Called to the Common Good? Become a McNeill Common Good Fellow.

The McNeill Common Good Fellows are a community of students from across all Notre Dame colleges committed to exploring life’s biggest questions through shared coursework, community engagement, faculty-mentored research, and adventure. Through practices of contemplation and action and the art of dialogue and debate, each student cultivates their character, hones their sense of moral purpose in the world, and learns the tools of justice making.

McNeill Common Good Fellows tackle the great questions of life: What does it mean to live an ethical life of purpose and meaning? What is more important: happiness, success, or wealth? What should we hope for? What does a good life look like? What role ought faith play in our lives? What does Catholic social tradition teach us?

First year students can apply for this paid, three-year fellowship in an interdisciplinary community of scholars eager to explore how to live an ethical life of meaning, purpose, and impact.

Meet the 2024-25 McNeill Common Good Fellows

Meet the 2023-24 McNeill Common Good Fellows

Program Highlights

Students are selected in the spring of their first year through a competitive application and interview. A highly diverse (academically, ideologically, experientially, culturally) cohort of between 12 to 15 students are selected annually.

Highlights of the program include:

• Two courses
• $2,000 per year stipend
• Two summers of funding for research and engagement
• Regular dinners with faculty staff
• Retreats and select immersive experiences.
• Students have special access to Institute speakers and events as well as use of the Lies Library and Purcell Lounge—both in Geddes Hall.

Application

The application is currently closed. It will reopen in January 2026.

Questions? Contact Suzanne Shanahan at sshanah2@nd.edu.