Funding Opportunity: Mellon Foundation New Directions Fellowships

Please see the internal call below from ND Foundation Relations regarding the 2026-2027 Mellon Foundation New Directions Fellowship.

From the description: "Serious interdisciplinary research often requires established scholar-teachers to pursue formal substantive and methodological training in addition to pursuing their PhD. New Directions Fellowships assist faculty members in the humanities and humanistic social sciences who seek to acquire systematic training outside their own areas of special interest." Awarded fellows receive up to $300,000, including an academic year's salary, two summers of additional support, and funding for tuition, course fees, or equivalent direct costs associated with the fellows' training programs.

This is a limited submission opportunity, which means that Notre Dame may only submit nominations for one individual faculty member. To be eligible, you must have received your PhD between 2013-2019.

For consideration, please upload the following information to Google Form linked here: name, year ,and field of doctorate, and one (1) page (single-spaced) description of the proposed training plan and its potential to advance cross-disciplinary research by October 27, 2025.

For questions about the program and your eligibility, we encourage you to reach out to Amanda Retartha in ND Foundation Relations (amanda.retartha@nd.edu). For support on the proposed training plan, including feedback on drafts, feel free to reach out to me directly (Kevin Gallin, Franco Institute, kgallin@nd.edu).

Foundation Link: https://www.mellon.org/article/new-directions-fellowships

Notre Dame Limited Submissions Listing: https://research.nd.edu/our-services/funding-opportunities/faculty/limited-submissions-program/

Submission Limitation per Institution: One (1)

Scope: Notre Dame may nominate one candidate for a Mellon Foundation New Directions Fellowship, which supports mid-career faculty in the humanities or humanistic social sciences who want to pursue formal training in a discipline other than the one in which they are an expert. The program is intended to allow scholars to acquire the competencies required for advanced cross-disciplinary research—research that goes beyond traditional boundaries and offers innovative and effective ways of bringing humanistic knowledge to bear on societal challenges.

The proposed project must be a foray into a new area of intellectual inquiry and not just an enhancement to go further in the applicant’s primary field. Language study, technical training, or skills acquisition such as GIS mapping do not, by themselves, constitute a ‘new direction.’

Awarded fellows receive up to $300,000 over three years to support the following:

The equivalent of one academic year's salary,
Two summers of additional support, each at the equivalent two-ninths of the previous academic year salary, and
Tuition or course fees or equivalent direct costs associated with the fellows' training programs.

Eligibility: Faculty members who were awarded a doctorate in the humanities or humanistic social sciences within the last 6 to 12 years (2013-2019).

Required Internal Application Materials: Upload the documents to the Google Form at https://forms.gle/J2eJwdEcNXbJowo96 by the internal deadline.

Name of the Principal Investigator (PI)
Year and Field of Doctorate
Upload in one (1) PDF the following documents:
- One (1) page (single-spaced) description of proposed training plan and its potential to advance cross-disciplinary research.

Internal Expression of Interest Deadline: 10/27/2025

Sponsor Deadline: 12/11/2025

Questions: Contact Amanda Retartha, Ph.D., Senior Director, Foundation Relations at amanda.retartha@nd.edu.