Contact the Team

Make an Appointment

To make an appointment with a graduate fellowship consultant directly, please schedule on our Google calendar. If you are unable to find an appointment on the calendar, please email gradgrants@nd.edu and we will be happy to assist you.

Our History

In 2011, the Graduate School formed the Office of Grants and Fellowships, a dedicated office open exclusively to graduate students with the goals of enhancing student experience relative to scholarly research and merit-based grants and fellowships. Consultations with our office led to our graduate students receiving more than $6.47 million dollars in external funding in AY 2016-2017 and we are second in the nation in the number of Fulbright fellowships received.

Our Services

We offer a wide range of services to support Notre Dame graduate students as they prepare and apply for external funding. We offer individual consultations, complete in-depth draft reviews, and advice for crafting individual comprehensive funding development plans. Other services include proposal workshops, department-specific programming and events, and informational and peer-review sessions. Notre Dame graduate students also gain access to our large collection of successful sample proposals through contact with our office.

Our Team

Our mission is to foster Notre Dame student success: helping our students to develop transferable skills, to craft a compelling narrative, and to share their research. We assist Notre Dame graduate students in applying and winning prestigious external fellowships and grants using a peer-mentor model comprised of our multidisciplinary fellowship advising team. Our consultants are current Notre Dame graduate students and alumni who are experienced, successful grant and fellowship writers. Our consultants will work with you one-on-one to provide constructive feedback on applications. We offer flexibility in scheduling our consultation meetings, both in-person and online. We can also help you identify potential funding, generate a funding development plan throughout your graduate studies, and produce competitive external funding applications.

Graduate School Staff

Samantha Lee, Ph.D.

Program Director, Office of Grants and Fellowships

All grants, especially dissertation, completion, postdoctoral, and diversity-related fellowships

*Appointment by email only (Samantha.Lee@nd.edu)
Samantha Lee, Ph.D.

Program Director, Office of Grants and Fellowships

(574) 631-2443
Samantha.Lee@nd.edu
Representative for Nationally Competitive Grant and Fellowship Programs

Manage External Grant and Fellowship Selection Processes

Provide Strategic Leadership in Grantsmanship

Guide Students in Identifying and Obtaining Successful Extramural Funding
Samantha Lee, Ph.D. is the Program Director of the Graduate School’s Office of Grants and Fellowships at the University of Notre Dame. As the Program Director responsible for the overall management of the office, Samantha provides leadership and expertise in grantsmanship, manages several prestigious fellowship competitions, and ensures that services provided by the office reflect the priorities of Notre Dame graduate students. Samantha has over ten years of experience in grant writing, advising students across disciplines, and designing in-person and online grant writing and training curricula. In addition to serving as a grant reviewer for federal agencies and foundations, she has helped numerous undergraduate and graduate students generate successful merit-based grant and fellowship applications.
Kathryn Sawyer (Vidrine), Ph.D.

Assistant Program Director, Office of Grants and Fellowships

All grants, especially Humanities focus, Fulbright, and dissertation fellowships

*Appointment by email only (ksawyer2@nd.edu)
Kathryn Sawyer (Vidrine), Ph.D.

Assistant Program Director, Office of Grants and Fellowships

(574) 631-1713
ksawyer2@nd.edu
Assist with External Grant and Fellowship Programs

Assist with Grant and Fellowship Selection Processes

Assist Students with Locating, Strategizing for, and Winning Grants and Fellowships
Kathryn Sawyer Vidrine, Ph.D. is the Assistant Program Director of the Office of Grants and Fellowships. She obtained her Ph.D. in History from the University of Notre Dame in August 2018. Her dissertation examined how theology and belief were used in the construction of an Irish Protestant identity in the 17th century. During her time as a graduate student she won a number of grants and study abroad opportunities, including a year as a Fulbright fellow at the Institute for Reformation History in Geneva, Switzerland in 2015-2016. She works with students in all areas, with a special emphasis on Fulbright applications and dissertation completion awards.

Graduate Student Consultants

Trish Bredar

Fellowship Consultant
English
Ian Campbell

Senior Fellowship Consultant
Psychology

All grants, especially NSF GRFP and Psychology
Warren Chatwin

Fellowship Consultant
Biological Sciences

All grants, especially STEM
James Cotton

Fellowship Consultant
Literature

All grants, Humanities focus
Mauna Dasari

Fellowship Consultant
Biological Sciences

All grants, especially STEM
Colum Dever

Fellowship Consultant
Theology
Christopher Flanagan

Fellowship Consultant
History
Steven Lemke

Fellowship Consultant
Studio Art
Michael McConnell

Fellowship Consultant
Electrical Engineering

STEM-focused grants and fellowships
Caitlin Oyekole

Fellowship Consultant
English
Natalie Sargent

Fellowship Consultant
History

Humanities focus, internal ND grants

*Available by Skype only
Cesar Soto

Fellowship Consultant
English

Humanities focus, Ford Foundation and Fulbright
Sarah Wright (Lum)

Senior Consultant & Program Manager
Chemistry

STEM focus