The Karsh Institute works tirelessly to understand, defend, and invigorate the institutions, practices, and cultural underpinnings that are the foundations of democracy. Through all our work—robust interdisciplinary scholarship, research and teaching, and vibrant programs and partnerships designed to engage the public and influence policy agendas—we are shaping a thriving democratic future.
Check this page frequently to learn about new job openings, calls for proposals, student positions, and other opportunities at the Karsh Institute of Democracy.
Karsh Institute Civic Cornerstone Fellowship
Deadline: September 1, 2025
In a hyper-partisan political climate, it can be hard to be politically engaged, especially with those who hold opposing viewpoints. Now in its second year and built upon the insights of the inaugural cohort of nearly 300 UVA students, the Student Dialogue Fellowship was designed to address this challenge.
UVA’s Karsh Institute of Democracy invites students from all backgrounds and experiences to apply for the Student Dialogue Fellowship, which will bring together multiple cohorts of UVA graduate and undergraduate students for monthly convenings over shared meals in the fall of 2025.
This program is hosted by the Karsh Institute of Democracy in partnership with UVA’s Student Affairs, Contemplative Sciences Center, College and Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, Darden School of Business, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, Public Service Pathways, School of Data Science, and School of Education and Human Development. >>APPLY TO BECOME A CIVIC CORNERSTONE FELLOW
UVA Grad Students: 'Borders and Boundaries'
Karsh Institute of Democracy / DEM 7500 Fall 2025–DEM 7501 Spring 2026
Taught by Paulina Ochoa Espejo, John L. Nau III Professor of the History and Principles of Democracy
Students will each receive a $1,500 research stipend and will become fellows of the Nau Lab for the 2025–2026 academic year
Borders and boundaries are central to the modern world. But why do they matter so much? Why is it so hard to cross them, open them, or get rid of them? This interdisciplinary graduate course will ask these questions about territorial borders—and other boundaries. These questions challenge assumptions about immigration and the differences between natives and aliens, but they also show how national and territorial borders relate to other conceptual divides, such as those between nature and culture, the sacred and the profane, or civilization and barbarism. How have these distinctions shaped the modern state’s views on controlling territory? How do these boundaries shape colonialism, membership, sovereignty, the unity of the nation state? And how do they mold our thinking about the rights of indigenous peoples and of the Earth, or about the limits between the human and non-human worlds?
We will seek answers to those questions from the viewpoints of several disciplines in the humanities and social sciences. >>READ MORE ABOUT THE 'BORDERS AND BOUNDARIES' COURSE