Eligibility and Application Requirements

• Research Grants are open to undergraduate and graduate students enrolled at the University of Notre Dame, Saint Mary’s College, and Holy Cross College. 

• Students complete an online application plus a 500-750 word project proposal, itemized budget proposal, résumé or CV.

Proposal Topics and Research Areas

Research grants are part of Contours of Wonder: Childhood and the Liturgical Imagination, an initiative in the Notre Dame Center for Liturgy seeking to inspire a reimagining of children's formation that doesn’t simply prepare children for a single moment of receiving a Sacrament, but rather accompanies them into life-long dispositions of worshipful wonder and a lasting sacramental vision.

We invite students in all disciplines to consider applying. Research topics should relate to the following themes:

• Liturgy, worship, and awe: What is the role of nature, art, architecture, and music in cultivating the capacity of awe and wonder in children?
• Liturgical worship, children, and the Christian tradition: What models exist for forming children in liturgical worship in the Christian tradition? Where are their deficiencies? What would need to change?
• Digital childhood and worship: How do we cultivate both a desire and capacity for worship among children who are immersed from an early age in digital life? How can we prepare young children for the sacraments in this context?
• Childhood, trauma, and worship: For those children who have experienced trauma, what kind of religious formation might help the child experience healing?
• Children, worship, and neuroscience: What can we learn from neuroscience about the kind of liturgical-sacramental formation children must receive to learn to worship God?
• Children and exceptionalities: What possibilities exist for the formation of children with exceptionalities or intellectual disabilities for participation in the liturgical and sacramental life of the Church?
• Liturgy, community, and well-being: How does worship, in the long-term, contribute to the well-being of children? Of families? 

Grant Award Details & Requirements

Research must take place between the award receipt date and August 1, 2026, when final reports are due.

• Award funds up to $5,000 for transportation, lodging, meals, conference fees, and other fees for domestic and international research.
• Covers required student insurance for international travel.
• Does not fund tuition, stipends, computers, or technological equipment.
• Funds are transferred directly to the student's account.
• Student grant recipients must abide by all university policies relevant to their travel and activities.
• Expenses must align with award stipulations noted on the budget request form (emailed after applicants submit the online application).
• If for any reason you are unable to complete your project, funds must be returned to the Notre Dame Center for Liturgy.

Important Deadlines

• October 10, 2025: Online applications are due.
• August 1, 2026: Grant recipients must submit a final, itemized expense report, including all receipts, a 400-800 word reflection, and project photos.

As part of the Contours of Wonder initiative in the Notre Dame Center for Liturgy, grants are funded through the generosity of the Lilly Endowment Inc.