Department Awards
The History Department awards three prizes for outstanding achievements by graduate students.
John Highbarger Memorial Prize for the best doctoral dissertation
This annual prize is awarded to the best doctoral dissertation in history defended that academic year. The award honors the memory of John Highbarger (1940–1973), who was a doctoral student in the Department of History.
Phillip Gleason Prize for the best published article by a graduate student in History
This biennial prize is awarded for the best recently published article by a graduate student in History. The prize honors Professor Emeritus J. Philip Gleason (1927–2024), a leading scholar of American Catholic history, who taught at Notre Dame from 1959 until his retirement in 1996.
A beloved member of the department and wider faculty, he received Notre Dame’s Laetare Medal—the most prestigious award given to American Catholics—in 1999, making him one of the few members of the university community ever to receive the award.
The Director of Graduate Studies solicits submissions for the Gleason Prize typically at the beginning of every other summer semester. Articles must have appeared in print or been accepted for publication within the two-year period since the last award’s cutoff.
Vincent P. DeSantis Prize for the best unpublished paper by a graduate student in History
This annual prize is awarded for the best unpublished paper by a graduate student in History. The prize honors Professor Vincent P. DeSantis (1917–2011), a distinguished and beloved scholar of American political history, who taught in the Department of History for 60 years, from 1949 until 2009.
The Director of Graduate Studies solicits submissions from History graduate students, typically at the beginning of each summer semester.