The University of Notre Dame has announced the Joseph Gaia Distinguished Fellowship 2027 for doctoral students whose academic research engages with Latino Studies.
The fully funded PhD fellowship provides selected scholars with full tuition coverage, an annual stipend of $43,500 and full coverage of the university’s health insurance premium. The financial support is available for up to five years.
The fellowship is open to doctoral students from different academic disciplines. Applicants do not need to belong to a particular department, but their proposed research or academic specialisation must have a connection with Latino Studies.
Students applying for the fellowship must be admitted to or applying for a PhD programme at the University of Notre Dame. They must also meet the admission requirements of their selected doctoral programme.
According to the university, the fellowship follows an interdisciplinary approach, allowing students to pursue doctoral research within their chosen fields while incorporating Latino Studies into their work.
There are no separate nationality or country-of-residence restrictions listed for the fellowship. However, applicants must meet the academic and other requirements of the PhD programme they intend to join.
Applicants are expected to prepare the documents required for doctoral admission. These may include academic transcripts, degree records, a statement of purpose, recommendation letters and research-related documents, depending on the selected programme.
The requirements for English language proficiency are: a TOEFL iBT score of at least 80 with at least 23 points in speaking or an IELTS Academic score of at least 7.0 or a Duolingo English Test score of at least 120.
Fellows who are interested in the Joseph Gaia Distinguished Fellowship are not required to write a separate fellowship application. Rather they need to get in touch with a doctoral program in a related field and make sure the research direction matches that of Latino Studies.
The selection of candidates for the fellowship is done during the admission process according to their academic profile and research interest.
The Joseph Gaia Distinguished Fellowship provides financial support for doctoral scholars to cover tuition, living costs and health insurance, and is available for students doing interdisciplinary research related to Latino Studies.
The application deadline for the 2027 fellowship is 1 December 2026 and the programme is set to start in 2027.