The Institute for Ethics and the Common Good (ECG) is proud to announce its new class of Graduate Fellows for the 2026–27 academic year. This group of emerging scholars will spend the year with the institute, dedicated to addressing critical ethical issues in their research across a variety of disciplines.
ECG’s graduate fellowship programs support advanced Ph.D. candidates at Notre Dame whose research integrates significant questions of applied ethics. By fostering rigorous inquiry into questions of theoretical and applied ethics, the fellowship aims to bridge deep academic theory with pressing real-world dilemmas.
The fellowship class is composed of two cohorts based on the fellows’ research focus and academic background. The Wilsey Distinguished Graduate Fellows are drawn from the College of Arts & Letters, bringing humanistic and social scientific perspectives to bear on complex moral questions. The 2026–27 cohort of Wilsey Distinguished Graduate Fellows is supported by a grant from the John Templeton Foundation aimed at developing love-based ethical frameworks. Each of the five Wilsey Fellows will carry out research that informs an understanding of love from their distinct disciplinary perspectives.
The second cohort, the Tech Ethics Graduate Fellows are situated in the Notre Dame–IBM Tech Ethics Lab, a key component of the Institute for Ethics and the Common Good. Open to students from any of the University’s Ph.D. programs, the Tech Ethics Graduate Fellowship focuses on the rapidly evolving landscape of applied technology ethics.
The 2026–27 Wilsey Distinguished Graduate Fellows are:
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Jorge Arredondo Sevilla, Ph.D. candidate in theology, University of Notre Dame
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Gabriella Berman, Ph.D. candidate in theology, University of Notre Dame
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Juliette Ni, Ph.D. candidate in sociology, University of Notre Dame
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Westin Smith, Ph.D. candidate in romance languages, University of Notre Dame
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Kesavan Thanagopal, Ph.D. candidate in philosophy, University of Notre Dame
The 2026–27 Tech Ethics Graduate Fellows are:
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Fabían Díaz Maldonado, Ph.D. candidate in sociology, University of Notre Dame
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Ethan Griest, Ph.D. candidate in sociology, University of Notre Dame
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Emelia Hughes, Ph.D. candidate in computer science, University of Notre Dame
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Gina Mannino, Ph.D. candidate in applied and computational mathematics and statistics, University of Notre Dame
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Maria Milkowski, Ph.D. candidate in computer science, University of Notre Dame
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Wilson Raney, Ph.D. candidate in chemical and biomolecular engineering, University of Notre Dame
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Julia Shenot, Ph.D. candidate in philosophy, University of Notre Dame
“We are thrilled to welcome this incoming cohort of Graduate Fellows to our institute community,” said Jeff Tolly, assistant director of educational initiatives at the Institute for Ethics and the Common Good. “Each of them has crafted highly creative projects for elevating our understanding of key ethical issues, and we cannot wait to start learning from them and watching their professional capacities take flight.”
Graduate Fellows were selected through a competitive application process. Throughout the upcoming academic year, they will participate in weekly seminars with Faculty Fellows and other members of the institute, actively contributing to ECG’s shared intellectual life. In addition to facilitating traditional academic research, the fellowship program provides these doctoral students with dedicated education in the field of ethics and professional development in the practice of public engagement, preparing them to translate their scholarly insights for the public square. All fellows receive a premium stipend of $46,000 as well as office space within the institute for the duration of their fellowship.
For the Tech Ethics Graduate Fellows, the academic year culminates with a possible summer internship in the technology industry. This experience allows fellows to bring their academic insights to bear on real-world questions of ethics in the process of technology development.
“I could not be more excited for this year’s tech ethics cohort,” said Meg McDermott, director of the Notre Dame-IBM Tech Ethics Lab. “With seven fellows representing engineering, math, the social sciences and humanities, we have a unique opportunity to engage an incredible diversity of disciplines and perspectives on the range of ethical issues confronting emerging technologies today—and more than that—to help prepare these students to effectively tackle those issues in highly consequential, real-world settings.”
Applications for the 2027–2028 ECG Graduate Fellowships will open in spring 2027. To learn more about the fellowship programs, eligibility, and the application process, please visit the Wilsey Distinguished Graduate Fellowship page and the Tech Ethics Graduate Fellowship page.
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The Notre Dame–IBM Technology Ethics Lab, a critical component of the Institute for Ethics and the Common Good and the Notre Dame Ethics Initiative, promotes interdisciplinary research and policy leadership in technology ethics and is supported by a $20-million investment from IBM.