The Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study (NDIAS) is inviting applications for research Fellowships available for distinguished senior scholars to pursue advanced and creative research on one of the four major Templeton Fellowship Questions. Up to four residential Templeton Fellowships will be awarded for 2015-2016 academic year (August through May).  Successful research proposals, when completed, should have the potential to act as a catalyst for new thinking and an advance of knowledge in several disciplines. The closing date for application is October 15, 2014.
Study Subject(s): Fellowships are available for research on one of the four major Templeton Fellowship Questions:
1. What is human creativity and how does it manifest itself?
2. What is the place of the human mind in nature?
3. How do the life sciences and the humanities contribute to an explanation of the unique features of humans?
4. How can the plurality of religious traditions be integrated with a philosophical monotheism?
Course Level: Fellowships are awarded for distinguished senior scholars to pursue advanced and creative research.
Scholarship Provider:Â John Templeton Foundation and the Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study (NDIAS)
Scholarship can be taken at: USA
Eligibility:
-Distinguished senior scholars with extensive records of academic accomplishment and who have had a considerable impact on their discipline are encouraged to apply.
-Outstanding junior scholars with academic records of exceptional promise and whose research agendas align with the purpose and parameters of the program are also invited to apply.
Scholarship Open for International Students: These research fellowships are open for US scholars and international scholars.
Scholarship Description: With grant support from the John Templeton Foundation, the NDIAS will help chart a new course for future scholarship by offering Templeton Fellowships that encourage scholars to return to reflection on the broad questions that link multiple areas of inquiry and to do so in a manner that embraces a value-oriented interpretation of the world. Especially important to a complex, highly technical world is the integration of the sciences focused as they are on the descriptive, with other disciplines, namely philosophy and theology, with their concern for normative questions. Templeton Fellowships provide an opportunity to integrate the exact sciences into a vision of the unity of knowledge based on the categories of the true, the good, and the beautiful; an opportunity to foster a vibrant and substantive interdisciplinary exchange in which â€secular†and spiritual knowledge are seen not in opposition to but as complementary elements of the human pursuit of truth.
Number of award(s): With the generous support of the John Templeton Foundation, the Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study will offer up to four residential Templeton Fellowships for the 2015-2016 academic year (August through May).
Duration of award(s): Fellowships are awarded for 2015-2016 academic year (August through May).
What does it cover? These distinctive fellowships offer an extraordinary measure of scholarly support, including:
-a stipend of up to $100,000;
- fully furnished faculty housing (for those who reside outside of the Michiana area);
- up to $3,000 in research expenditures;
-a private office at the NDIAS, with a personal desktop computer and printer;
- access to two research assistants for up to 10 hours per week during each 15-week semester (fall 2015 & spring 2016);
- participation in the NDIAS research workshops and events, including the two weekly seminars held at the Institute;
- access to University of Notre Dame libraries and other facilities;
- registration, meals, and materials for the NDIAS conference;
- hosted collegial dinners and scholarly events; and
- the opportunity to develop and to participate in major presentations of research, especially with Templeton Colloquia.
Selection Criteria:Â Templeton Fellowship Applications will be evaluated on the following merit criteria:
1. The degree to which the proposed research project addresses the selected research questions in a significant and innovative manner.
2. Whether the proposed research project would be considered excellent and includes academic work/research that is or would be considered significant.
3. The depth and breadth of an applicant’s integration of the disciplines (interdisciplinarity) within their proposed project.
4. The degree to which the proposed research project will make a substantial contribution to the study of the research questions selected in respective disciplines and fields.
5. The degree to which the proposed project addresses normative as well as descriptive aspects of the selected research questions.
6. Whether the goals and objectives of the research project are clear and the methodology is appropriate and compelling.
7. Whether the proposed research project is likely to be completed within the fellowship period.
8. Whether the proposed research project aligns with the parameters of the John Templeton Foundation and the Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study (NDIAS).
9. Whether an applicant’s record (education, research, participation in research projects, participation in academic initiatives, publications, presentations, grants, and award of prestigious fellowships) is of high academic quality and includes originality, as noted in their curriculum vitae.
Notification:Â Awards will be announced in spring 2015.
Online Application:Â The mode of applying is online.
Scholarship Application Deadline:Â The application deadline is October 15, 2014.
Further Official Scholarship Information and Application