USA Scholarships
Notre Dame Kellogg Visiting Fellowship 2027 - $75,000
The Notre Dame Kellogg Visiting Fellowship pays a recent PhD $75,000 to spend the 2027-2028 academic year researching global democracy at the Kellogg Institute for International Studies, part of the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame. On top of the stipend you get up to $7,500 a year for research, up to $2,000 toward relocation, medical insurance benefits, and the option of leasing a furnished apartment on campus during your first year. The postdoctoral track is open to applicants from any country whose PhD was awarded no more than three years before the fellowship starts, and social scientists are the strongest fit. Applications run through Interfolio from 1 August to 1 October 2026, recommendation letters are due by 7 October, and the appointment runs from August 2027 to May 2028 with the chance of a second year.
What is the Notre Dame Kellogg Visiting Fellowship?
The Notre Dame Kellogg Visiting Fellowship gives a recent PhD one paid year to push a democracy research project forward inside one of the busiest international studies centres in the American Midwest. The Kellogg Institute for International Studies sits within Notre Dame's Keough School of Global Affairs, and its visiting fellowship programme is built around a single research theme: global democracy. That covers a lot of ground, from elections and political participation to authoritarian rule, civil society and governance. What it does not cover is a project that only touches democracy in passing.
The money is straightforward. Postdoctoral fellows get $75,000 for the year, up to $7,500 for research costs such as fieldwork or data, and up to $2,000 toward the move. You can also lease a furnished apartment on campus for the first year if one is free, which takes a lot of stress out of arriving from abroad. Medical insurance comes with the post, and dental and vision plans are on offer too. In return you are expected to be there. Fellows attend the weekly seminar and lecture series, give at least one talk on their research, and credit Kellogg in what they publish from the year.
The 2027-2028 round opened on 1 August 2026 and closes on 1 October 2026, with referee letters due a week later on 7 October. Kellogg runs three tracks at once, and this guide deals with the postdoctoral one. Established professors apply through the faculty track, which pays by rank and can be a single semester. Practitioners such as journalists, civil servants and civil society leaders have the Hewlett Visiting Fellowship for Public Policy, which takes one person a year. If you finished your PhD in the last three years and your work is about democracy somewhere in the world, the postdoctoral track is yours.
Two things are worth planning around early. First, the eligibility window: count three years back from August 2027, and if your degree sits outside that, the answer is almost certainly no. Second, the fit with the theme, which the selection committee scores on its own. Your research statement has six to ten pages to show why the question matters, how you will answer it, and how much of it you can realistically finish by May. Spend most of your effort there, and send questions to Lupe Ramírez at [email protected] before the deadline rather than after.
Eligibility
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✓PhD no more than three years oldYour doctorate must have been awarded no more than three years before the fellowship starts. For an August 2027 start, that puts the cutoff at roughly August 2024. The official page does not say whether you can apply before you defend, so if you are still ABD, email the Institute before you submit.
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✓A social science backgroundThe most competitive applicants hold a PhD or equivalent in a social science discipline such as political science, sociology, economics or anthropology. Kellogg says it will consider other disciplines in exceptional cases, which in practice means your project has to speak very directly to its research agenda.
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✓A project on global democracyThe Kellogg Visiting Fellowship funds international research tied to the Institute's core theme of global democracy. The selection committee scores how closely your project relates to that theme, so a strong dissertation on an unrelated topic will struggle.
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✓Open to every nationalityApplicants may come from any country. Non-US citizens need advanced English proficiency, a valid passport, and a J-1 visa, which Notre Dame arranges once you accept the offer.
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✓Not a Notre Dame PhDGraduates of University of Notre Dame doctoral programmes are not eligible. The fellowship exists to bring outside scholars into the Kellogg community.
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✓In residence from August to MayFellows live in or near Notre Dame, Indiana, for the full academic year. Absences of more than a few days need the Director's permission, and you are expected at the weekly seminar and lecture series and most Kellogg events.
Benefits
- Kellogg Visiting Fellowship stipend $75,000 a year
- Research funds Up to $7,500 a year
- Approved relocation expenses Up to $2,000
- Medical insurance benefits Included
- Dental and vision plans Available
- Furnished on-campus apartment Option to lease, year one only
- J-1 visa sponsorship Arranged by Notre Dame
- Housing in a second year Find your own off campus
- Fellowship year August 2027 to May 2028
- Maximum length Up to two years
- Second year By renewal, not guaranteed
- Stipend payments, year one Spread over 12 months
- Stipend payments, year two Spread over 9 months
- Research presentation At least one required
- Location Notre Dame, Indiana
- Application platform Interfolio
Document checklist
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✓Visiting Fellowship Application Form and IRIFTwo forms supplied through the Interfolio posting: the Institute's own application form and the Institutional Required Information Form. Fill both in completely, since an incomplete file slows the review.
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✓Cover letterA letter introducing you and your project and explaining why the Kellogg Institute is the right home for it. Name the faculty whose work connects to yours.
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✓Curriculum vitaeA full academic CV listing your degrees, the date your PhD was awarded, publications, conference papers, fieldwork and languages. Put the degree date where a reader finds it at once.
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✓Research project statementSix to ten double-spaced pages describing the research you will do during the fellowship year, the design and methods, and what it will produce. Committees judge originality, significance and whether the plan fits the time.
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✓Project abstract and short bioAn abstract of no more than 150 words and a biography of 200 to 300 words. Both are used when the Institute introduces fellows, so write them for a general academic reader.
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✓Writing sampleOne piece of your scholarship, no longer than 30 pages. A published article or a polished chapter that shows your method works better than an excerpt that needs the rest of the dissertation around it.
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✓Three confidential letters of recommendationYour referees upload these directly through Interfolio. They are due no later than Wednesday 7 October 2026, a week after your own deadline.
How to apply
Deadline and timeline
FAQ
What is the Notre Dame Kellogg Visiting Fellowship?
The Notre Dame Kellogg Visiting Fellowship is a residential research fellowship at the Kellogg Institute for International Studies, part of the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame. It supports research on global democracy through three tracks: faculty visiting fellowships, postdoctoral visiting fellowships, and the Hewlett Visiting Fellowship for Public Policy. This guide covers the postdoctoral track, which gives recent PhDs a paid academic year in Notre Dame, Indiana.
How much does the Kellogg postdoctoral visiting fellowship pay?
Postdoctoral fellows receive a $75,000 annual stipend. The Institute adds up to $7,500 a year in research funds and up to $2,000 in approved relocation expenses, plus medical insurance benefits with dental and vision plans available. In the first year the stipend is paid over 12 months; if a second year is approved, that year's stipend is paid over nine months.
When is the Kellogg Visiting Fellowship deadline for 2027-2028?
Applications opened on 1 August 2026 and close on 1 October 2026. Your three recommendation letters must be submitted through Interfolio no later than Wednesday 7 October 2026. The official page does not give a closing time, so submit a day early to be safe.
Who is eligible for the Kellogg Institute postdoctoral fellowship?
Applicants from any country who earned their PhD no more than three years before the fellowship starts. The strongest candidates hold a social science PhD, though other disciplines are considered in exceptional cases. Your project must relate to global democracy, non-US citizens need advanced English, and graduates of Notre Dame PhD programmes cannot apply.
Can international researchers apply for the Kellogg Visiting Fellowship?
Yes. The fellowship is open to applicants of every nationality. Foreign nationals need a valid passport and must obtain a J-1 visa, which the University sponsors. Be aware that a J-1 stay of under five years with no appointment immediately after it can bar you from returning in the J-1 professor or research scholar category for 24 months.
Is the Kellogg Visiting Fellowship renewable for a second year?
It can be. Appointments last one academic year, August to May, and a second year may be offered based on your interest and performance, subject to renewal with the Institute during your first year. It is not automatic, and if you stay a second year you must find off-campus housing.
Does the Kellogg Institute provide housing for visiting fellows?
Fellows can lease a furnished on-campus apartment, subject to availability, for the first year of the appointment only. It is an option to rent, not free accommodation, so budget for it out of the stipend. Second-year fellows move off campus.
How are Kellogg postdoctoral visiting fellows selected?
The committee looks at your scholarly record, the significance of the problem you are studying, how it relates to the global democracy theme, the quality of the research design, the originality of the project, and whether you can finish it within the fellowship period. Kellogg does not publish how many postdoctoral fellows it appoints each year.
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