Hosted by the Institute of Art, Polish Academy of Sciences in collaboration with the Nanovic Institute for European Studies and the Franco Family Institute, University of Notre Dame.

The Nanovic Institute for European Studies and the Franco Family Institute for Liberal Arts and the Public Good invite undergraduate and graduate students to apply for two summer research internships to take place in Warsaw, Poland from June 25 – August 14, 2026.

Interns will participate in a collaboration with the Polish Academy of Sciences on a research initiative focused on medieval Polish liturgical manuscripts. Participants will contribute to the creation of a digital platform for analyzing manuscript culture, combining traditional humanities scholarship with digital methods.

Internship Details

Duration: 7 weeks (June 25 – August 14, 2026)     

• Arrival: June 25–28, with orientation to begin the week of June 29
• Conclusion: By August 14 (second week of August)
• Weekly commitment: 30 hours

Participants: 2 students (one undergraduate; one graduate)     

• Undergraduates with strong Latin skills may pursue independent or co-authored projects.
• Graduate students may collaborate with researchers on conference papers or journal articles.
• Language: Basic to intermediate Latin is required; familiarity with Latin paleography is highly desirable.
• Eligibility: Open to both undergraduates and graduate students

What We Offer:

• Accommodation in a historic palace in central Warsaw.
• Per diem support for daily expenses.
• Transportation to and from Poland.
• Hands-on access to a corpus of largely undiscovered manuscripts.
• Opportunities for research publication.
• Training in digitization and cataloging.
• Mentorship from scholars at the Institute of Art, Polish Academy of Sciences.
• Opportunities for study trips to manuscript collections in Poland (e.g. Płock, Wrocław).
• Immersion in Central Europe’s cultural, intellectual, and Catholic heritage.

Skill Development in:    

• Paleography (reading and analyzing Latin manuscripts).
• Digital humanities and digitization.
• Latin language proficiency.
• History of Central Europe.
• History of the Catholic liturgy.

This internship will allow students to develop curatorial skills, contribute to a major international research project, and deepen expertise in digital humanities.

Application Instructions

Interested students should submit the following materials via Submittable by November 18, 2025:

1. A cover letter outlining your motivation for applying and relevant experience;
2. A CV or resume; and
3. (For graduate students) A writing sample or (for undergraduates) a list of relevant coursework.

Questions can be directed to Dr. Roy Kimmey (rkimmey@nd.edu), Director of Undergraduate Studies, Nanovic Institute for European Studies. Cover letters should be addressed to Prof. Paweł Figurski (pawel.figurski@ispan.pl)

Welcome to the Nanovic Undergraduate Grant Application portal.  Remember that you can save your progress in the application and return to it at a later time if needed. Once you complete the application and submit it, you will not be able to go back in to make changes. If any questions arise while you are completing this application, please contact Dr. Roy Kimmey (rkimmey@nd.edu), director of undergraduate studies. 

Application deadlines and eligibility for AY 2025-2026 are as follows:

• Wednesday, October 29, 2025, 11:59 pm: Winter Break Research/Service/Internship Grants (Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors).
• Wednesday, March 18, 2026, 11:59 pm: Summer Break Research/Service/Internship Grants (First Years, Sophomores, and Juniors).
• Club Support Grants will be evaluated on a rolling basis.

NB: Due to the volume submissions, applications will only be reviewed after these deadlines.

Welcome to the Nanovic Graduate Grant Application portal.  Remember that you can save your progress in the application and return to it at a later time if needed. Once you complete the application and submit it, you will not be able to go back in to make changes. If any questions arise while you are completing this application, please contact Dr. Roy Kimmey (rkimmey@nd.edu), director of student research and academic affairs.

Application deadlines and eligibility for AY 2025-2026 are as follows:

• Wednesday, October 15, 2025, 11:59 pm: Fall/Winter 2025 Research Grants
• Wednesday, March 4, 2026, 11:59 pm: Spring/Summer Research/Internship Grants 
• Club Support Grants will be evaluated on a rolling basis.

NB: Due to the volume submissions, applications will only be reviewed after these deadlines.

For Nanovic Graduate Fellows for the 2025-26 academic year. Please use this form to fill out requests for professional development funding.

Welcome to the application for the Nanovic Institute's Diplomacy Fellows program. The Diplomacy Fellows program provides a select group of undergraduate and graduate students with the necessary skills to be effective diplomats working to advance the common good in the world today. In addition to a foundational theoretical background, the program emphasizes practical aspects of diplomacy in dialogue with experienced diplomats. The program is open to undergraduate students from all majors and MGA students in the Keough School of Global Affairs.      

By applying to this program, the Nanovic Institute expects you to commit to the 3.0 credit course, Deep Dive into Diplomacy, as well as additional out-of-class activities during the occasional evening or weekend. Due to the immersive nature of the course, students must be in residence on the main campus during spring semester 2026 to participate. The course includes a one-week diplomacy immersion in Europe during spring break (Mar 7-14, 2026). Full details on the course and additional expectations will be provided to those accepted. The Nanovic Institute will cover all fees associated with the course and its external activities.      

The application closes on Tuesday, November 4, 11:59 p.m. EST. Late applications will not be accepted. Students will be notified of their acceptance within two weeks of the application deadline. 

Only applications submitted through this website will be considered. 

Applications may be submitted at any time and will be reviewed by a selection committee in the weeks that follow each grant deadline. Grant deadlines and additional information on grant opportunities available may be found on the Nanovic Faculty Grants webpage.

For more information, contact Rev. James Lies, C.S.C., Senior Advisor for Faculty Fellow Affairs and Partnerships.

Welcome to the application for the Nanovic Institute's Serving (in) Europe program!

This program engages students in essential humanitarian work undertaken in Europe today through eight-week internships with partners across the continent. Placements will be made in Croatia, Italy, Lithuania, Malta, and Poland,  among others. Projects include working with Caritas on program monitoring and evaluation, education, working with migrant and refugee populations, and elder-care and youth programs. 

 By applying to this program, the Nanovic Institute expects you to commit to taking a one-credit course in Spring 2026 in preparation for the internship, at least 2 (two) virtual meetings with your host site, and a reflection retreat upon the completion of your service. The Nanovic Institute covers costs related to flights, lodging, and modest living expenses during students' service in Europe.

The application closes on Saturday, November 8, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. EST. Late applications, regrettably, cannot be accepted. Students will be interviewed within two weeks of the application deadline.

NB: Graduating seniors are not eligible for this program.

Nomination Form for the 2027 History & Social Sciences Cycle (books published in 2024 and 2025)

Carrying a prize of $10,000, the Laura Shannon Prize is awarded annually to the author of the best book in European studies that transcends a focus on any one country, state, or people to stimulate new ways of thinking about contemporary Europe as a whole. Each year, the Laura Shannon Prize will be given for a book published in one of two alternating fields: 

 I. Humanities
                   Philosophy, Theology, Cultural Studies, Modern Languages and Literatures, and the Arts.

 II. History & Social Sciences
                   History, Sociology, Economics, Political Science, Law, Psychology, and Anthropology.

Jury

The winning book is selected by a final jury of five eminent scholars in European studies, three of whom will be prominent scholars serving at institutions other than the University of Notre Dame. The jury will be announced along with the winner.

Acceptance and Lecture

To receive the prize and its cash award, the author must deliver an original lecture at the University of Notre Dame in the fall of the award year.  This lecture may be published by the Nanovic Institute for European Studies.

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Rules and Eligibility

• Publication dates are determined by the date the book is published, not the copyright date printed in the book.
• Only publications in English are eligible.
• Books by current Notre Dame faculty members are not eligible for the Laura Shannon Prize.
• Authors may only win the Laura Shannon Prize once.
• Books on single countries will be considered so long as they have clear implications for thinking about Europe as a whole.
• Translations, anthologies, textbooks, self-published books, memoirs, fiction, poetry, screenplays, performances, posthumous works, edited collections, and books published in previous editions are ineligible. Critical editions are eligible.
• Multiple-author works, but not edited collections, are eligible.  If a multiple-author book wins, the Prize money will be distributed equally among the authors, unless the authors unanimously agree otherwise. One author must visit Notre Dame to lecture and accept the Prize, as detailed below. 
• Publishers may nominate up to three (3) books per imprint for each year’s competition and may submit rationales, reviews, and other relevant information for each entry. Authors may nominate their own books. Each nomination should be submitted with a completed nomination form and two (2) non-returnable copies of the nominated work. The nominating publisher or author also agrees to submit an additional six (6) books upon request if the nomination makes it to the shortlist in the review process.

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Non-returnable copies of books nominated for the Laura Shannon Prize must be submitted to the following address:

Laura Shannon Prize
Nanovic Institute for European Studies
1060 Nanovic Hall
University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, IN 46556-7000 USA

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A nominated book shall qualify for the Laura Shannon Prize in Contemporary European Studies only if:

• The author is informed that, if selected, he or she must present an original lecture at the University of Notre Dame and participate in events related to the award ceremony. The Nanovic Institute will provide the author with travel and accommodations. The lecture may also be published by the Nanovic Institute for European Studies.
• The publisher or author agrees to submit an author’s photograph and biography and an image of the book cover, with permission to use them in promotional materials, if the author’s book makes the final short-list of books for the Laura Shannon Prize.  Publishers agree to exercise their best efforts to sticker copies of the winning book (stickers will be provided by the Nanovic Institute for European Studies).
• The publisher and author agree that the decisions of the Nanovic Institute for European Studies will be final as to all matters, including eligibility, timeliness, and compliance with procedures and selection criteria.

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To nominate a book for this prize and to agree to the above terms, you will need information about the book, the author (address, contact information), the publisher (address, contact information), and reviews to attach (optional).  If you have all the information available, the form should take 5 minutes to complete.

Information collected on this form may be used in promotional and other materials in connection with the Laura Shannon Prize in Contemporary European Studies. Contact information for the author and primary publisher are required on this form.

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The deadline for nomination forms for this History and Social Sciences cycle of the Laura Shannon Prize is March 31, 2026.  Books may arrive within a reasonable time after this deadline. If you have questions about the delivery of the review copies or if they have been back-ordered, please contact LSPrize@nd.edu to address your situation.

Europe Confronts the Refugee Challenge

This course provides an opportunity to explore various aspects of Germany's current policies toward refugees and immigrants within the larger context of European and UN practice. It includes a fully funded, one-week trip to Berlin during spring break (March 6-15, 2026). In Berlin, the group will meet with federal, state and local governmental officials, civil society groups, and representatives of international organizations. The issues to be explored include: Germany's policies toward asylum-seekers, the relationship between these policies and the European Union, policies to integrate refugees and migrants into German society, and the political impact of these policies. The on-site Berlin seminar is designed to assess the efficacy of current policies, and identify best policy practices that might apply elsewhere. N.B. Enrollment is via competitive essay application through the Nanovic Institute, which funds this course. See the Nanovic Submittable Portal for further guidelines on the essay. The application deadline is Tuesday, November 11, 2025.