Description
The Title VI International Research and Studies (IRS) program supports research, surveys, studies, and the development of instructional materials to improve and strengthen instruction in modern foreign languages, area studies, and other international fields.
In addition to research, surveys and studies, the program provides funds for the development of foreign language materials designed to improve and strengthen foreign language and area and related studies in the U.S. education system.
Types of projects funded under this program:
- 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, area studies, or other international fields.
- Research on applying performance tests and standards across all areas of foreign language instruction and classroom use.
- Developing and publishing 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 of the Higher Education Act 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.
- Evaluations of the extent to which programs assisted under Title VI of the Higher Education Act that address national needs would not otherwise be offered.
- Studies and surveys of the use of technologies in foreign language, area studies, and international studies programs.
- Studies and evaluations of effective practices in the dissemination of international information, materials, research, teaching strategies, and testing techniques throughout the educational community, including elementary and secondary schools.
- Evaluation of the extent to which programs assisted under this title reflect diverse views and generate debate on world regions and international affairs, as described in the grantee's application.
- The systematic collection, analysis, and dissemination of data that contribute to achieving the purposes of this part.
- Support for programs or activities to make data collected, analyzed, or disseminated under this section publicly available and easy to understand.
Funds awarded may NOT be used for the training of students and teachers.
No cost-sharing is required.
Contact
Dana Sapatoru, Ph.D.
E-mail: dana.sapatoru@ed.gov
Tel: (202) 987-1944
U.S. Department of Education
Office of Postsecondary Education
International and Foreign Language Education
International Research and Studies Program
400 Maryland Avenue, S.W.
Washington, DC 20202
Program Classification
Program Office: International and Foreign Language Education
Assistance Listing Number (ALN): 84.017A
Program Type: Discretionary/Competitive Grants
|| Competition Timeline || Application Materials || Tips & Assistance || Eligibility ||
Competition Timeline
The Title VI International Research and Studies (IRS) program operates on a three-year grant cycle and competitions are announced in the Federal Register. To learn about future IRS program competitions, please check this website and subscribe to the International and Foreign Language Education office newsletter listserv to receive updates.
Last competition: FY 2023
Next competition: FY 2026 (tentative)
Application Materials
The FY 2023 competition is closed. The deadline to apply was May 12, 2023. All information below regarding the FY 2023 competition is for reference only.
Applications for the IRS program must be submitted online through Grants.gov.
- Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for FY 2023, dated March 28, 2023 | PDF
- FY 2023 IRS Application Package: MS Word (444K)
- Grants.gov Funding Opportunity Number: ED-GRANTS-032823-001
Tips & Assistance
IFLE held a pre-application webinar for the FY 2023 IRS competition on April 4, 2023. The webinar covered a variety of topics, including applicant eligibility, program requirements, and selection criteria.
- Webinar recording: https://youtu.be/I82Ndqiqe_I
- Click here for the FY 2023 IRS Pre-Application Webinar Slide Deck
Eligibility
Who May Apply: (by category) Individuals, Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs), Local Education Agencies (LEAs), Nonprofit Organizations, Other Organizations and/or Agencies, State Education Agencies (SEAs)
Who May Apply: (specifically) Public and private agencies, organizations and institutions, and individuals may apply.
FY 2024
Appropriation: $1,619,540
Number of Continuation Awards: 22
Average Continuation Award: $73,615
List of Grantees and Project Abstracts: 
MS Word (361K)
Google Map of FY 2024 IFLE Grantees
FY 2023
Appropriation: $1,619,540
Number of New Awards: 22, 11 Research, Studies or Surveys Projects and 11 Specialized Instructional Materials Projects
Average New Award: $73,615
List of Grantees and Project Abstracts: MS Word (361K)
Google Map of FY 2023 IFLE Grantees
FY 2022
Appropriation: $978,215
Number of Continuation Awards: 17
Average New Award: $57,542
Google Map of FY 2022 IFLE Grantees
FY 2021
Appropriation: $1,019,702
Number of Continuation Awards: 15
Average Continuation Award: $56,236
Number of New Awards: 3
Average New Award: $58,717
List of Grantees and Project Abstracts: PDF (258K)
FY 2020
Appropriation: $863,348
Number of New Awards: 15
Average New Award: $57,557
List of Grantees and Project Abstracts: PDF (539K)
FY 2019
No new awards were made in FY 2019.
Useful Links
- IRS FY 2023-2025 Program Administration Manual: MS Word (1M)
- International Resource Information System (IRIS) -- a performance reporting system and searchable database for 14 international education programs
- Education Resources Information Center (ERIC)
- International and Foreign Language Education Resources Open Educational Resources (OER) Commons Group
- OPE - Other Applicant and Grantee Resources
Legislation
- Consultation with Federal Agencies on Areas of National Need – The Higher Education Act requires that the Secretary consult with federal agency heads in order to receive recommendations regarding areas of national need for expertise in foreign languages and world regions.
- Title VI of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended
- 20 USC Chapter 28 Subchapter VI Part A Section 1125 and Part D Section 1132-7
Regulations
- Code of Federal Regulations Title 34 (34 CFR) Part 655 and Part 660
- Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR), Parts 75, 77, 81, 82, 84, 85, 86, 97, 98, and 99
- On August 29, 2024, the U.S. Department of Education published a Notice of Final Rule with updates to the EDGAR provisions.
Performance Reporting
Grantees under this program are required to submit an annual performance report (APR) through the International Resource Information System (IRIS). The Department provides grantees with the required password and other information needed to access the IRIS system. IRIS also includes a publicly accessible searchable database of abstracts of projects funded under OPE's international education programs.
END-OF-PROJECT REPORTING
All IRS grant deliverables must be open-access and uploaded to the International and Foreign Language Education (IFLE) Resources Open Educational Resources (OER) Commons Group. In addition, all peer reviewed publications must also be uploaded to the Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) platform, an online library of education research and information, sponsored by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) of the U.S. Department of Education.
Frequently Asked Questions
 | Select a link below to jump to the relevant page section. |
- What is the purpose of the International Research and Studies (IRS) program?
- What kinds of activities can be supported with grant funds?
- What are a few concrete examples of allowable activities?
- How often are competitions generally held?
- What is the duration of the average grant?
- What is the average annual grant amount?
- Is there a cost matching requirement? If so, are in-kind contributions acceptable as part of the grantee's match?
- What are the reporting requirements for grantees? What kind of records and data should be maintained or collected in order to complete required reports?
- What are the requirements for the evaluation of funded projects?
- Are there program-wide performance measures?
- What is the indirect cost rate for the program?
- Does an applicant IHE have the option of using 8% (restricted rate for training grants) if they have a higher negotiated indirect rate?
- May the applicant IHE use a 10% de minimis indirect cost rate if their institution does not have a federally negotiated rate?
- How does an applicant entity chose which indirect cost rate to use?
- What indirect cost rate should an entity applying as an individual use?
1. What is the purpose of the International Research and Studies (IRS) program?
The purpose of the IRS program is to award grants that support research, surveys, studies, as well as the development of instructional materials to improve and strengthen instruction in modern foreign languages, area studies, and other international fields.
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2. What kinds of activities can be supported with grant funds?
Grant funds can support salaries, fringe benefits, travel related to the project, equipment, supplies, consultant costs, evaluation costs, production of the materials, etc. Funds awarded for IRS projects may not be used for the training of students and teachers.
A grantee under this competition may award subgrants to directly carry out project activities described in its application.
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3. What are a few concrete examples of allowable activities?
A few examples of allowable activities and associated expenses include the following:
- Domestic travel, in alignment with the Fly America Act and Open Skies Agreement and approved domestic GSA per diem rates, to conduct a survey or interviews with students.
- International travel, in alignment with the Fly America Act and Open Skies Agreement and approved U.S. Department of State international per diem rates, to conduct language research for specialized instructional materials in a less-commonly-taught language.
- Compensation (and fringe benefits, if applicable) for a data entry assistant, a data analyst, or a transcriber.
- Printing, digitization or website hosting of textbooks or workbooks for instructional materials.
- Attendance at a professional conference to present the results of a study.
- Compensation for an evaluation expert to perform the final evaluation for a completed project.
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4. How often are competitions generally held?
The International Research and Studies program generally competes every three years.
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5. What is the duration of the average grant?
The IRS Program awards grants for a duration of 12-36 months. Most grants are awarded for a full three-year cycle.
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6. What is the average annual grant amount?
For the FY 2020 IRS competition cycle, the average annual grant amount was approximately $54,000. The maximum annual award was $77,000.
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7. Is there a cost matching requirement? If so, are in-kind contributions acceptable as part of the grantee's match?
Cost matching is not required for this program.
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8. What are the reporting requirements for grantees? What kind of records and data should be maintained or collected in order to complete required reports?
Grant recipients are required to submit an interim report in the fall and an annual performance report in the spring through the International Resource Information System (IRIS). Grantees are expected to report on the following categories:
- Objectives and Accomplishments
- Adjustments to Project
- Exemplary Activities
- Priorities
- International Travel
- Projects Conducted
- Adoption of Outcomes
- Publications
- Outreach Activities
- Sources of Funding
- Budget — Use of Funds and Expected Use
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9. What are the requirements for the evaluation of funded projects?
All funded projects must have an evaluation plan for their grant and report on evaluation activities in accordance with that plan through the International Resource Information System (IRIS).
The evaluation plan should discuss goals, objectives, performance measures to monitor progress, data gathering techniques, funding, and personnel. Activities should focus on both formative and summative evaluations. The formative evaluation will provide feedback to the grantee on progress in meeting goals and objectives and reveal areas for improvement. The summative evaluation should focus on outcomes and should be completed by an independent evaluator that does not have a relationship with the project.
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10. Are there program-wide performance measures?
The Department uses the following measures to evaluate the success of the IRS program:
- Percentage of IRS projects that are focused on improving or strengthening K-16 instruction in less commonly taught languages, area studies, or other international fields.
- Percentage of IRS projects that are focused on the evaluation of the outcomes and effectiveness of Title VI programs in addressing national needs.
- Percentage of IRS projects that result in information from IRS studies, surveys, or research on language, area, and international studies being made available and accessible to the public.
- The cost per IRS project that is focused on improving or strengthening K-16 instruction in modern foreign languages, area studies, and other international fields.
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11. What is the indirect cost rate for the program?
For institutions of higher education (IHE), please see eCFR :: 2 CFR 200.414 -- Indirect (F&A) costs and eCFR :: Appendix III to Part 200, Title 2 -- Indirect (F&A) Costs Identification and Assignment, and Rate Determination for Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) for additional details.
Entities applying as individuals are not eligible to request reimbursement for indirect costs.
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12. Does an applicant IHE have the option of using 8% (restricted rate for training grants) if they have a higher negotiated indirect rate?
The IRS program is not an educational training grant. Educational training grants provide funding for training or other educational services. Examples of the work supported by training grants are summer institutes, training programs for selected participants, the introduction of new or expanded courses, and similar instructional undertakings that are separately budgeted and accounted for by the sponsoring institution. These grants do not usually support activities involving research, development, and dissemination of new educational materials and methods.
Nonetheless, the applicant or subrecipient may budget the lower rate of 8% and annotate the voluntarily choice to waive indirect costs or charge less than the negotiated indirect cost rate.
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13. May the applicant IHE use a 10% de minimis indirect cost rate if their institution does not have a federally negotiated rate?
Yes, any non-Federal entity that has never received a negotiated indirect cost rate, except for those non-Federal entities described in Appendix VII to Part 200—States and Local Government and Indian Tribe Indirect Cost Proposals, paragraph D.1.b, may elect to charge a de minimis rate of 10% of modified total direct costs (MTDC) which may be used indefinitely. As described in 2 CFR 200.403 -- Factors affecting allowability of costs, costs must be consistently charged as either indirect or direct costs but may not be double charged or inconsistently charged as both. If chosen, this methodology once elected must be used consistently for all Federal awards until such time as a non-Federal entity chooses to negotiate for a rate, which the non-Federal entity may apply to do at any time.
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14. How does an applicant entity chose which indirect cost rate to use?
An applicant may choose any of the above rates (or a different rate) for the calculation of indirect costs (IDC) in the application budget. When considering this, we strongly recommend that IHEs take into account how their choice of IDC rate aligns with the response to the "Budget and Cost Effectiveness" selection criteria. Specifically, direct costs for which funding is requested should allow for the completion of the proposed project activities, and all costs (including indirect costs) should be reasonable in relation to the objectives of the project.
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15. What indirect cost rate should an entity applying as an individual use?
Entities applying as individuals are not eligible to request reimbursement for indirect costs (IDC). Therefore, the budget line for IDC on the ED-524 Budget Summary form submitted by individuals should be $0.00.