Funding
The Southeast Asia Program (SEAP) offers a range of funding opportunities to support students in their studies, travel, language, and research. SEAP faculty and students are also eligible and encouraged to apply for all Einaudi Center funding opportunities.
Undergraduate students and graduate students with a passion for Southeast Asia studies, language, and culture can also apply for SEAP funding for a student organization. We also encourage students to seek funding from other Cornell sources and from external funding sources.
All students applying for SEAP funding must affiliate with SEAP by completing the annual SEAP student survey.
Graduate Students
SEAP Conference Travel Grant
SEAP provides grants up to $500 to fund travel to present at conferences. The award may only be granted once per academic year (July 1 through June 30). Receiving this award also requires applying for the Graduate School Conference Travel Grant and departmental conference travel funding.
Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship
FLAS Fellowships help students pursue advanced training to acquire a high level of competence in one or more languages that are critical to the national needs of the United States and to gain a fuller understanding of the areas, regions, or countries in which those languages are commonly used. Graduate students who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents are eligible for both Academic Year and Summer FLAS Fellowships. Applicants must be at the intermediate or advanced level of language study or be starting a second regional language. Doctoral candidates can qualify for a "Dissertation Research Abroad" or "Dissertation Writing at Home" award, as long as they are at an advanced level in a Southeast Asian language and will be intensely engaging with that language in their research or writing.
Rare and Distinctive (RAD) Language Fellowship
Rare and distinctive (RAD) languages set Cornell apart. Cornell offers over 50 languages, including some of the world's least frequently taught—from Ukrainian to Quechua, Urdu to Burmese. These fellowships support summer language study for Cornell graduate students. The RAD Language Fellowship supports four Southeast Asian Languages: Burmese, Indonesian, Khmer, and Thai.
For the Summer 2025 RAD Language Fellowship competition cycle, SEAP students who are ineligible for a Summer FLAS Fellowship should apply to RAD regardless of their intended language of study (including Burmese, Indonesian, Khmer, Thai, Tagalog/Filipino, and Vietnamese).
Milton L. Barnett Scholarship for Malaysian Studies
Designed to promote Malaysian studies at Cornell, the Barnett scholarship is an award up to $3,000 to cover a research project, conference attendance, travel related to your academic program, or summer language acquisition in Malaysia. All students focusing their academic studies on Malaysia may apply, in addition to Malaysian students studying any part of Southeast Asia.
RESEARCH TRAVEL GRANTS:
SEAP’s top priority is to ensure that students are able to conduct research in Southeast Asia, using Southeast Asian languages. Our goal is to make funding available for as many SEAP students as possible. Therefore, we ask students to leverage other sources of funding to the greatest extent possible. SEAP's role is to try to help fill in major gaps in financial need.
Please note that all SEAP graduate students seeking funding for international research must also apply for the Einaudi Center Research Travel Grant for Graduate Students and Graduate School Research Travel Grant.
Students applying for any SEAP research travel grant (Top-Off Award for Einaudi Center Research Travel Grant for Graduate Students; SEAP Flexible Research Travel Grant; SEAP Research Grant for Doctoral Candidates) should use our provided budget template in their proposals.
SEAP Top-Off Award for Einaudi Center Research Travel Grant for Graduate Students
Einaudi Center Research Travel Grants for Graduate Students to Southeast Asia are reviewed by SEAP faculty. Therefore, we expect everyone who is eligible to apply for this funding as a priority. We also ask that any SEAP student applying for these funds email a budget using this template to SEAP Program Manager Colin Peterson (crp88@cornell.edu) so that SEAP faculty can award supplemental funding beyond airfare, as well as cover significant gaps in research needs. Historically, top-off awards have ranged from $300 to $750.
SEAP Flexible Research Travel Grant
If, for some reason, a SEAP student has research travel needs for which applying for the Einaudi Center Research Travel Grants for Graduate Students is not possible, SEAP provides up to $3,000 in travel funding. This award is available for off-cycle research (primarily due to a student's matriculation date), either independently or as part of a class. Students should not use this award in lieu of the Einaudi Center Research Travel Grant + SEAP Top-Off Award funding that is part of the annual spring semester application cycle. The SEAP Flexible Research Travel Grant is intended for extraordinary research needs, which you must present in writing along with your budget. Receiving this award requires submitting applications for the Einaudi Center Research Travel Grant and the Graduate School Research Travel Grant, if possible.
Terminal master’s degree students (e.g., MA, MFA, MPA) whose studies/research involve overseas fieldwork or archival work on Southeast Asian topics and demonstrate a need for financial support may also use this award for a master’s thesis/project on any time frame with a budget up to $5,000.
SEAP Research Grant for Doctoral Candidates
SEAP provides funding up to $10,000 for PhD candidates who applied for and did not receive major external awards. This grant is only available to SEAP PhD students who have completed their A-Exams, with preference given to those in the fourth and fifth years of their programs. To apply, students must submit a revised version of a rejected research proposal addressing feedback from committee members and/or external reviewers. Students may also submit proposals that are pending review. The student's committee chair must also provide a statement of justification for this research proposal, focusing on degree progress and efforts to secure funding.
Other Sources of Support for SEAP Graduate Students
SEAP has consistently been inspired by the organization of graduate students to collaboratively pursue their intellectual pursuits. Examples include, but are not limited to, workshops, networking events, mentorship programs, reading and/or writing groups, library training, and interdisciplinary projects. Graduate students with ideas for academic or professional programming on a Southeast Asian topic should contact SEAP Program Manager Colin Peterson (crp88@cornell.edu) to discuss their proposals and explore opportunities for support.
Undergraduate Students
Southeast Asian Studies Summer Institute (SEASSI) Language Scholarship
SEAP offers one qualified undergraduate a chance to win a full scholarship to study a Southeast Asian language at SEASSI. No prior instruction in or knowledge of any Southeast Asian language is necessary. The eight-week summer language course is equivalent to two semesters of study, with full academic year credit.
Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship
SEAP offers FLAS Fellowships to undergraduate students to study a Southeast Asian language during the summer at the intermediate level or above. The award covers tuition plus a $3,500 stipend to study at the Southeast Asian Studies Summer Institute (SEASSI) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, an eight-week summer course which can earn you the equivalent of one year of language study. To be eligible, you must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
SEAP Flexible Research Travel Grant
SEAP provides undergraduate students with travel funding up to $3,000 for international study or research in Southeast Asia, either independently or as part of a class. Only students who have taken at least one semester of a Southeast Asian language and/or a Southeast Asian studies area course are eligible to apply.
Summer Internships
SEAP supports a series of summer internships with our partner institution in Cambodia, the Center for Khmer Studies. These opportunities are an excellent way for undergraduate students to gain valuable international experience to advance their career goals. In addition, Global Cornell supports other internship opportunities in Southeast Asia via Cornell Global Hubs, including Singapore and Vietnam.
