Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship Programme

Published by Bojana

Deadline: 31 October 2019
Open to: European nationals/residents with a first class or upper second-class honors bachelor’s, or the equivalent
Benefits:  stipend of EUR 16,000 per annum + contribution to fees up to a maximum of EUR 5,750 per annum + eligible direct research expenses of EUR 2,250 per annum

Description

The Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship Programme is an established national initiative, funded by the Department of Education and Skills and managed by the Council.

In 2018, they invested in a total of 1,193 postgraduate scholars, with over 5,000 individual scholarships for excellent research awarded to date.

The Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship Programme is unique in the Irish research landscape and complements other channels for funded postgraduate education in the Irish eco-system. Among its features are:

  • individual, prestigious awards for excellent research in the name of the applicant;
  • an objective selection process using international, independent expert peer review;
  • funding across all disciplines, from archaeology to zoology;
  • awards for bottom-up, non-directed research, with the exception of those funded by our strategic funding partners.

The programme provides outstanding students with the opportunity to direct their own research at the early-career stage, working with a supervisor, in their chosen area of interest. Pioneering proposals addressing new and emerging fields of research or those introducing creative, innovative approaches are welcomed. Proposals of an interdisciplinary nature are also encouraged as it is recognized that advancing fundamental understanding is achieved by integrating information, techniques, tools and perspectives from two or more disciplines.

The Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship Programme is highly competitive, with an average success rate of 18% over the past five years. Successful applicants who become scholars under the programme are recognized as demonstrating world-class potential as future research leaders and in the quality of their ideas.

Eligibility

All applicants:

  •  must have a first class or upper second-class honors bachelor’s, or the equivalent, degree. If undergraduate examination results are not known at the time of application, the Council may make a provisional offer of a scholarship on condition that the scholar’s bachelor’s, or the equivalent,degree result is a first class or upper second-class honors. If a scholar does not have a first class or upper second-class honors bachelor’s, or the equivalent,degree, they must possess a master’s degree. The Council’s determination of an applicant’s eligibility on these criteria is final;
  • must not have had two previous unsuccessful applications to the programme, including strategic partner themes;
  • in the case of applications for a research master’s, must not currently hold, or have previously held, a Council scholarship;
  • in the case of applications for a doctoral degree, must not currently hold, or have previously held, any Council scholarship other than that which would have enabled them to obtain a research master’s degree.

Applicants will fall under one of two categories based on nationality and residency. For category one, applicants must meet Both of the following criteria:

•be a national of a European Union member state OR Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein or Switzerland

AND

•have been ordinarily resident in a European Union member state OR Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein or Switzerland for a continuous period of three of the five years preceding 1 October 2019

Benefits

  • a stipend of EUR 16,000 per annum;
  • a contribution to fees, including non-EU fees, up to a maximum of EUR 5,750 per annum;
  • eligible direct research expenses of EUR 2,250 per annum.

How to apply?

All participants must create and submit their forms via the online system.

For more information, please visit the official web page.