Maeve Kennedy McKean Award Application
The application period will open Monday, September 8, 2025, and close on Tuesday, October 8, 2025. Finalist interviews will be held in mid-October. The award recipients will be announced in late fall. Unfortunately, we are unable to accept late applications.
Eligibility
Georgetown undergraduates who are juniors and in good academic standing may apply.
Overview
Each year, two Georgetown undergraduates are selected as recipients of the Maeve Kennedy McKean Global Health Award.
During their junior year, recipients are paired with a faculty mentor with expertise relevant to their research project. With this guidance, they develop their own research project on a global health and human rights issue, and engage with the community they will research, including students in the host country.
The research project must:
- focus on a country where Georgetown faculty have established relationships (full list here);
- have clearly defined research goals that serve to advance global health and human rights;
- include fieldwork that must be conducted in an empathetic manner;
- engage local cultures and peoples; and
- be conducted with the intent of peer-reviewed publication.
In the summer before their senior year, recipients receive funding to cover travel, lodging, and meals to conduct research anywhere in the world.
In the fall semester of their senior year, recipients submit a summary report outlining their findings and receive the remaining funding upon successful project completion.
They will have the opportunity to present their project at the annual Global Social Justice Research Symposium.
Recipients are part of the Global Health Student Fellows, a year-long interdisciplinary cohort of undergraduate and graduate students who collaborate with faculty on research projects and participate in global health-related events.
2025-2026 Faculty Mentors
Samson Haumba, MBChB, MMed (Internal Medicine), MPH, DLitt et Phil, is the country resident director for Eswatini at the Georgetown University Center for Global Health Practice and Impact.
Areas of focus: HIV, infectious diseases epidemiology, tuberculosis, Eswatini
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Christina X. Marea, PhD, MA, MSN, FACNM, is an assistant professor at the Berkley School of Nursing, and a certified nurse-midwife, educator, and researcher.
Areas of focus: anti-racism, female genital mutilation/ cutting, health equity, health professional education and training, midwifery, nursing education, refugee health, sexual and reproductive health, Tanzania
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Matthew Kavanagh, PhD, is an associate professor, and director of the Center for Global Health Policy & Politics
Areas of focus: international law and institutions, global health governance, comparative politics, government, health law, international relations, law and society, policy making and power, public policy analysis, Kenya
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Emily Mendenhall, PhD, is a professor, and director of Science, Technology and International Affairs (STIA)
Areas of focus: anthropology, community health, culture and politics, global health, health justice, health politics, medical anthropology, public health, Kenya
Process
To apply, applicants must complete a form, which requires uploading the following information:
- CV/Resume
- Unofficial transcript
- A statement of interest (450-word maximum)
- A proposed research project (450-word maximum)
- An evidence of endorsement from your chosen faculty mentor.
Questions
Please email globalhealth@georgetown.edu.