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Research Fellowship

Center for Philosophy of Religion, University of Notre Dame

Job category Visiting fellowship / Professorship / Fixed term
AOS Open, but eligibility requires a project related to the theme of "providence and prayer"
AOC Open
Workload Full time
Vacancies 5
Location Notre Dame, Indiana, United States
Start date August 2025
Job description

AY 2025-2026 Theme: Providence and Prayer

The Center for Philosophy of Religion at the University of Notre Dame is offering up to 5 residential fellowships during the 2025 – 2026 academic year for projects on the theme of “Providence and Prayer”. Fellows will pursue independent research while interacting with leading scholars in philosophy and theology during a year in residence at Notre Dame’s Center for Philosophy of Religion.

This fellowship program is open to both recent Ph.D.'s and established scholars. The Center typically funds scholars in philosophy and theology; but we have occasionally funded researchers in other humanities disciplines. Our weekly works-in-progress group is primarily attended by our visiting fellows and local faculty and graduate students in philosophy, and our priority will be to fund projects on the 2025 – 2026 research theme that can be productively engaged in that context.

Successful applicants who have recently received their Ph.D. will be appointed as postdoctoral fellows, funded at $80,000 plus benefits. Established scholars will need to request leave from their home institutions in order to accept the fellowship; we ask that you verify that the amount of funding required by your home institution for such an arrangement is less than or equal to $80,000 before applying.

For the 2025 – 2026 academic year we are especially interested in projects that investigate divine providence in response to prayer or other religious acts, including worship and the sacraments. In petitionary prayer many people seem to ask God for special intercessions or miracles. Many also thank God for creating and sustaining the world in general, and some acknowledge a God who does not intercede typically or currently (except, perhaps, in providing “wisdom”). We are interested in questions about the kind of divine agency that is presupposed in various modes of prayer and how to reconcile a view of God as possibly interceding in ordinary human affairs with the recognition that God often does not “answer” prayer. Research proposals that relate to providence and prayer only indirectly – including proposals exploring divine providence and human free will – will also be considered, though we will prioritize proposals that more directly engage the focal theme or closely adjacent questions, including:

  • How God acts upon individuals or within communities in the context of the sacraments
  • The indwelling of the Holy Spirit as a mode of divine action or providence
  • How God acts providentially through the Church or the “body of Christ”
  • The relationship between prayer and spiritual transformation or the cultivation of virtue
  • Prayer as it is understood in various mystical traditions

The deadline for initial applications is December 31, 2024. Selected applicants will be invited to submit a full application by February 15, 2025. Fellowships begin in August 2025 and conclude in May 2026.

How to apply
Application type Email
Instructions
Applicants for a Research Fellowship are required to submit an initial application by December 31, 2024, consisting of the following: 1. A project abstract of no more than 350 words, describing the project on which you would like to work while in residence at the Center. 2. A complete curriculum vitae. Application materials must be submitted electronically to [email protected]. Application materials must be submitted as a single PDF in the order listed above. The PDF must be titled in the following manner: Last Name, First Name. Application materials must be received by December 31, 2024 to assure full consideration. Selected applicants in the initial round will be notified by January 15, 2025 and invited to submit a full application by February 15, 2025. This full application must include: 1. A cover letter that includes the following information: Please give us the names of two people who can speak to the merits of the project and your ability to execute it. References may be contacted, and any letters that are requested by the evaluation committee can be brief, informal, and sent via e-mail. Please communicate this to your references and please include their e-mail addresses in the cover letter. Please let us know whether you intend to remain an employee at another institution during the fellowship period, or will become a Notre Dame employee for the academic year. If you will become a Notre Dame employee during the fellowship period, the total fellowship award will be $80,000 plus benefits. If you intend to remain an employee at another institution, the full award amount is the lesser of $80,000 or the amount required by your institution’s leave policy to secure your leave with full pay and benefits. (The Center for Philosophy of Religion does not pay “indirect costs” on top of the award amount.) Your cover letter should clearly state exactly what amount will be required to secure your leave. Please indicate where you learned about our fellowships. This helps us to know where we should be advertising. 2. A project narrative, not to exceed 1,500 words (excluding references), describing the project on which you would like to work while in residence at the Center. 3. An updated (if applicable) curriculum vitae. 4. One published or unpublished paper. Submission instructions are as above. If you have questions, please visit our FAQs page or email us at [email protected]. If we have not acknowledged your application submission within 5 days, please follow up with us.
Web address to apply https://philreligion.nd.edu/fellowships/apply/
Email to apply
Hard deadline December 31, 2024, 11:59pm EST
Contact
Web address for more information https://philreligion.nd.edu/fellowships/
Contact email
Contact phone 574-631-7339
Bookkeeping
Time created September 5, 2024, 4:06pm UTC
Scheduled expiry date December 31, 2024, 11:59pm EST
Last updated September 9, 2024, 2:23pm UTC
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