automatically saves your progress for 30 days when you’re signed in to your Google account. Your progress will not be auto-saved if you are not logged into a Google Account.
Statement of purpose uploaded into the online application form – One-page maximum that addresses how your participation at SASLI will help you with your career, personal, or academic goals and how you plan to continue your language study after the program. You may submit the same statement of purpose as you did for the general SASLI application.
Statement of financial need uploaded into the online application form – One-page maximum that addresses a summary of major sources of income for academic study, the financial support needed for SASLI, and other circumstances that demonstrate your need for support.
Solicit two letters of recommendation. Recommenders must email their recommendation letters to wisli@lpo.wisc.edu. If your program or another financial aid application requires letters, those exact same letters can be re-submitted for this application.

There is no fixed deadline for the $1000 Fee Remission, as it is part of the SASLI general application process.

All SASLI applicants – who submit a complete SASLI application and whose outside, non-loan funding totals less than their total SASLI tuition amount – are eligible to receive a $1000 Fee Remission. The award amount will be directly applied to recipients’ tuition bill by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Bursar’s Office before the start of the program.

Important information:

The $1000 Fee Remission applies only to those who would otherwise pay the full tuition amount. UW-Madison in-state undergraduates and Minnesota resident undergraduates are not eligible for the Fee Remission, as these students pay the regular undergraduate tuition for 8 credits as posted on the UW Bursar’s Office Website.
You may receive a portion of the $1000 Fee Remission amount if you have other funding, provided your outside, non-loan funding is less than the full tuition amount that you would otherwise pay with personal funds.
You are ineligible if you have received a WISLI Tuition Scholarship, Half/Full Fee Remission, FLAS Fellowship, or any external financial award totaling more than $4,000.
To receive the $1000 Fee Remission, you must submit an acceptance form, indicating that your funding situation does not conflict with the rules set forth by SASLI. Failure to submit the form will result in the $1000 Fee Remission being canceled.
Accepting a $1000 Fee Remission while also accepting conflicting funding could result in a hold placed on transcripts and enrollment until the total fee remission is repaid to SASLI.
Leaving the program early may result in being required to pay back some or all of the fee remission.

Please contact us if you are unsure whether your funding situation will make you eligible to receive the $1000 Fee Remission.

For those who may not have received (or been eligible for) a SASLI Scholarship, we encourage you to check into external opportunities.

If you are a current student, ask your department or university if there are other funding applications available to you. For those who are not current students, we suggest looking at the UW-Madison scholarship hub for non-traditional students. We also post external awards on the SASLI Announcements page. If you have questions or are unsure of what is available to you after reading through the above, feel free to reach out.

Non UW-Madison students should research external funding options at their respective institutions. Each year, many SASLI applicants secure funding through their home departments, graduate school, and financial aid office.

UW-Madison students can contact the UW-Madison Financial aid office. Please alert the office that SASLI is a non-standard course fee program at UW-Madison.