Africa Research Grant Program

Application deadline: January 15, 2027

Through the generous support of the McFarland Family Endowment for Africa - Where Hope Becomes Opportunity, Notre Dame Global (NDG) is pleased to announce the Africa Research Grant Program.

The goal of this seed grant is to advance substantive, equitable, and sustainable research collaboration between University of Notre Dame faculty and partners across Africa.

The principal investigator must be full time regular members of the Notre Dame faculty who are authorized to receive and manage internal research funding. 

Geographic Eligibility

• Projects must fall within the U.S. Department of State’s list of countries in Sub-Saharan Africa (54 countries) or North African nations (Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia). Applicants should contact Notre Dame Global before applying if eligibility is unclear.
• Multicountry projects are eligible when all countries are within scope and the geographic breadth strengthens the research design.
• Limited activities outside the region may be included only when they directly support the eligible collaboration.

Funding & Expenses

• Level 1: Research Development Grant proposals may request $5,000 to $10,000 in funding
• Level 2: Advanced Research Collaboration Grant proposals may request up to $20,000 in funding

Additional Funding Opportunities

• Proposals for ND faculty teams that include Notre Dame graduate students may request an additional $4,000.
• Notre Dame's Global Catholic Research Initiative will contribute up to $3,000 in additional funding for research projects that explore how Catholics, Catholic institutions, and the intellectual and cultural expressions of Catholic life have circulated--and continue to circulate--across Africa. If you would like your application to be considered for this additional funding, please be sure to indicate this in the application form.

Expenses

Budgeted expenses must be necessary to the research purpose, reasonable, allocable to the project, and compliant with University requirements. Notre Dame Global reserves the right to reduce, disallow, or request revisions to proposed expenses during the application review process or award setup.

Selection Process

The grant selection processs is a 4-stage process:

1. Administrative Review: Submmissions will be reviewed for completeness and eligibility requirements.
2. Merit Review: Eligible applications will be evaluated by a multidisciplinary review committee, based on this 100-point rubric. 
3. Portfolio Review: Notre Dame Global may consider the overall composition of the proposed award portfolio
4. Final Approval

Reporting Requirements

Awardees must participate in the following reporting requirements:

• A check-in approximately 60 days after the project begins, and;
• A midpoint progress report to summarize completed activities, and;
• A final report to summarize completed activities and project outcomes.

Notre Dame Global may request follow-up updates approximately 12, 24, and 36 months after project completion.

Contact

For more information about Notre Dame Global’s faculty engagement and research programs, please contact:

Xinquan Jiang, Ph.D. 

Senior Director, Global Research and Engagement 

Notre Dame Global  

Email: xjiang22@nd.edu

Applicants are encouraged to raise eligibility, geographic scope, budget, international payment, compliance, and partner-arrangement questions before the published inquiry deadline.

Notre Dame Global may provide general guidance but will not pre-review or assess the competitiveness of complete applications.

The Italian Studies Library Research Award is a grant awarded by the Center for Italian Studies and Notre Dame International to support scholars who travel to use the Italian Studies collections within Notre Dame’s Hesburgh Libraries.

Funding between $1,500 and $4,000 will be awarded to help defray the costs of travel and accommodation for a research visit of 1 - 3 weeks. The amount of the award will be based on the length of the research visit and specific travel and accommodation expenses.

Grants are competitive. Please complete this application and submit by 11.59 pm EST on January 31 , 2026. You will receive notification when your application has been received, and applicants will be notified of the award decisions in March 2026.

The Keough-Naughton Library Research Awards are granted by Notre Dame's Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies and Notre Dame Global and are intended to provide partial support to scholars who travel to use the Irish studies collections at the University of Notre Dame's Hesburgh Library. A limited number of grants will be awarded to help defray the costs of travel and accommodation for a research visit, normally one to two weeks long, during 2027. The grants are normally in the range of $1,000 to $3,000, and tax is deducted at source.

All grants are competitive. Please complete the application form and submit by December 14, 2026 (11.59pm EST).  You will be notified when your application has been received, and applicants will be notified of the award decisions in by early February 2026.

Applicants are required to contact the Irish Studies librarian Matthew Knight mknight2@nd.edu to discuss prior to submitting an application. 

Special Awards

Irish Language Award Added in 2025 

Note that the Hesburgh Libraries boast the finest collection of Irish-language printed texts in North America. The Irish-language award, introduced in 2025 as part of the Program for Irish Language Initiatives, is intended to defray the cost of travel and accommodation for research visits to research these texts. The value of the award is normally between $1,000 and $3,000 USD and for research visits of 1-3 weeks duration. 

Scholars specifically researching the Irish language or topics related to the Irish language, its culture, history, literature, or linguistics are asked to indicate this focus clearly in their application and explain how the project engages with Irish-language materials held by the Hesburgh Libraries. Awardees for the Keough-Naughton Library Research Awards may be established scholars, graduate students, or postdoctoral scholars. Applications from international locations are encouraged. 

New in 2026: Awards for Research in the S.B. Kennedy Collection

In 2025, the Hesburgh Libraries acquired the papers of curator and art historian S.B. Kennedy, whose landmark publication, Irish Art & Modernism, 1880-1950, still inspires artists and scholars today. His research papers include dossiers on numerous Irish artists, most notably Paul Henry and members of the White Stag Group. The S.B. Kennedy Award is intended to defray the cost of travel and accommodation for research visits of one to three weeks in duration. The value of the award is normally between $1,000 and $3,000 USD. Awardees may be established scholars, graduate students, or postdoctoral scholars. Applications from international locations are encouraged.

Processing of the S.B. Kennedy Collection is ongoing, and a finding aid will be available online soon.

The NDG Faculty Mobility Joint Research Program fosters collaboration between the University of Notre Dame and select institutions in India. This initiative is designed to facilitate international exchange, promote academic dialogue, and support the development of joint research projects.

Partner Institutions in India

In this pilot phase, the program is open to faculty collaboration with the following institutions:

• Indian Institute for Science Education and Research, Pune
• Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai

Program Structure

This initiative is a cost-sharing model between Notre Dame and collaborating institutions.

• Sending Institution: Covers the cost of international flights and visa processing for their faculty.
• Receiving Institution: Provides hosting support, including accommodation, for a period of 5 to 15 working days.
• The host institution covers some meals.
• The hosting academic unit is encouraged to cover a welcome event and other special events.

Program Timeline

• Call for applications:  Spring 2026
• Review and award notifications: Late Spring 2026 (applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until funds are depleted)
• Expected travel timeframe: May 1, 2026 - September 1, 2027 (e.g, program activity to take place between May 1, 2026, and September 1, 2027)

Application Process

The application process is a joint submission led by the Notre Dame faculty members in consultation with their international collaborator. If you do not yet have a partner at these institutions and are interested in connecting with one, please fill out the Faculty Interest Form.

• Collaborator Selection: Notre Dame faculty are responsible for identifying and initiating collaboration with a faculty member at one of the collaborating institutions.
• Faculty Matching: The Global/International office at both institutions will work together to identify new faculty connections and make efforts to connect faculty with similar research interests. Interested faculty who want to work with the institutions above, fill out this form.
• Joint Submission: A faculty member from Notre Dame or any of the partner institutions may complete and submit the joint application. The application should clearly reflect that it is a jointly motivated collaboration. 
• Review Process: Applications will be jointly peer-reviewed by faculty from Notre Dame and the partner institution.
• Visas: Applicants need to familiarize themselves with the type of visa required, the visa process, and the estimated visa processing time. Timely application and receipt of visas to be considered by the Sending Institution.
  • Visa applicants are required to apply for e-Visas (electronic visas) for tourism or business travel to India. Please refer to the University’s travel and safety website. Applicants may consider using services provided by Nomadic, a visa and passport processing agency that may also assist Notre Dame travelers with expedited visa processing.
  • All international visitors to Notre Dame will need an appropriate U.S. visa to enter the U.S. for participation in this program. The hosting unit at Notre Dame is responsible for contacting International Student and Scholar Affairs (ISSA) to determine the appropriate visa status for the international visitor and for securing all required information and documentation (as determined by ISSA) needed to prepare documentation for the international visitor to apply for a visa.

Application Requirements

Applicants must prepare and submit the following materials:

• Biographical information of both participating faculty members
• Identification of the international collaborator (name, department, university)
• Curriculum Vitae (CV) from both participating faculty members
• Proposed time frame for visits to the Receiving Institution
• Joint Motivational Statement (250 words) outlining the academic and professional goals of the mobility experience
• Expected Outcomes (up to 100 words), including any planned grant applications, co-authored publications, or future collaborative research efforts
• Facilitation of participating faculty members’ integration into the Receiving Institution’s community (brief explanation)
• Statement of support from the hosting academic unit at the Receiving Institution (copy of email is also acceptable)

Follow-up Report

Hosted faculty members and their Receiving Institution hosts will be required to submit a report no later than one month after the end date of the visit to the Receiving Institution. The report should include a summary of the activities funded by this NDG Faculty Mobility Joint Research Program and significant results achieved, including plans for any continued collaboration or indications that the program contributed to the strengthening of scholarly relationships between Notre Dame and the Indian institutions.

Contact

For more information about NDG’s faculty mobility programs, please contact:

Sevda Arslan Program Director, Faculty Support and Partnerships Notre Dame Global Email: sarslan@nd.edu Phone: +1 574 631-7858

For more information about NDG’s relationship with universities in India, please contact:

Dhiraj Mehra Director Notre Dame Mumbai Email: dmehra@nd.edu Phone : +91-9867617000

Partner University Contacts

Dr. Naresh Sharma Senior Principal Technical Officer - International Relations & Human Resource Indian institute for Science Education and Research, Pune Email: naresh.sharma@iiserpune.ac.in

Dr. Madhushree Sekher Chairperson, Office for International Affairs Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai Email: madhusekher@tiss.ac.in

Here you are asked to report on the activities and outcomes related to the Global Development Research Grant you received from Notre Dame Global.

Final Report on the International Research Travel Grant activity and outcomes

Final report on the visit of the Sub-Sahara Africa Guest Scholar/Artist