The Blakemore Foundation was established in 1990 by Thomas and Frances Blakemore to encourage the advanced study of Asian languages and to improve the understanding of Asian fine arts in the United States.
Grants Details:
Blakemore Refresher Grants provid`e funding for short-term language study for periods of two months (minimum) or longer (but less than an academic year).Grants are highly competitive. Last year we were able to fund less than 9% of applicants.
Eligibility Requirements
To be eligible for a grant, an applicant must:
o Be a member of one of the following groups:
o Former Blakemore Freeman Fellows;
o Professors who are teaching in an Asian field at a university or college in theUnited States and post-doctoral professionals whose degree is in an Asianfield;
o Graduates of the regular academic-year programs at the Inter-UniversityCenter in Yokohama, Japan, the Inter-University Program for ChineseLanguage Studies at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, and theInternational Chinese Language Program at National Taiwan University in Taipei, Taiwan.
o Be pursuing an academic, professional or business career that involves the regular use
of a modern East or Southeast Asian language
o Have a college undergraduate degree
o Be at an advanced level in the language
o Be able to devote oneself exclusively to language study during the term of the grant; grants are not made for part-time study or research
o Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident of the United States
“Professional or business career” includes, but is not limited to, careers in computer science,engineering, international business, journalism, law, medicine, NGO work, and teaching.
Eligible Languages
Chinese Vietnamese Tibetan Japanese
Indonesian Thai Korean Khmer
Burmese Malaysian
Consideration will be given to other East or Southeast Asian languages on an individual
basis. Grants will not be made for the study of Asian languages not in current use.
Selection Criteria
o A focused, well-defined career objective involving Asia in which regular use of the language is an important aspect
o `The potential to make a significant contribution to a field of study or area of professional or business activity in an Asian country
o Prior experience in the Asian country or involvement or participation in activities related to the country
o Good academic, professional or business background, appropriate to the career program
Application to Language Program is Applicant’s Responsibility It is the applicant’s individual responsibility to apply to the language program which he or she lists on the Blakemore Refresher Grant application. The Foundation does not apply for the applicant. Applicants may list only one language program on the application.
Approved Language Programs
Blakemore Refresher Grants will be awarded for advanced-level language programs in Asia that are a minimum of two months up to a period less than an academic year.
• For Japanese, we award grants for study at the Inter-University Center for Japanese Language Studies in Yokohama, Japan (IUC). We do not fund Japanese language study at other programs.
• For Chinese, we award grants for study at the Inter-University Program for Chinese Language Studies at Tsinghua University (IUP) or the International Chinese Language Program at National Taiwan University (ICLP). We do not fund Chinese language study at other programs.
• Approval of language study programs for Korean and languages of SE Asia will be considered on an individual basis during the application review process.
Private Tutorial Programs
If there is no appropriate advanced-level language program available in a country, an applicant may propose a program combining study in an ordinary language program supplemented by private tutorials. If no language program exists at all in the country, an
applicant may propose a program of full-time tutorials.
Dates of Study and Deferral Policy
Study must start between June of the year of award and May of the following year. No deferrals of grants will be permitted.
Residency Requirement
Blakemore Refresher Grant Fellows are expected to remain in the study country during the entire period of their grant, except in the event of an emergency.
We encourage Blakemore Refresher Grant Fellows to use holidays and school breaks for modest travel within their study country and to use these opportunities to expand their language usage outside the classroom.
Application Deadline: 30 December 2010
Further Application Information and Application click here
Authors bio is coming up shortly.
