Call for Applicants, Funded PhD and Master student positions in Liturgical Studies
The Graduate School at the University of Notre Dame accepts up to two, fully funded (tuition scholarship +
full stipend) PhD students per year in Liturgical Studies. Additionally, for those without a Master degree, the School accepts at least two MTS students per year (with tuition scholarship + partial stipend), with a view toward eventual PhD work in liturgy or related fields. The program in Liturgical Studies integrates three sub-disciplines: Liturgical History; Liturgical Theology; Ritual Studies.
The program offers a wide range of research opportunities with particular strengths in early and late
antique Christian liturgy and material culture, medieval liturgy, history and theology of the sacraments,
Eastern Christianity, ritual studies, ancient languages, and manuscript studies.
The Liturgical Studies program was founded in 1947 as the first graduate program in the Department of
Theology and quickly grew to become an international center for the study of liturgy. Pioneers in the
discipline who have taught at Notre Dame include Josef Jungmann, Louis Bouyer, Robert Taft, Paul
Bradshaw, and many others. The program is currently comprised of eight faculty members and
represents one of the largest concentrations of liturgical scholars at one place in the world.
In addition to its core strengths, Liturgical Studies offers a variety of opportunities for research
collaboration with other institutions at Notre Dame, including the Medieval Institute, the Program in
Sacred Music, other departments at the university (esp. History, Anthropology and Sociology) and other
programs within the Theology Department, including Christianity and Judaism in Antiquity (CJA), the
History of Christianity (HC), and Systematic Theology (ST), among others. PhD students in liturgical
studies also have the opportunity to simultaneously pursue a graduate minor in a range of disciplines,
including Medieval Studies, Byzantine Studies, Peace Studies, and Gender Studies. The Hesburgh
Libraries system has extensive holdings in theology and one of the nation’s largest collections in
medieval studies, including the Milton Anastos Collection. The Theology Department also offers a broad
range of ancient languages (Greek, Latin, Syriac, Hebrew, Coptic, among others). The Graduate School
also has funding opportunities for students to conduct dissertation research abroad.
All PhD applications must be submitted to the Graduate School by January 2, 2022. More information and a
link to the online application may be found here:
https://theology.nd.edu/graduate-programs/ph-d/
For those interested in the two-year Master of Theological Studies (MTS) with a concentration in Liturgical Studies: https://theology.nd.edu/graduate-programs/mts/