Discover Funding Opportunities

Funded by an endowment from the Ancient Order of Hibernians and Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians, these annual awards provide travel funds to support the scholarly study of Irish and Irish American history. The awards are designed to help researchers visit specific resources and collections relevant to Irish American Studies. Recipients are expected to acknowledge the award in their publications and share their research findings with the Cushwa Center through interviews or reports. This funding opportunity supports both emerging and established scholars conducting historical research related to Irish and Irish American topics.

In partnership with the American Catholic Historical Association, the Cushwa Center has established the Cyprian Davis, O.S.B., Award recognizing works in progress that promise to make significant contributions to the study of the Black Catholic experience in North America and the Caribbean from the colonial period to the 20th century. This award celebrates the life and legacy of Father Cyprian Davis, O.S.B. (1930–2015), a Benedictine monk of Saint Meinrad Archabbey in Indiana, respected academic, and beloved teacher and lecturer. Father Davis served as archivist for the National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus, of which he was a founding member in 1968. Among his six books, The History of Black Catholics in the United States (Crossroad, 1990) won the John Gilmary Shea Prize for its groundbreaking contribution. Father Davis' comprehensive history helped restore the stories of Black Catholics to the writing and teaching of U.S. Catholic history and continues to inspire new scholarship on African American Catholicism. The center invites applications from scholars of any academic discipline. In addition to receiving a cash award of $1,000, each year's Davis Award recipient is invited to the annual meeting of the American Catholic Historical Association to be recognized along with other honorees of the association.

The Cushwa Center's Research Travel Grants foster research in the University Archives and the Hesburgh Libraries at the University of Notre Dame. These grants help defray travel and lodging costs for scholars of any academic discipline who are engaged in projects that require substantial use of the collections of the Hesburgh Libraries and/or the University Archives. The Archives is recognized as one of the nation's foremost archival repositories for the study of American Catholicism, with major subject areas including Catholic press and publishing, Catholic higher education, Catholic social action, laity, clergy, religious orders, charismatic renewal, and the liturgical movement. Additional resources for Catholic Studies are available in collections throughout the Hesburgh Libraries, including Rare Books and Special Collections. Applicants should make clear how their projects relate to the study of Catholics in America. Research Travel Grants are made in amounts up to $2,000.00. Past grant recipients may apply for funding for new research projects after five years. Grant recipients will be asked to participate in an interview about their project and/or provide a short report on the results of their research, acknowledge the grant in all publications which result from their research, and notify the Cushwa Center of any publication resulting in whole or in part from the grant. Assistance with finding affordable accommodations is available through the Cushwa Center.