Hidai “Eddie” Bregu Scholarship in Albanian and Southeastern European Studies

The Hidai “Eddie” Bregu Scholarship in Albanian and Southeastern European Studies

Winter 2025

o Four awards of $1500 each
o Open to DePaul Albanian heritage speaker students
o Application deadline: December 30, 2024
o Students may apply via Scholarship Connect

The Department of Modern Languages & The Hidai “Eddie” Bregu Program in Albanian Studies invites applications for The Hidai “Eddie” Bregu Scholarship in Albanian and Southeastern European Studies. This scholarship is made available by the generosity of Hidai “Eddie” Bregu, donor, and namesake of the endowed Albanian Studies Program at DePaul University.

Applicants must be DePaul Albanian heritage speaker students at the College of LAS or Albanian heritage speaker students from other DePaul Schools and Colleges who have taken Albanian Studies classes in the past or have declared the Albanian and Southeastern European Studies Undergraduate Certificate.

All applicants must fulfill two or more of the following criteria: 1) Be currently enrolled in an Albanian Studies course or have already taken a minimum of one Albanian Studies 4-credit or 2-credit hours course 2) Have a demonstrated engagement in Albanian American Associations within and beyond DePaul University and/or The Southeastern European Student Associations at DePaul University 3) have volunteered or attended the public events organized by the Hidai “Eddie” Bregu Lectures in Albanian Studies at DePaul University 4) have conducted or are conducting research or extracurricular projects related to Albanian (-American) and/or other Southeastern European cultures and topics in the Chicagoland area.

The scholarship is merit-based, but preference goes primarily to students who are enrolled or plan to enroll in FLAC in Albanian Studies (ALB395), and students who have already declared or plan to declare The Albanian and Southeastern European Studies Undergraduate Certificate. Scholarship recipients who have distinguished themselves by demonstrating academic achievement in Albanian Studies classes can be considered for future iterations of the scholarship.

For questions regarding the Scholarship and The Albanian and Southeastern European Studies Program, please contact Program Director Dr. Gazmend Kapllani: gkapllan@depaul.edu

What is FLAC?
FLAC (Foreign Language Across Curriculum) in Albanian Studies is a supplementary two-credit course that allows Albanian language heritage students who have taken in the past or are currently enrolled in an ALBE content course taught in English to practice the Albanian language and enrich their knowledge with a focus on Albanian language, history, and culture. FLAC courses are not as intensive as four-credit courses and will meet less frequently, in-person and/or online. There is a lot of flexibility to accommodate students’ schedules and needs. The discussion-based course has the structure of a Book Club where readings might be in English while content discussions will be mainly in Albanian – giving so the opportunity to students to practice, improve, and enrich their knowledge of Albanian language, culture, and history in an academic setting.

Heritage speakers of Albanian who have declared the Undergraduate Certificate in Albanian and Southeastern European Studies can choose to complete two 2-credit FLAC courses in Albanian language instead of one of the required 4-credit hour electives in English.

Who is an Albanian heritage speaker?
When we talk about Albanian language heritage speakers, we’re usually referring to a person who has learned Albanian informally by being exposed to it at home as opposed to having learned it formally in a school setting. Albanian may be their native tongue – the language they identify as their primary language – but more often than not, their Albanian heritage language becomes secondary to English, the language in which they receive their formal education and is used the most in their daily life outside the home.