Cushwa Center Undergraduate Research and Writing Prize
The Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism invites submissions for its annual Undergraduate Research and Writing Prize. Announced in August 2025, this competitive award honors outstanding undergraduate work that examines Catholicism in the Americas from a variety of disciplinary perspectives—including but not limited to historical, theological, sociological, literary, and ethnographic methods.
Winning entries will be published in print and online in the Cushwa Center’s American Catholic Studies Newsletter, with authors receiving a cash award of $750.
The Cushwa Center welcomes research and term papers, senior thesis chapters, and creative works that engage American Catholicism—past or present—with scholarly rigor and originality.
Eligibility
This prize is open to undergraduates of all majors currently enrolled at the University of Notre Dame, Saint Mary’s College, and Holy Cross College. (This includes seniors anticipating graduation at the end of the current academic year.)
Senior thesis chapters (not whole theses) and research papers from courses in history, theology, and Catholicism and the Disciplines are especially encouraged.
Only one entry per student will be considered. Work must engage historical or contemporary American Catholicism, broadly understood (see sample topic areas below).
Sample topic areas
Submissions may take diverse approaches and address a variety of subject areas, including but not limited to:
- American Catholic history, culture, education, theology, literature, and the arts
- Biographies of overlooked figures
- Black Catholicism
- Catholic social teaching in North and South American contexts (economics, politics, social organizing, labor, land, and ecology)
- Church governance (co-responsibility, reform, safeguarding, and synodality)
- Gender, sexuality, and family
- Indigenous Catholicism
- Latin American and Caribbean Catholicism
- Missions, colonialism, migration, ethnicity, and race
- Popular devotion, lay movements, and liturgy
- Religious identity, disaffiliation, vocation, priesthood, and consecrated life
- Social and ecclesial structures (parishes, dioceses, and bishops’ conferences)
How to apply
Applications are now closed for the inaugural prize. A winner will be announced during summer 2026.
The next submission deadline is 11:59 p.m. ET on May 1, 2027.
Students are asked to submit an application with:
- Name, anticipated graduation year, and academic major(s)/minor(s)
- Your paper or creative work as a .DOCX or .PDF file, formatted in Chicago, MLA, or APA style, with no author name (for blind review)
- 150–250 word abstract summarizing the work’s argument, significance, and approach
- Origin of the work (e.g., course title, semester/year, senior thesis, capstone project)
- (Optional but strongly recommended) Faculty contact (name and email) who can speak to your work, ideally the instructor or advisor most directly connected to it
Questions? Email the Cushwa Center at cushwa@nd.edu.
Stay connected to the Cushwa Center:
Subscribe to receive quarterly updates and the American Catholic Studies Newsletter.
Preview upcoming Cushwa Center events.