Kroc Institute Visiting Research Fellowship 2026-2027

Description

Each year, the Kroc Institute’s Visiting Research Fellows Program brings outstanding scholars focused on peace research to the University of Notre Dame for a semester or full academic year. 

Applications for the 2026-27 academic year are now open.  The deadline to submit an application is Saturday, January 31, 2026.

Research Fellows

Fellowships are offered to scholars with substantial research experience who will connect their research to ongoing Kroc Institute research initiatives.  For the 2026-27 academic year, we invite research proposals that focus on one or more of the following themes:

• Intersection of Gender, Race, Class and Peacebuilding. We are interested in interdisciplinary approaches and qualitative, participatory, and/or feminist methodologies. Thematically, we are interested in questions of intersectionality in relation to identity, power, representation, and direct and structural violence.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
• International Mediation. We are interested in international mediation, preventive diplomacy, and national dialogue as strategies for preventing and ending high intensity conflict.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   
• Peace Accords Matrix (PAM). We are interested in the design and implementation of peace accords, with special attention to inclusive peace processes that involve civil society, transitional justice, and country contexts currently negotiating or implementing a peace accord.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         
• Sustainability, Climate Change, and Peace.  We are interested in innovative, interdisciplinary approaches that explore the relationship between peace and sustainability, and/or environmental peacebuilding in vulnerable regions, with focus areas including but not limited to illegal mining, deforestation, food security, and livelihoods.  The fellow will have an opportunity to interact with the broader cohort of sustainability fellows spearheaded by Notre Dame's Just Transformations to Sustainability Initiative. 

In all the above categories, preference will be given to applicants whose research has direct relevance to policy and/or practice.

Applicants should present a clear and concise description of the planned research project, its significance, why the Kroc Institute is an ideal place for the researcher to complete a fellowship, and how the project will build on existing research in a given field.

Applicants must indicate whether they seek a fellowship for a single semester or the full academic year. For the Sustainability, Climate Change, and Peace fellowship, priority will be given to those applying for a full academic year.

Application Process

Applications for the 2026-27 academic year are now open. The deadline to submit an application is Saturday, January 31, 2026.

A Kroc Institute faculty committee will review the applications and make recommendations to the Institute Director.  Selection criteria include evidence of academic excellence; clarity of the link to existing research at the Institute; and anticipation of participation in the intellectual life of the Institute.

Selected fellowship applicants will be notified in March 2026.  

Qualifications

Applicants must have completed a doctoral, or equivalent, degree.  If you are currently enrolled in a Ph.D. program, you must have completed your doctoral degree before the beginning of the fellowship.  If you have previously been a Kroc Visiting Research Fellow, please wait seven years before applying again. 

Application Instructions

A complete application consists of:

• A cover letter (no longer than 2 pages) that indicates whether you are applying for one semester or two,