Every four years, area centers at U.S. universities compete for Title VI grant awards from the US Department of Education. These grants have two parts—National Resource Centers (NRC) and Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowships (FLAS).
NRC grants are awarded to the institutions with the most comprehensive resources on specific regions of the world, and come with the appellation of National Resource Center. For the 2018-2022 period, the SPAS Center for Pacific Islands Studies received a Title VI NRC award. For the 2020-2022 period, the SPAS Center for Southeast Asian Studies and the SPAS East Asia Council (Centers for Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Okinawan Studies) both received their respective NRC awards. This grant supports curriculum development, library collection acquisitions, faculty development, teacher training, and outreach activities.
FLAS scholarships are awarded to institutions that excel at the teaching and training of students in languages and area studies. For 2018-2022, the SPAS East Asia Council, the Center for Southeast Asian Studies and the Center for Pacific Islands Studies all received Title VI FLAS awards. These provide scholarships for graduate and undergraduate students who study both language and area studies.
The NRC and FLAS grant awards to SPAS centers total $5.3 million over four years. These funds are shared across UHM, supporting students, faculty and programs beyond SPAS to strengthen the entire university.