UCD Iseult Honohan Doctoral Scholarship 2022

The aim of the scholarship is to attract applicants of the highest academic calibre to pursue a PhD in the UCD School of Politics and International Relations, and to provide them with the training, experience and mentorship necessary to their professional development.

We welcome applications from all areas of the discipline including political science, political theory, international relations, European governance, computational social science, development and international political economy.

The UCD School of Politics and International Relations (SPIRe) is the oldest and largest school of its kind in the Republic of Ireland. According to the QS World University Rankings by Subject 2021, UCD School of Politics and International Relations is ranked in the top 100 in the world.

The scholarship is named after Dr. Iseult Honohan, one of the first female PhD graduates from the (then) Department of Ethics and Politics. She retired from teaching in 2015 after over 25 years of service to UCD as one of the leading academics in normative political theory.

Eligibility:

    Applications are open to full-time students with a September 2022 start date and with a SPIRe supervisor, in the following programmes:

• PhD Politics and International Relations
• PhD European Law and Governance (if via the SPIRe admission route)
• PhD Quantitative and Computational Social Science (with a SPIRe supervisor)

    Continuing students, students with a non-September start or students transferring only part of their PhD studies to UCD are not eligible to apply
    Applicants must have a minimum grade of 2.1 (GPA: 3.6) in a relevant Master's degree.

Scholarship

This scholarship:

• Covers full fees
• Provides a living stipend of 17,000 euro per year for up to four years
• Is open to EU and non-EU applicants

Application Process

Applications will only be considered if the documentation below, including references, has been emailed to dara.gannon@ucd.ie by the scholarship deadline. 
Incomplete applications will not be eligible.

The following application process is only for applicants to the PhD Politics and International Relations PhD Programme. 

Applicants to the European Law and Governance programme and to the Quantitative and Computational Social Science programme should follow that application procedure. 

Application Form (fillable word doc)

• Cover letter, which should include that you wish to be considered for the Honohan scholarship. 
• Thesis proposal (3-5 pages maximum)
• Copies of all Academic Transcripts (Undergraduate and Postgraduate)
• C.V. or Resume (2 pages maximum)
• Evidence of English language competence, where non-native English speaking applicants have NOT obtained previous university degrees from a university in an English-speaking country. For students affected by testing centre closures due to COVID-19, UCD has approved  the use of the Duolingo English Test (DET) as a temporary measure. The overall result should be at least 110 with a minimum score of 100 in subjections. Applicants must provide a cert that complies with UCD Minimum English Language Requirements
• Two academic references: These should be sent directly by the referees to dara.gannon@ucd.ie with the applicant's name in the Subject field. If sent by email, they must be from an institutional email address and ideally on institutional headed paper. SPIRe reserves the right to verify all references. Sending only the contact details of referees is not sufficient.

Awards will be primarily based on the academic track record of the applicants and the academic merits of the proposal, but social relevance and fit with the school will also be taken into account.

For your information: A list of SPIRe academics and their research areas. 

This documentation should be emailed to Ms Dara Gannon (dara.gannon@ucd.ie). 

The submission of original academic transcripts and other documentation will be required as a condition of the final award of a place on the programme.

You may also be requested to conduct a Skype interview as part of the application process.

For those interested in the scholarship, applications to the PhD programme should be submitted by 5pm GMT on 31st January 2022.

Enrolment for all PhD students is in September 2022 only.