GRADUATE JUSTICE FELLOWSHIP

Apply Your Research to Questions of Justice

The Graduate Justice Fellowship provides graduate and professional students with the opportunity to develop moral purpose in their discipline, gain an understanding of how their work can be a force for justice, and develop an interdisciplinary community to enhance their education.

In this selective year-long fellowship, graduate and professional students work with faculty and a community of other graduate students on questions of justice broadly conceived from any disciplinary perspective. Fellows work with invited scholars and leaders from the University and beyond to sharpen research plans through interdisciplinary dialogue and workshops. The fellowship is also an opportunity for students to develop and workshop research and teaching plans with other early-career scholars to enhance quality, relevance, and impact.

“Being a Graduate Justice Fellow means embracing a broad, interdisciplinary understanding of justice. As a socio-legal researcher and trained attorney, I had my own definitions of justice, but through my connection with the Institute for Social Concerns and a diverse group of individuals from various disciplines, I’ve learned that justice is not a one-size-fits-all concept.”

– Pavithra Rajendran, 2024-25 Graduate Justice Fellow

Benefits

  • Stipend or research support of $3,000 for successful completion of the fellowship
  • Consultation with faculty exemplars and field/community experts whose scholarship addresses the demands of justice
  • Opportunities to develop and workshop your research/teaching plans with other early-career scholars to enhance quality, relevance, and impact

​Who should apply

  • Doctoral students of any college/school (preferably 2nd to 4th year students)  
  • Professional and masters level students with strong interest in the theme and support from their department/school

Expectations of fellows

  • Demonstrated interest in the themes of the fellowship
  • Local residency at Notre Dame during the academic year
  • Attendance and thoughtful participation at all fellowship events (approximately 7 meetings per semester)
  • Presentation at one gathering of the fellow’s interests and research
  • Development of brief public essay (or blog entry) in the fellow’s area of interest, facilitation of a relevant discussion in fellow’s home department, or a similar contribution the fellow may want to offer 

“Quote TK”

– TK

Passport to Justice

Graduate Justice Fellows, a highly competitive fellowship, is the Institute’s signature program for graduate and professional students to recognize and refine how their work impacts justice and intersects with Catholic social tradition, improve the interdisciplinary aspects of their work, and articulate their work through other disciplines. Meeting throughout the year, fellows worked with faculty, peers, and invited scholars and leaders from the University and beyond to sharpen research plans through interdisciplinary dialogue and workshops.


The program culminated in the Passport to Justice event in the McNeill Gallery of Geddes Hall. There, the fifteen 2024–25 Graduate Justice Fellows from across the University presented their research. As attendees visited each exhibit featured in their “passport,” the fellows gave summaries of their research. Psychology Ph.D. student Yunyan Zhao described how family dynamics play a role in teenage well-being, for example, while political science Ph.D. student Mayra Ortiz Ocaña shared her research on when and how criminal justice institutions in Mexico decide to prosecute the violence perpetrated by organized crime that affects thousands of victims.

Kyla Walker

Application

Applications for the 2025–2026 cohort are closed. The application for 2026-2027 will open mid-spring 2026.

Questions? Email socialconcerns@nd.edu.