PhD Research

PhD programme 

The School of Social Policy, Social Work and Social Justice offers research degrees in social work, social policy and social justice (PhD programmes). Undertaken full-time over three years, or part-time over six years, a PhD is a research degree in which you will make an original contribution to knowledge by pursuing an extended and focused piece of research on a topic of your interest. 

We offer a lively intellectual environment in which to undertake postgraduate research with a range of thematic research groups and research centres and an active seminar programme. You will benefit from our excellent links to other social policy/social work/social justice scholars, policymakers and practitioners across the world.

The structured programme enables you to acquire a broader set of transferable skills during your time with us. Postgraduate research students can access a range of research training courses tailored to the needs of their project. 

Funding opportunities

Applications for (opens in a new window)Research Ireland's* Government of Ireland (GoI) Postgraduate Scholarship Scheme - Not yet open for 2026 

Provisional Timeframe**

• Expected date for Research Ireland call to open: 1st September 2025
• School of Social Policy, Social Work and Social Justice Application Deadline: 7th September 2025

_* Research Ireland is Ireland’s new competitive research and innovation funding agency, established following an amalgamation of Science  Foundation Ireland and the(opens in a new window)Irish Research Council. The new Research Ireland website is under development and so the links to the Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship Programme provided here are to the previous IRC site

_** This will depend on (opens in a new window)Research Ireland’s application dates and may be adjusted when the call for 2026 goes live.

Overview

(opens in a new window)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 operated by Research Ireland.

It is open to EU and Non-EU applicants.

Full information, including eligibility, guidelines and deadlines, is available on the(opens in a new window)IRC website 

Prospective and current SoSPSWSJ PhD students are eligible to apply.

What it Covers

This scholarship:

• Covers a fee remission of up to a maximum of €5,750 per annum*
• Provides a living stipend of €22,000 per year 
• Gives eligible direct research expenses of €3,250 per annum

_{* Successful IRC awardees will receive a 'top-up' from the school to the full amount of their scheduled programme fee.}

SoSPSWSJ Application Procedure for External IRC Applicants

All PhD applicants who are interested in an IRC scholarship and wish to study at UCD School of Policy, Social Work and Social Justice (SoSPSWSJ)  should have consulted with an academic member of SoSPSWSJ  staff prior to submitting an application,who should provide agreement to supervise and to support a GOI application.  The full list of faculty and their research interests can be found here.

Before an applicant can formally have an agreed SoSPSWSJ supervisor for their IRC application, they must submit an application to the School, within the above timelines.

Interested applicants should follow the application procedure of the programme in which they are interested.

Applications for the IRC scholarship are not accepted outside of the application timeframe above.

• For the PhD application procedure and advice on research proposals, clickhere

As part of the application process, applicants will be asked to note the academic(s) with whom they have been working. Please do not apply to the unless you have already been working informally with a SoSPSWSJ colleague.

Application Procedure for Current SoSPSWSJ PhD Students

Current students should contact(opens in a new window)Dominic.Shellard@ucd.ie

There is information available on the UCD intranet for internal candidates. A UCD Connect login is required. For more information, email(opens in a new window)Dominic.Shellard@ucd.ie

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Important: Regardless of whether you are a prospective or current student, it is very important that you note your 'enrolment' date on the IRC application form as 1st September. Noting an earlier date may result in your application being deemed ineligible.

Current PhD students

View our PhD Research Student Profiles