The Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship Programme

Application Deadline: 29 October 2020

The Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship Programme is an established national initiative, funded by the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, and managed by the Council.

In 2019 alone, we invested a total of over €13.6 million on 809 Government of Ireland Postgraduate scholars across six calls (2013-2019).

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 recognised that advancing fundamental understanding is achieved by integrating information, techniques, tools and perspectives from two or more disciplines.

Requirements

All applicants:

• must have a first class or upper second-class honours 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 honours. If a scholar does not have a first class or upper second-class honours 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 to 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.
• 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 6
  in a European Union member state OR Iceland,
  Norway, Liechtenstein or Switzerland for a continuous period of three of the five
  years preceding 1 September 2021.
• Category Two: All other applicants who do NOT meet one or both criteria.

VALUE OF THE POSTGRADUATE AWARD
• The total value of the scholarship fund will be up to a maximum of €24,000 7
in any approved year and consist of the following:
o a stipend of €16,000 per annum;a contribution to fees, including non-European Union scholarship fees, paid to the HEI up
to a maximum of €5,750 per annum
– Any differential must be paid by the scholar and/or HEI.
Research Office or relevant office must inform the Council of fee requirements per annum in line with the preparation of Award Letter of Offer or as close to the award start date as possible. Research Office or relevant offices must inform the Council of any
scholars who hold a fee waiver from their HEI, or where no fee is required, or where fees are paid in full or in part by a third party, as such scholars will not be eligible for the fee portion of the scholarship;
o eligible direct research expenses of €2,250 per annum to enable the scholar to carry out the research project.

How to apply

Potential applicants should read the 2021 Government of Ireland Terms and Conditions carefully to ascertain whether or not they are eligible to apply. Indicative versions of the applicant, supervisor and referee forms are provided for information purposes only. All participants must create and submit their forms via the online system.

Key dates

For More Information:

Visit the Official Webpage of the Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship Programme 2021