THE INSTITUTE FOR SOCIAL CONCERNS

The Institute for Social Concerns is the University of Notre Dame’s scholarly home for interdisciplinary responses to questions of justice. Committed to the normative proposition that a just world is a beautiful world, we engage the most urgent signs of the times through justice education, research for the common good, and collaborations with community.

JUSTICE
EDUCATION

Our approach to justice education develops students’ moral imagination, practical wisdom, and courage to act through academically rigorous coursework, immersive experiences, and critical reflection grounded in Catholic social tradition.

RESEARCH FOR
THE COMMON GOOD

Our approach to research focuses on the world’s most pressing social concerns and develops innovative, interdisciplinary, scholarly approaches to understand and address them.

COLLABORATIONS
WITH COMMUNITY

Our approach to community incubates democratic collaborations between community members and Notre Dame faculty, staff, and students that catalyze evidence-based sustainable interventions to local challenges.

INSTITUTE STORIES

Institute for Social Concerns names six students as recipients of 2026 Research for the Common Good Award

Selected from a pool of 206 entries, the honorees conducted original research during eight-week summer immersive experiences across the globe through the Institute’s justice education programming.

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Students embark on summer research for the common good

When an Ebola outbreak gripped communities across East Africa, closing the region to outside visitors early this summer, 22 students in the institute’s summer programs saw their initial research plans evaporate. Rather than abandoning their summer research, these students embraced a sudden pivot, reframing their academic lenses to meet the unique needs of their new host communities.

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Institute scholar and software engineer develop digital resource on risks of online grooming

During her residency at the institute, international human rights lawyer Monalisa ’18 LLM partnered with Shreya Kumar, assistant teaching professor of computer science and engineering, to create a website that educates the public about the illicit sex trafficking industry.

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