The application period for On Purpose, a fully funded immersion experience for Notre Dame undergraduate students offered through the Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., Center for Virtue Ethics and the Institute for Ethics and the Common Good, is now open. On Purpose will take place during Spring Break 2026.
On Purpose gives students an opportunity to explore questions of calling through encountering people and communities committed to loving those on the social margins. Working alongside these partners, students are invited to love neighbors, strangers, and even enemies, and to consider how this contributes to a good life and the pursuit of the common good.
On Purpose is offered at two different sites:
- HOMEBOY INDUSTRIES: Founded by Father Greg Boyle (author of Tattoos on the Heart and other books), Homeboy Industries in LA is the largest gang rehabilitation and re-entry organization in the world. More than being a mere service provider, Homeboy is unique in its overriding commitment to building a community rooted in profound human dignity. Students will spend time engaging with Homeboys and Homegirls and learning about Homeboy Social Enterprises.
- PUEBLO COMMUNITIES: Students will spend a week in the Southwest engaging with Indigenous communities, exploring a wide range of issues about the historic and modern experience of Native peoples. In partnership with the American Indian Catholic Schools Network (through Notre Dame's Institute for Educational Initiatives), students visit Indigenous schools as a launching point into life and culture on several reservations across the New Mexico region.
Questions about On Purpose or the application process? Contact Allie Griffith, Assistant Program Director, Evaluation and Student Formation, at the Institute for Ethics and the Common Good.
The deadline to apply is midnight on Monday, November 17.