Topics

Selected areas where our students and faculty are pursuing breakthroughs for a world in need.

A person wearing a Notre Dame hat stands at a wooden railing, looking out over a green valley with a lake.
A Black male violinist in a black suit looks forward while playing his instrument in an orchestra.
A woman in a hat and backpack stands in a rubble-filled street, gesturing as she surveys the damage.
A gloved hand places a test tube labeled 'Fentanyl HCl' into a rack with four other similar vials.
A close-up view of a tangled array of colorful wires plugged into a black patch panel.

We are inspired to go beyond what is known. To make a difference through research, scholarship, and creative endeavor. To fight for a future that's brighter, fairer, and full of hope.

The Golden Dome of the main building on the University of Notre Dame's campus against a blue sky.

What would you fight for?

See how we’re tackling some of the world’s toughest challenges through research, innovation, and action.

A hand applies dark grey ashes to a person's forehead, forming a cross. The person's eyes are closed.

Faith and service

Our faith serves as a bridge—to understanding, connection, and hope.

St. Peter's Basilica's dome, the Vatican Obelisk, and a large Christmas tree in a busy St. Peter's Square.

Global

We value open minds and open hands, building bridges across cultures to shape a more just and united world.

Health

We're fighting for the well-being of our communities, looking out for—never away from—the most vulnerable among us.

A young woman with long curly hair and safety goggles looks through a microscope in a lab, wearing a blue lab coat.
A low-angle view of the Raclin-Murphy Museum of Art, framed by a rust-colored sculpture, with a crowd gathered outside on a sunny day.

Arts and humanities

Preserving culture and democracy, igniting imagination, and imparting ethics and voice to the stories that shape our shared human journey.

A person looks at a computer screen displaying a colorful heat map of a head and lines of code in a terminal window.

Science and technology

Notre Dame students and faculty seek to discover not just what's possible, but to ensure that progress is guided by ethics, vision, and the greater good.

This is Notre Dame

Discover what makes us uniquely Notre Dame: the moments we share, the values we carry, and the legacy we continue to build together.

Christ the Teacher statue on Notre Dame's God Quad, surrounded by vibrant orange and yellow autumn trees under a golden sunburst.

Discover and engage
  1. Notre Dame professor Alfonso Pedraza-Martinez, with dark curly hair and a beard, wearing a slate blue blazer over an open-collar white shirt against a vibrant blue and green background.

    Podcast

    How a business school is helping the clean water crisis

    Faculty from Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business use data analytics, humanitarian operations, and community partnerships to improve access to clean water.

  2. Pope Francis holds a yellow Notre Dame sign while posing with the University of Notre Dame men's and women's basketball teams, coaches, and staff dressed in formal attire on marble steps inside the Vatican.

    Photo Essay

    Notre Dame Basketball heads to Rome for the Eternal City Tip-Off

    From South Bend to the Seven Hills

  3. Golden sunlight glows over the mist-covered surface of St. Mary's Lake at sunrise, reflecting the silhouetted Golden Dome and Basilica of the Sacred Heart in the distance.

    Photo Essay

    October's golden glow

    The month in photos, October 2026

  4. A researcher wearing safety goggles, a lab coat, and blue nitrile gloves uses tweezers to lower tubing into a glass flask filled with clear liquid.

    Article

    Fighting to prevent infections

    Notre Dame researchers have created a novel catheter adaptation that prevents infections before they begin.

  5. Fireworks burst over Notre Dame's Golden Dome and Basilica at dusk.

    Photo Essay

    Happy new year!

    The month in photos, September 2026

  6. A Catholic priest wearing a black clerical shirt and collar reaches up to lay a basketball into a hoop in an indoor gymnasium.

    Podcast

    Bookstore Basketball

    Faith, community, and the court.

  7. A young child in a pink shirt and red skirt drinks clean water directly flowing from an outdoor hand-operated water pump.

    Article

    Fighting for universal access to clean water

    More than 700 million people lack access to clean water, but research from the University of Notre Dame is helping organizations optimize how they manage, maintain, and build water pumps to reduce water scarcity.

  8. Two researchers in red helmets operate search-and-rescue equipment among concrete rubble. One stands holding a controller while another kneels with a yellow tank backpack near a portable console display.

    Article

    Fighting for robotic search and rescue

    Notre Dame engineer develops vine robot to help first responders after disasters

  9. A grandfather kisses the forehead of his granddaughter in a wheelchair wearing sunglasses as they share a quiet, affectionate moment outdoors.

    Article

    Fighting for nonverbal communication

    Notre Dame researchers are developing AI technology designed to help caregivers interpret the nonverbal communication of people with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities.