Travel Grants

Travel grants defray some of the costs for individual scholars to conduct research either at Boston College or at other underutilized archives with Catholic collections. Grants can be applied toward a few days or weeks of on-site study.

Boston College

Grants are awarded to facilitate engagement with the Catholic collections at Boston College. Researchers can apply to consult materials at the Catholic Religious Archives as well as the University’s archival holdings in Burns Library, which specializes in documenting Catholic religious, social, academic, artistic, and political life in the United States and Ireland. In addition, grants support scholarly work with the extensive relevant resources available at the Theology and Ministry Library, the O’Neill Library, and elsewhere at the University. Prior to submitting an application, scholars are encouraged to review the online guides and catalogs. Library staff can facilitate opportunities for grant recipients to engage with the Boston College community while on campus. 

Highlighted Catholic collections at Burns Library

• Authors: Hillaire Belloc; G.K. Chesterton; Graham Greene
• Women: Katherine Conway; Anna O’Neill Johnson; Charlotte Louise Hawkins Dempster
• Politicians: Robert Drinan, S.J.; Margaret Heckler; Tip O’Neill
• Organizations and Institutions: Young Men’s Catholic Association of Boston College; Charitable Irish Society
• Social and Cultural History: Liturgy and Life Collection; David Goldstein and Martha Moore Avery Collection

At Other Archives

Grants are also available for individuals wishing to conduct significant research of Catholic collections at archives that do not offer their own financial support. Priority is given to applicants proposing to visit smaller, less utilized repositories, those of religious congregations, and those at (arch)dioceses. Grant recipients, following their travel to these archives, are required to provide a summary of their research and may be contacted by staff at Boston College to further discuss their projects.

Other Sources of Travel Assistance for Catholic Research

• American Catholic Historical Association: Summer Research and Travel Grant Program
• American Catholic Historical Society: Research Travel Grant Program, supporting archival research at repositories in the Philadelphia area, including at the Catholic Historical Research Center
• Catholic University of America: Dorothy Mohler Research Grants, supporting research of the Special Collections at The Catholic University of America.
• Christian Brothers Conference: Lasallian Research Travel Grants, supporting research at one of the Lasallian archives in North America or the Institute archives in Rome.
• Cushwa Center for the Study of American Catholicism, University of Notre Dame: 
  • Mother Theodore Guerin Research Travel Grants, supporting research of Catholic women in the modern era
  • Peter R. D’Agostino Research Travel Grants, supporting research in Roman archives for projects on U.S. Catholic history
  • Research Travel Grants, supporting research at the University Archives and the Hesburgh Libraries at the University of Notre Dame
• Georgetown University: Hilltop Fellowships, providing stipends to support research of the Special Collections of Lauinger Library at Georgetown University
• Huntington Library: Francis J. Weber Research Fellowship in Roman Catholic History, offering support for research of the library’s Catholic collections.
• St. Louis Catholic Archives Collective: Visiting Research Grant, supporting research at repositories in the St. Louis area.