

This fellowship is given in honor of Gelek Rimpoche. It supports funding for summer experiential learning and research for an undergraduate student studying Buddhist practice in Asia. Funding is limited to travel, research materials, and living expenses. Preference will be given to a student with strong coursework in religious studies and Asian religions.
For more information about this fellowship contact the Director of Religious Studies.
Application deadline for Summer 2025 travel is March 14, 2025.
Complete proposals should include:
Students should submit proposals to religiousst@cornell.edu.
A summary report of your trip or research, including an image of yourself during your trip, must be submitted to religiousst@cornell.edu by September 15 following your summer travel or research.
Detailed instructions can be found at https://societyhumanities.as.cornell.edu/connolly-prize
Application Deadline: Applications must be submitted as pdf files to the at humctr@cornell.edu by April 10, 2025.
Eligibility: Cornell undergraduates from all colleges are eligible to apply, including December 2024 graduates.
Throughout history and across the contemporary global sphere, religious practice and ideology interweave themselves in the political and social fabric of human life. The Joseph E. Connolly ’72 Memorial Prizes are awarded to undergraduates who have demonstrated exceptional scholarship at the intersection of religion and politics or society. The Connolly Prizes seek to support, recognize, and inspire imaginative, wide-ranging undergraduate research that addresses these themes in any area of the humanities, and relating to religion(s), religious beliefs, and religious practices in the broadest sense.
Up to two prizes of $500 each will be awarded for essays by students at the freshman, sophomore, or junior levels. In addition, up to two prizes of $1500 each will be awarded to seniors for a senior honors thesis or capstone project.