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Funding from Research Councils

Funding as a research student is likely to come from one of several Research Councils. Find out which one could help you.

Research Councils are very important for students seeking funding, with awards available from the Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences and the Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering and Technology for research in the Republic of Ireland, and from seven UK Research Councils for research in Northern Ireland.

Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences (IRCHSS) 

IRCHSS offers postgraduate scholarships to support research in the humanities and social sciences, including law and business studies, valued at €16,000 plus fees.

Scholarships are initially offered for one year but are renewable for two additional years. Applications are accepted from suitable qualified applicants who are either citizens of the Republic of Ireland/EU or a resident of an EU member state for at least three years. Scholarships may also be awarded to exceptional candidates from non-EU member states to enable them to carry out research with the agreement of the host institution. Successful applicants must hold a first or upper second-class honours primary degree. 

See www.irchss.ie for more information.

Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering and Technology (IRCSET)

 IRCSET’s Embark Initiative Postgraduate Research Scholarship scheme is designed for either Masters or Doctorate level researchers in the sciences, engineering or technology. In 2008, the programme funded approximately 80 new entrant Masters or Doctorate level researchers; a number of additional scholarships are jointly funded by industry as part of IRCSET’s Enterprise Partnership Scheme.

The scheme is open to candidates worldwide, with a small number of the scholarships available to exceptional candidates from EU member states. Funding of €24,000, including payment of university fees, is provided for each of three years for Doctorate level research and one year for Masters level research. Closing dates in 2008 were 31 January (first call) and 20 August (second call). 

See www.ircset.ie for more information.

UK Research Councils

There are seven Research Councils in the UK, offering UK-wide funding. Hotly competed for, they have strict deadlines to be adhered to. See www.rcuk.ac.uk for your starting point.

The individual Research Councils are:

To be eligible for both fees and maintenance awards offered by these bodies, applicants should be three years resident in the UK and be UK/EU nationals. 

Non-resident EU nationals are eligible for consideration for ‘fees only’ awards. NI, You should approach your prospective academic department to discuss applying  to one of the Research Councils.

Other research schemes

Research schemes are run also by other funding bodies, such as the Environmental Research Agency (www.epa.ie) Teagasc (Walsh Fellowships) (www.teagasc.ie) and Science Foundation Ireland (www.sfi.ie) Applications are advertised and made through funded projects. Check with your department or your academic supervisor for more information.

We would like to thank Colette Aungier, Careers Adviser, Trinity College Dublin, for her help with this article.

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