The Central Eurasian Studies Summer Institute at the University of Wisconsin-Madison still has some seats available in the Elementary Kazakh class and will award two Title VIII fellowships to eligible applicants who are interested in studying Elementary Kazakh this summer!
For those interested, you must be a U.S. citizen who is a graduate student (or will be beginning a graduate program in the fall), post-baccalaureate scholar, or working professional to be eligible to apply for a Title VIII Fellowship. Additionally, please be aware that Title VIII fellowships are funded by the United States Department of State. If you know anyone or if you yourself are interested in studying Elementary Kazakh this summer, learn more and submit your application here: https://cessi.wisc.edu/apply/. We are not setting a hard deadline for applications in order to remain flexible for interested applicants.
Eligibility
CESSI welcomes students from a variety of backgrounds to apply, including working professionals, heritage speakers, and international students. Applicants do not need to currently be enrolled in an academic program to be eligible. Please note that fellowships and scholarships have their own eligibility requirements, which you can find here.
Students who are currently enrolled at any institution must be in good standing at that home institution at the time of application and remain in good standing throughout the CESSI program.
Prior to applying to CESSI we recommend determining which funding opportunities for which you are eligible to apply. The CESSI Funding Quiz can help you determine which opportunities you are eligible for.
Disability Accommodations: CESSI complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). For more information about compliance, contact the McBurney Disability Resource Center, (608)263-2704. Disclosure of need for special accommodations is not required for this application.
Policy on Minors: High school juniors and seniors who are enrolled in a degree-seeking program may apply for admission to CESSI. Eligible minors are subject to additional application procedures that serve to demonstrate their potential to succeed in a college-level intensive course. We encourage interested applicants to reach out to cessi@creeca.wisc.edu prior to submitting an online application form to inquire about these additional application procedures. Processing of a minor application can take several weeks, and applicants should plan accordingly.
As per UW-Madison policy and FERPA regulations, all application materials should be prepared and submitted by the student personally. All communications with the program office should also be undertaken by the student personally. We will not and cannot communicate with a parent or guardian regarding a student’s interest or status in the program.
Application Instructions (All Applicants)
1. Complete the online CESSI Application Form. Please fill in all the information requested and then click “Submit” at the bottom of the page.
2. Submit a personal statement of research and/or career plans. In your statement, explain how the acquisition of a Central Eurasian language will further your goals. The recommended length for your statement is 1-2 pages, double-spaced. Statements should be submitted by email to cessi@creeca.wisc.edu.
NOTE: CESSI applicants who are applying for a Title VIII fellowship must submit a Title VIII-specific statement of purpose. The Title VIII statement of purpose supplants the CESSI personal statement; Title VIII fellowship applicants do NOT need to submit a personal statement. Please see the below Title VIII tab for statement of purpose guidelines.
3. Submit transcripts (official or unofficial) from all institutions of higher education that you have attended. Email transcripts to cessi@creeca.wisc.edu. If you have attended CESSI in the past, please submit those transcripts as well. Please do not mail paper copies to the CREECA office at this time. CESSI operations are currently conducted remotely. Please consult with us at cessi@creeca.wisc.edu if you are unable to submit electronic transcript copies.
4. Submit a copy of your CV/Résumé via email to cessi@creeca.wisc.edu.
5. Pay the non-refundable application fee of $25.00. Submit the application fee to CREECA via check or electronic payment. If you send your payment as a check, please email us to let us know it is on the way. Please note: CESSI’s fee payment link is hosted by the Center for South Asian Studies on the Language Program Office website.
You can submit the application fee electronically here. When completing the payment form, please double check you have entered the correct language you are applying for and have selected the correct program from the drop-down menu before continuing on. If you are unsure how to fill out this portion of the payment form, please contact our office prior to submitting a payment.
It is our goal to make CESSI as affordable as possible. If the application fee or new student document fee are a hardship, please reach out to cessi@creeca.wisc.edu to discuss your case.
April 1, 2022 is the final deadline.
Additional Notes
Please be aware that the CESSI Application for acceptance to the CESSI 2022 cohort is separate from funding applications to fund your CESSI studies. You may wish to take the CESSI Funding Quiz to determine which funding awards you are eligible for before beginning your application. Additional instructions for each funding application are below and more information on each funding source is available on the Costs and Funding page. Click to open each section below and learn more about each funding award’s application process.
Recommendation Letters: Each fellowship or scholarship associated with CESSI requires two recommendation letters and must be sent directly to CESSI from the recommender. If you are applying for multiple financial aid opportunities, understandably, you may be reluctant to ask recommenders to repeatedly submit slightly different letters across several platforms. CESSI allows students to use the same recommendation letters for applications to funding opportunities administered by CREECA. If you decide to do this, we suggest advising your recommenders to refer broadly to financial aid rather than naming a specific opportunity as the letters will be read by different review committees. For example, “X is an excellent candidate for this fellowship because…” rather than “X is an excellent candidate for the Title VIII fellowship because…”.
If you are applying for a FLAS fellowship and wish to have your recommendation letters applied to other scholarship applications administered by CREECA, please have your recommenders email their letter directly to CREECA’s FLAS Coordinator Sarah Linkert rather than submit it through the FLAS application portal.
Send Application Materials To:
Please clearly label files sent to CESSI including your last name. For example: “LastName_UndergradTranscript” Please also include your last name in the subject line of emails sent with application materials.
Please address checks to UW-Madison CREECA CESSI and mail to:
210 Ingraham Hall
1155 Observatory Drive
Madison, WI 53706