National Resource

Centers Program

TITLEVI

International and Foreign Language Education

Office of Postsecondary Education

U.S. Department of Education
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A B O U T T H E P R O G R A M

The Title VI National Resource Centers (NRC) program provides

grants to establish, strengthen, and operate language and area

or international studies centers that will be national resources

for teaching any modern foreign language. Grants also support

instruction in fields needed to provide a full understanding of

the areas, regions, or countries where the languages are

commonly used; research and training in international studies;

language aspects of professional and other fields of study; and

instruction and research on issues in world affairs. The NRC

program is administered by the International and Foreign

Language Education office of the U.S. Department of Education.
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A B O U T T H E P R O G R A M

W H O

Institutions of higher

education or consortia

of institutions of

higher education are

eligible to apply.

W H A T

The purpose of the NRC

program is to establish,

strengthen, and operate

centers that will serve as

national centers of

excellence for teaching

modern foreign languages in

conjunction with instruction

about the world regions

where these languages are

used, or about themes of

cross-regional or global

importance.

Centers may focus on

the following world

areas: Africa, Canada,

East Asia, Latin America,

Middle East, Russia and

Eastern Europe, South

Asia, Southeast Asia

and Pacific Islands,

and Western Europe.

Applicants may also

propose centers that

focus on international

themes.

W H E R E

W H E N

This program operates on

a four-year grant cycle.

The last competition was

fiscal year (FY) 2018. The

next competition will be

FY 2022.

H O W

Applications must be submitted online through Grants.gov.

For more information, visit:

www.ed.gov/programs/iegpsnrc/applicant.html
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N R C I M P A C T S T O R I E S

L E T I T I A Z W I C K E R T , N R C F O R

W E S T E R N E U R O P E A N S T U D I E S

U N I V E R S I T Y O F I L L I N O I S

Letitia Zwickert is a high school

international relations teacher who

has benefited from the K–12 teacher

outreach programming organized

by the University of Illinois’ National

Resource Center for the study of

Western Europe. Over the years,

Zwickert has participated in NRCorganized academic conferences,

summer curriculum workshops, and

educator study tours to Belgium

and Luxembourg. Zwickert drew on

these experiences to encourage her

students to compete in the “Euro

Challenge” national competition

and to develop a “Global Scholar”

certificate program for high school

students in the state of Illinois. She

is the first-ever K–12 teacher to

receive a Fulbright-Schuman grant,

which funded her research on EU

and state education policy in

Belgium, France, and Luxembourg,

with the goal of finding ways to

support high-risk minority high

school students in the U.S.

N R C S F O R M I D D L E E A S T E R N

A N D N O R T H A F R I C A N

S T U D I E S A N D F O R

S O U T H E A S T A S I A N S T U D I E S

U N I V E R S I T Y O F M I C H I G A N

The NRCs for Middle Eastern

and North African (MENA)

Studies and for Southeast Asian

(SEA) Studies at the University

of Michigan work closely each

year to organize the MENA-SEA

Teacher Program, a special

outreach initiative for Michigan

secondary schools. The program

trains educators from across the

state in deepening their

understanding and

appreciation of religious

diversity in both world regions.

Program participants engage

with scholars, artists, and

community leaders while

visiting cultural and religious

sites and attending artistic

performances. The program

helps teachers build a strong

professional network and use

their learnings to add a global

component to their own course

curricula.

O S C A R L A I , N R C F O R L A T I N

A M E R I C A N S T U D I E S

U N I V E R S I T Y O F A R I Z O N A

Oscar Lai is a Social Science

Advisor for the U.S. Forest

Service's (USFS) Office of

International Programs, where

he manages the technical

cooperation between USFS

and its partners in Central

America, including bilateral

programs in Honduras and

Guatemala, and a regional

climate change program. Lai

received a dual master's

degree in Latin American

Studies and Public

Administration through the

University of Arizona (UA) and

its Latin America NRC. During

his time at UA, Lai gained

valuable experiences working

as a research assistant,

completing a summer

internship with the State

Department, and doing

summer language study

abroad. Lai attributes the NRC

opportunity to broadening his

knowledge and skills, which

have contributed to his career

success.
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F Y 2 0 1 8 F A C T S A N D F I G U R E S *

11.5K+ National

Resource Center

Activities

$22.5

Million 

Awarded to

Grantees

10 World Areas 1.2M+ Student Attendees

N A T I O N A L R E S O U R C E C E N T E R S A C R O S S T H E U N I T E D S T A T E S

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Visit our current Google map of grantees to find out which institutions are currently home to National Resource Centers for

particular world regions, and to learn more about our other grant and fellowship programs.

*This program operates on a four-year grant cycle. 2018 is the most recent year for which full program data are available.
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WORLD REGION OR THEMATIC FOCUS

Fiscal Year 2018-2021 National Resource Centers

Africa

9.3%

Canada

3.7%

East Asia

15.9%

International

7.5%

*

Latin America

18.7%

Middle East

14%

Russia and Eastern Europe

9.3%

South Asia

8.4%

Southeast Asia and Pacific Islands

7.5%

Western Europe

5.6%

*International centers focus on cross-regional themes like global studies and global change.

INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS DEVELOPED BY NRCs

Fiscal Year 2018

Type

Audio-Visual Materials

Supplementary Materials

Web-Based Materials

Toolkits and Instructional Materials

Textbook

Computer-Assisted Materials

Curriculum

0 100 200 300 400

Numbe r

500
A P P L I C A T I O N T I P S

Getting Organized

Review the Federal Register notice for critical competition

information

Review the successful grant applications from the most recent

NRC competition (https://iris.ed.gov/info/applications) to

familiarize yourself with the content and format

Contact funded grantees for information and assistance

Develop linkages internally and externally

Designate a management team with international and grants

experience

Get an early start on gathering data, faculty bios, course lists,

and other required materials

Request letters of support (U.S. and abroad)

Contact Program Officer (officers listed by region of focus on

NRC website: www.ed.gov/programs/iegpsnrc)

Review FAQs on website

Writing Your Proposal

Address all selection criteria in the order listed in the

application packet

Provide a detailed plan of operation and evaluation

Include sufficient details so that someone unfamiliar with

your project could understand it

Provide a detailed budget

Avoid grammatical errors and overuse of acronyms

Think from the perspective of a panel reviewer who will

read and score your application

Be clear and concise

Submitting Your Application

Register early with Grants.gov to avoid technical issues

with the online application system

Save your proposal in other software to ensure that you

have a backup in case of technical issues

DO NOT wait until the last minute to submit!

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C O N T A C T U S

Website: www.ed.gov/programs/iegpsnrc

Email: IFLE@ed.gov

Phone: 202-453-6950

@GoGlobalEd

International and

Foreign Language

Education (IFLE) Office

U.S Department of Education | International and Foreign Language Education Office

www.ed.gov/ope/iegps