Kellogg Institute Award for Distinguished Dissertation
The Kellogg Institute for International Studies annually gives the Award for Distinguished Dissertation to a former doctoral student affiliate for excellence in research consistent with the mission and research themes of the Institute.
Call for Nominations
The Kellogg Institute invites nominations by faculty whose former doctoral student advisees (1) are former doctoral student affiliates of the Kellogg Institute and (2) successfully filed with the Graduate School or the Law School of the University of Notre Dame with PhD conferred between September 2024 and August 2025. Note: former doctoral student affiliates includes former Kellogg PhD Fellows and Dissertation Year Fellows.
Nomination letters should include the nominee's full name and current email address, and the letter should address the significance of the dissertation research in advancing the research themes of the Kellogg Institute, as well as highlight the unique contributions to their respective discipline. Additional considerations include originality, innovative research methods, and the potential for future publication and broader impacts.
Prize
- Monetary prize of $1,000 plus plaque
- Presentation to be made during the Advisory Board meeting in November.
Eligibility
- Must be a former doctoral student affiliate (includes former PhD Fellows and Dissertation Year Fellows) of the Kellogg Institute
- Dissertation filed within September 2024 – August 2025 dates
Submission Guidelines
Faculty letters of nomination should be submitted to Lupe Ramírez via email at gramirez@nd.edu no later than : Thursday, September 4, 2025.
Upon receipt of the award nomination, nominees will be contacted to submit the following via the online application system by Thursday, September 18:
- CV
- The complete dissertation (including abstract) as submitted to the Graduate School or Law School
- Contribution Statement - a statement (not to exceed two pages) explaining how the dissertation research advances the themes of the Institute and future plans for dissertation
Selection
A faculty selection committee identified by the Kellogg Institute will evaluate submissions based on the following:
- originality
- research methods
- contributions and advancement of Kellogg research agenda
- contributions to discipline
-
potential for publication and broader impacts in the future
Timetable
- Tuesday, August 12, 2025 - Call for nominations opens
- Thursday, September 4, 2025 - Faculty nominations due to gramirez@nd.edu
- Thursday, September 18, 2025 - Nominee submissions due
-
Friday, October 17, 2025 - Winner notified
Questions and additional information
Contact Lupe Ramírez, Senior Program Manager of Visiting Fellowships and Graduate Student Affairs at gramirez@nd.edu or 631-6773
Recipients
2024
“Challenging Stigma from Below: How Human Rights Movements Contest Repressive States and Shape Democratic Citizenship"
Former Kellogg PhD Fellow Natán Skigin was awarded the 2024 Kellogg Institute Award for Distinguished Dissertation on Democracy and Human Development .
2023
"Crises, Rights, and Futurity: Youth in 1980s Mexico City"
Former Doctoral Student Affiliate Noe Pliego Campos is the recipient of the 2023 Kellogg Institute Award for Distinguished Dissertation on Democracy and Human Development.
2022
"Democratic Enculturation - Explaining Inaugural Party Resilience in Sub-Saharhan Africa"
Former Kellogg PhD Fellow and Dissertation Year Fellow Paul Friesen is a co-recipient of the 2022 Kellogg Institute Award for Distinguished Dissertation on Democracy and Human Development.
2022
"Constituting Peace: Foreign Actors, Constitution-Making, and Armed Conflict"
Ilana Rothkopf, former Kellogg doctoral student who's dissertation analyzes the involvement of international actors in constitution-making during armed conflict received the annual Kellogg Institute Award for Distinguished Dissertation on Democracy and Human Development.
2021
"The Political Economy of Insecurity: Livelihoods, Mobilities, and Social Networks of Women Traders on the Congo-Rwanda Border"
Former Doctoral Student Affiliate Maryam Rokhideh is the recipient of the 2021 Kellogg Institute Award for Distinguished Dissertation on Democracy and Human Development.
2020
"When the Ukrainain World Was Destroyed": Genocidal Narrative Convergence and Stakeholder Interactions During National Crises"
Kristina Hook, former Kellogg doctoral student and PhD fellow who studies genocide and mass violence against civilians received the second annual Kellogg Institute Award for Distinguished Dissertation on Democracy and Human Development.
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2019
"Pursuing a Mirage: Authoritarian Persistence and Regime Change in the Arab Middle East and North Africa"
M Tahir Kilavuz, a former dissertation year fellow who studies democratization in the Middle East and North Africa, is the first recipient of the Kellogg Institute Award for Distinguished Dissertation on Democracy and Human Development.
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