U.S. Department of Education

International Education Programs Service

International Research and Studies Program

**Access to the World and Its Languages**

> The mission of the International Education Programs Service (IEPS) is
> to meet the national needs for expertise and competence in foreign
> languages and area or international studies. IEPS administers 14
> international education programs. These programs are complementary in
> nature and designed to benefit a variety of audiences through training
> programs, research, start-up or enhancement projects, and fellowships.

# International Research and Studies 

This program supports surveys, studies, and instructional materials
development to improve and strengthen instruction in modern foreign
languages, area studies, and other international fields. The purpose of
the program is to improve and strengthen instruction in modern foreign
languages, area studies and other international fields.

## Eligible Applicants 

Public and private agencies, organizations, institutions, and
individuals.

## Limitation on the use of funds and cost-sharing requirements 

Funds awarded may not be used for the training of students and teachers.
No cost-sharing is required.

Congress finds that systematic efforts are necessary to enhance the
capacity of institutions of higher education in the United States for---

\(A\) producing graduates with international and foreign language
expertise and knowledge; and

\(B\) research regarding such expertise and knowledge.

## Eligible Projects 

Projects funded under this program include but are not limited to the
following:

• Studies and surveys to determine needs for increased or improved
instruction in modern foreign languages, area studies, or other
international fields, including the demand for foreign language, area,
and other international specialists in government, education, and the
private sector.

• Research on more effective methods of providing instruction and
achieving competency in foreign languages.

• Research on applying performance tests and standards across all areas
of foreign language instruction and classroom use.

• Development and publishing of specialized materials for use in foreign
language, area studies, and other international fields or for training
foreign language, area, and other international specialists.

• Studies and surveys to assess the use of graduates of programs
supported under Title VI, Part B of the Higher Education Act of 1965 by
governmental, educational, and private-sector organizations and other
studies assessing the outcomes and effectiveness of supported programs.

• Comparative studies of the effectiveness of strategies to provide
international capabilities at institutions of higher education.

## For More Information 

Institutions should e-mail questions to <ope_iegps@ed.gov> or visit the
IEPS Web site at
[www.ed.gov/programs/iegpsirs](http://www.ed.gov/programs/iegpsirs) for
more information, including: application deadline, application package,
technical assistance, workshop and meeting schedules, and program
statute and regulations.

**[About IEPS Domestic Programs]{.smallcaps}**

Under Title VI of the Higher Education Act, IEPS administers 10 domestic
programs that provide a variety of grants to institutions of higher
education, nonprofit organizations, and individuals for projects in
foreign languages, area or international studies, and international
business.

These include:

> • American Overseas Research Centers

-   Business and International Education

-   Centers for International Business Education

-   Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowships

-   Institute for International Public Policy

-   International Research and Studies

-   Language Resource Centers

-   National Resource Centers

> • Technological Innovation and Cooperation for Foreign Information
> Access
>
> • Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language Program

If you would like more information about the domestic international
education programs, please visit the IEPS Web site at
[www.ed.gov/ope/iegps](http://www.ed.gov/ope/iegps).

Here's what participants in the International Research and Studies (IRS)
Program have to say about their experiences in the program:

"The process by which the National Defense Education Act/IRS program was
set up, by which it established its priorities and principles, and under
which it received and evaluated proposals, has at all times been
thoroughly grounded in the expertise, principles, and the needs of the
academic field it serves."

### Richard Brod, Modern Language Association 

"The testing-related projects funded by the International Research and
Studies Program of Title VI ... have had a major impact on foreign
language testing in the United States ... and the IRS Program has had a
profound effect during the past 35 years, without which support foreign
language testing would not have advanced nearly as far as it has."

*Charles Stansfield, President, Second Language Testing, Inc.*

"The impact on Southeast Asian studies of works funded under the Title
VI \[IRS\] Program represents a remarkable and wide-ranging array of
scholarly contributions to the advancement of Southeast Asian languages
and area studies."

### Thomas W. Gething, University of Washington 

"As time passed and as the needs of the profession grew and changed, the
research program of Title VI responded with a whole range of funded
projects that mirrored the shifting concerns and new methodologies that
took hold in the 1970s and 1980s."

*John S. Montanaro, Yale University (Connecticut)*

U.S. Department of Education

Office of Postsecondary Education

International Education Programs Service

1990 K Street, N.W., 6th Floor

Washington, DC 20006-8521

Tel: 202-502-7700

Fax: 202-502-7860

[www.ed.gov/ope/iegps](http://www.ed.gov/ope/iegps)