Foreign Students: Government Of Ireland Master’s & PhD Scholarships 2024-2025

The Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship Programme is a well-established national initiative, supported by the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation, and Science, and administered by the Council.

This program stands out in the Irish research landscape and complements other avenues for funding postgraduate education in Ireland. Here are some key aspects of the program:

1. Individual Excellence: It offers prestigious awards in the applicant’s name, recognizing outstanding research.
2. Objective Selection: The program employs a fair and impartial selection process involving international experts who conduct peer reviews.
3. Inclusive Disciplines: Funding is available across all academic disciplines, spanning from archaeology to zoology.
4. Research Freedom: The program supports research that is driven by the researcher’s interests, except for projects funded by strategic partners.
5. Innovative Research: It encourages groundbreaking proposals that explore new and emerging fields of study or introduce creative and innovative approaches.
6. Interdisciplinary Focus: The program welcomes interdisciplinary proposals, acknowledging that a deeper understanding often comes from integrating knowledge, methods, tools, and viewpoints from multiple fields.

It’s worth noting that the Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship Programme is highly competitive, with an average success rate of 18% over the last five years. Successful recipients of these scholarships are recognized as having the potential to become future research leaders on a global scale.

About Irish Aid Ireland Fellows Programme

The Programme enables students to benefit from a prestigious, world-class, quality education contributing to capacity building whilst also profiling the best that Ireland has to offer in education. For information on studying in Ireland, please visit www.educationinireland.com.

The Ireland Fellows Programme aligns with the Irish Government’s commitment under Global Ireland and the national implementation plan for the Sustainable

Benefits of Government Of Ireland Masters Scholarship

1. A stipend of €19,000 per annum
2. A contribution to fees, including non-EU fees, up to a maximum of €5,750 per annum and
3. Eligible direct research expenses of €3,250 per annum.

Duration of Program:

1. Research master’s degree: 12 months
2. Structured research master’s degree: 24 months
3. Traditional doctoral degree: 36 months
4. Structured doctoral degree: 48 months

Requirements for Government Of Ireland Masters Scholarship Qualification

1. 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;
2. Must not have had two previous unsuccessful applications to the programme, including strategic partner themes. This includes applications since 2010 to the EMBARK Scheme previously run by the Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering and Technology, and the Government of Ireland Scholarship Scheme previously run by the Irish Council for Humanities and Social Sciences;
3. In the case of applications for a research master’s scholarship, applicants must not currently hold, or have previously held, a Council Postgraduate Scholarship;
4. In the case of applications for a doctoral degree scholarship, applicants must not currently hold, or have previously held, any Council Postgraduate Scholarship other than those which would enable them to obtain a research master’s degre
5. applicants from any country may hold a Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship, however applicants will fall under one of two categories based on nationality and residency
6. For category one, applicants must meet BOTH of the following criteria:
   • Be a national of a European Union member state, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein or Switzerland
     AND
   • Have been ordinarily resident in a European Union member state, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein or Switzerland for a continuous period of three of the five years preceding 1 October 2023.

While the majority of scholarships will be awarded to applicants who fall under category one, a proportion of awards will also be made to exceptional applicants who fall under category two.

Please note that the Council may request documented evidence of an applicant’s nationality and residence.

How to Apply

October 12, 2023.