The Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship Program is a national initiative by the Department of Education and Skills and managed by the Council. The Irish Government Postgraduate Scholarship is unique in the Irish research landscape and complements other channels for fully 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 program 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. Moreover, the Irish Government welcomes pioneering proposals addressing new and emerging fields of research or those introducing creative, innovative approaches. Since, interdisciplinary projects which recognize the fundamental understanding achieved by integrating information, techniques, tools, and perspectives from two or more disciplines, the scholarship also encourages such proposals.

In 2018, the government of Ireland offered Scholarship to 1,193 postgraduate scholars, with over 5,000 individual scholarships for excellent research awarded to date.

However, candidates applying for the Irish government scholarship should note that the fully funded postgraduate scholarship is very competitive. It has a success rate of about 18% over the duration of five years.

Fully Funded Irish Government Postgraduate Scholarship

Besides the fact the Irish Government Scholarship being fully funded, postgraduate students also receive a recognization as world-class future research leaders. Government of Ireland, further, covers the full expenses of an international student researching in Ireland. The scholarship includes:

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

Eligibility for the Irish Government Scholarship

The Government of Ireland considers a postgraduate candidate eligible for the fully funded scholarship if s/he is:

• Available for EU, Switzerland, Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein as well as International students
• 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.
• However, 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.
• Nor can an applicant have two previous unsuccessful/ineligible applications to the program, including strategic partner themes;
• Students applying for Research masters may not hold, or have previously held, a Council scholarship
• A doctoral degree candidate may not hold or have previously held, any Council scholarship other than that which would have enabled them to obtain a research master’s degree

How to apply for the Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship

The Irish Government offers the fully funded postgraduate scholarship if they meet the eligibility criteria. To apply for the scholarship, applicants must create and submit their forms via the online system before the deadline. Along with the application, the candidates must also submit:

• a CV
• Letters of recommendation
• Academic Transcripts
• As well as other necessary documents.

Deadline

The deadline to submit the fully funded scholarship application is on 16:00 (Irish time) 31 October 2019. Further, the Supervisors and referee should send the reference letter before 16:00 (Irish time) 7 November 2019.