The LSA administers the biennial fellowship competition and provides dedicated funds to assist LSA Student Members in attending the Linguistic Institute. Join the LSA as a member today! Your dues help us make this possible!

View Linguistic Institute Fellowship recipients.

Quick links

Linguistic Institute Fellowships offered in 2023

1. General Institute Fellowship – 12 awards of $2,500

Provides tuition support for LSA student members to attend the Institute.

2. Charles Fillmore Student Fellowship – one award of up to $3,000

Provides tuition support for a graduate student to attend the Institute. This fellowship is named in honor of the late Charles Fillmore, a former President of the LSA.

3. Yuki Kuroda Fellowship – one award of up to $4,500

Established in honor of an LSA member and pre-eminent scholar of Japanese linguistics, Yuki Kuroda, this student fellowship is reserved for linguistics students from Japan to attend the LSA's biennial summer Linguistic Institute.

4. Bernard and Julia Bloch Fellowship – one award of up to $3,500

Established from the Julia Bloch Memorial Fund, the Bernard and Julia Bloch fellowship was first awarded in the summer of 1970. This is the most prestigious award offered to graduate students planning to attend the institute, awarded to the "most promising applicant."

5. Ivan Sag Linguistic Institute Fellowship – one award of up to $2,500

Established in 2014 in honor of our late colleague Ivan Sag, by contributions from LSA members, colleagues, and friends, the Ivan Sag Linguistic Institute Fellowship provides tuition, room and board, and travel for a student at the Linguistic Institute. The Sag Fellowship was awarded for the first time at the 2015 Linguistic Institute. The Ivan A. Sag Institute Fellowship is for an exceptionally promising linguist, and with the expectation that the Sag Fellow will go beyond the regular Institute participation, exercising the kind of inclusiveness, generosity and energy that made Ivan who he was.

6. James McCawley Fellowship – one award of up to $1,600

The James McCawley Fellowship is made possible through contributions to the James McCawley Memorial Fund, established in 1999. One Fellowship is available for either 1) a graduate from the University of Chicago, where McCawley attended, or 2) a graduate student from an Asian country.

7. Ken Hale Student Fellowship – one award of up to $3,200

The Ken Hale Student Fellowship will be awarded to a graduate student who is pursuing a course of study to document endangered languages and work with communities toward their preservation. The first Hale student fellowship was awarded at the 2017 Linguistic Institute at the University of Kentucky, Lexington.

8. Warren Cowgill Fellowship – one award of up to $1,500

The Warren Cowgill Fellowship is designed to support an underrepresented minority undergraduate to attend the Institute. The fellowship will be awarded to a student from a racial or ethnic background that has traditionally been under-represented in the field of linguistics, including African-Americans, Latinx/Hispanic, American Indian, Pacific Islanders and those of mixed heritage.  

Eligibility

  1. For all Fellowships:
    1. Applicants must be LSA Student Members at the time of applying.
    2. Successful recipients must enroll in four or more courses during the four weeks of the Institute.
    3. Those who have received the Linguistic Institute Fellowships from the LSA to attend a previous Institute are not eligible to apply.
  2. For the Charles Fillmore Student Fellowship:
    1. The applicants must specialize in one of the following subfields: corpus linguistics, semantics, construction grammar, frame semantics, or computational linguistics.
    2. Preference is given to applicants from the University of Minnesota, where Fillmore received his BA in Linguistics.
  3. For the Yuki Kuroda Fellowship:
    1. Applications are open to LSA Student Members who are Japanese linguistic students currently living/studying in Japan.
    2. Preference will be given to Japanese students who haven't yet started a graduate program in linguistics in the US.
  4. For the Bernard and Julia Bloch Fellowship:
    1. Applicants must be currently enrolled as undergraduate or graduate students.
    2. Applicants must not be from the hosting Institute.
    3. Preference is given to American Indian candidates.
  5. For the Ivan Sag Linguistic Institute Fellowship, applicants must be currently enrolled as undergraduate or graduate students.
  6. For the James McCawley Fellowship, one fellowship is available for either:
    1. A graduate student from the University of Chicago, where McCawley attended, or
    2. A graduate student from an Asian country. "Asian country" is defined as Burma, Cambodia, China, Taiwan, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
  7. For the Ken Hale Student Fellowship, applicants must be graduate students who are pursuing a course of study to document endangered languages and work with communities toward their preservation.
  8. For the Warren Cowgill Fellowship, one fellowship is available for a student from a racial or ethnic background that has traditionally been under-represented in the field of linguistics, including African Americans, Latinx/Hispanic, Native American, Pacific Islanders and those of mixed heritage. 

Terms and Conditions

  1. About the applicants
    1. Applications for the Linguistic Institute Fellowships are open to current LSA Student Members only. Nonmembers may join the Society to apply.
    2. Applicants may be undergraduate or graduate students. Graduate students should not have received their Ph.D. before the completion of the Institute. 
    3. Applicants do not need to be US citizens. However, applicants will be responsible for any visas and/or other documentation allowing them to attend in the US. The LSA is not able to assist with this process except for providing a letter of invitation upon request. 
    4. Applicants need not register for the Institute before learning whether they have been awarded a fellowship. Still, to be eligible to receive the Fellowship, applicants must enroll in four or more courses for the full four weeks of the Institute if awarded one.
  2. About the Linguistic Institute Fellowships
    1. Successful recipients must use their fellowships towards the Linguistic Institute in the same year of approval.
    2. Successful fellowships are not transferable or redeemable for cash.
    3. Inclusion of each Fellowship
      1. The General Institute Fellowships can be used to cover tuition only. This Fellowship does not cover living expenses, travel expenses to and from the Institute, or visa expenses for international students.
      2. The Charles Fillmore Student Fellowship can be used to cover tuition, travel, room and board.
      3. The Yuki Kuroda Fellowship can be used to cover tuition, travel, room and board.
      4. The Bernard and Julia Bloch Fellowship can be used to cover tuition, travel, room and board.
      5. The Ivan Sag Linguistic Institute Fellowship can be used to cover tuition, travel, room and board.
      6. The James McCawley Fellowship can be used to cover tuition, travel, room and board.
      7. The Ken Hale Student Fellowship can be used to cover tuition, travel, room and board.
      8. The Warren Cowgill Fellowship can be used to cover tuition, room and board and travel.
    4. The primary language of interaction and instruction is English. For that reason, proficiency in English is a requirement for fully enjoying the benefits of the program. 
  3. Obligations of successful recipients
    1. Successful recipients must use their fellowships towards the Linguistic Institute in the same year of approval and within the approved categories of expenditures outlined for the generic Fellowships and named Fellowships.
    2. Successful fellowships are not transferable, redeemable for cash, or rolled over to another year.
    3. Successful recipients must submit an expense report with the required associated receipts by July 28th, 2023. Expenses incurred will not be reimbursed without support documentation, i.e., receipts.
    4. Successful recipients must enroll in four or more courses for the full four weeks of the Linguistic Institute.

FAQs

Do I have to be attending a US Institution to apply?

The Terms and Conditions on the attendance of a US institution vary between the Fellowships. Some require specific institutions, whilst some allow applicants from overseas. Please check the Terms and Conditions carefully to find out what Fellowship you are eligible for.

Do I have to be a US Citizen to apply?

No, applicants from all backgrounds and citizenships are encouraged and accepted. Please check the Terms and Conditions carefully, as some named Fellowships require specific citizenships. 

What will a Fellowship cover in terms of costs to attend the Institute?

Each Fellowship should cover a part of, or full, registration fee of $2,500 to attend the Linguistic Institute. Additional inclusions of each Fellowship are specified in the Terms and Conditions. Please check them carefully before applying.

How many fellowships are available?

The following Fellowships will be offered this year. Please check the Terms and Conditions carefully to find out which Fellowship you are eligible for.

  1. General Institute Fellowship – 12 awards of $2,500
  2. Charles Fillmore Student Fellowship – one award of up to $3,000
  3. Yuki Kuroda Fellowship – one award of up to $4,500
  4. Bernard and Julia Bloch Fellowship – one award of up to $3,500
  5. Ivan Sag Linguistic Institute Fellowship – one award of up to $2,500
  6. James McCawley Fellowship – one award of up to $1,600
  7. Ken Hale Student Fellowship – one award of up to $3,200
  8. Warren Cowgill Fellowship – one award of up to $1,500

I checked the Terms and Conditions carefully and realized that I am eligible for more than one Fellowship. Can I apply for more than one Fellowship?

There is no restriction on how many Fellowships you can apply for, as long as you are eligible for them. There will be additional questions that are relevant to some named Fellowships. You are required to respond to the named Fellowship that you have selected for consideration. However, as noted, applicants may not be awarded more than one Fellowship.

Who will review and score my application?

Members of the Committee of Linguistic Institute and Fellowships (the Committee) will be responsible for evaluating all applications and preparing rank-ordered lists of Fellowship applicants. A list of current Committee Members is available on the LSA website.

I would love to submit an application. However, I need more time to prepare my responses. Can I have an extension to complete my application?

All applications are due on March 5th. No extension will be provided, regardless of the reason.

Can I start the application and return to complete it later?

While SurveyMonkey can support returned applicants, this system might not recognize you if you use a different device to continue the application. It’s best if you prepare your responses in a word document and paste them to the online form once you are ready to submit it. You can download and view the questions here for reference: 

What is required for references?

Two letters of recommendation supporting your application will be required by the due date. As you complete the application, you will be asked to provide details of two recommenders. The LSA will send these individuals a link to submit their recommendation, which should be no more than 500 words and should detail how attending the Institute with a Fellowship will enhance your career in linguistics.

Please ensure that your recommenders are aware of the letters' due date of March 10th. Late submissions of letters of recommendation will not be considered. Application without two letters of recommendation will be considered 'incomplete' and might not be reviewed. 

What format should support documents be?

Please ensure that all relevant support documents are provided in pdf, doc, docx, png, jpg, jpeg, or gif formats. The size of these files should be less than 16MB.

For your convenience, below is the list of supporting documents:

  • Copies of transcripts of your Associate Degree, BA/BS, MA/MS, Ph.D. and other relevant degrees
  • Evidence of English proficiency if English is not your first language, including but not limited to TOEFL or IELTS scores

Is my submission confidential?

All Fellowship submissions are treated as highly confidential. Only members of the LSA Secretariat and the Committee will have access to submissions to review and score them.

What happens after I apply for a Fellowship?

As soon as you click the ‘Submit’ button at the end of your application, a message will display on the screen letting you know that your application has been successfully submitted. Please let your recommenders know so that they can have your letter of recommendation ready. Application without two letters of recommendation will be considered 'incomplete' and might not be reviewed. 

In the meantime, we will contact your recommenders, review all submissions with the Committee, finalize the scores and announce the results by mid-April.

My application is successful, but I am no longer able to attend the whole four-week Linguistic Institute. What happens to my Fellowship?

Applicants must enroll in four or more courses for the full four weeks of the Institute if awarded one. If you are unable to attend the full four-week program, the LSA Secretariat reserves the right to grant the Fellowship to another applicant.

I am hoping to apply for a Fellowship, but I am only interested in one of the courses offered. Can I still apply? 

Successful recipients must enroll in four or more courses for the full four weeks at the Linguistic Institute. 

I am hoping to apply for a Fellowship, but I am not a current student at the time of application. I graduated recently and I am planning to apply for another program in a few months. Can I still apply? 

Yes, you are eligible to apply for a Fellowship. It would be useful to include your educational record and the program you are planning to apply for in the application. 

I'm interested in a particular topic that is not included in any of the Named Fellowships. Can I still apply? 

Yes, of course! You are encouraged to submit an application for the General Institute Fellowship for consideration of the full registration fee. 

I understand that past recipients of the Bernard and Julia Bloch Fellowship were also appointed to the Committee on Student Issues and Concerns (COSIAC). Is this still a requirement for recipients this year? 

The recipient of the Bernard and Julia Bloch Fellowship is no longer appointed to COSIAC. 

How are recipients of each Fellowship determined?

The selection process will take place from March to April 2023. Each application will be carefully reviewed and scored by multiple members of the Committee. A ranked list in order of scores will be produced to determine the final results.

Will I receive feedback on my application?

No, feedback will not be provided on submissions.

What is the deadline for submitting my application?

The 2023 LSA Linguistic Institute Fellowship application will close at 12:00 pm U.S. Eastern Time on Sunday, March 5th, 2023. Please complete the application ahead of this time to allow time to solve technical glitches or other problems due to issues such as internet access, etc.

I have already submitted my application, but I've realized that I need to update it slightly. Can I access this submitted version to make amendments? 

Please contact membership@lsadc.org with your application details for review and assistance. 

How will I find out if my application is successful?

All applicants will be notified of the status of their applications via email by April. Please ensure that your email address is typed correctly in the applications.

Fellowship results will be released after the end of the Early Bird registration rate. Will I still be eligible for the Early Bird registration rate?

Yes, all Fellowship recipients will be eligible for the Early Bird registration rate.

I have questions about the Linguistic Institute Fellowship. Who should I contact?

Please contact the LSA Secretariat via membership@lsadc.org if you have further questions.