Beginning fall 2026, the Franco Family Institute for Liberal Arts and the Public Good will offer not only humanities fellowships (launched in 2025), but also two new types of fellowships for Arts & Letters faculty: public fellowships and mid-career fellowships. Although distinct in focus, each of these fellowships offers teaching relief and funding to support faculty development and research.
Franco Mid-Career Fellowships support associate and full professors in any discipline in Arts & Letters aiming to develop new skills for a future research project. This program is offered in collaboration with the Office of the Dean of Arts & Letters. Each mid-career fellow will receive a full semester of leave from teaching, the opportunity to enroll in University of Notre Dame courses to acquire new skills, and the option to apply for additional training-related funding from Franco as needed.
Franco Public Fellowships support publicly engaged scholarship by individual faculty working in any discipline in Arts & Letters. Each public fellow will receive a course release to be taken during the fellowship year and up to $5,000 in research funds.
Franco Humanities Fellowships support full-time research in the humanities by individual faculty in Arts & Letters. Each humanities fellow will receive release from teaching and service responsibilities for one semester, up to $5,000 in research funds, and funds to cover travel and honorarium for an external manuscript reviewer who will participate in a workshop for the fellow.
On Friday, September 19, 2025 (12:00 - 12:45 p.m.), the Franco Institute will host a virtual information session on the new fellowship programs featuring the Institute's director and staff. A question-and-answer session will follow a brief presentation.