SPIRe Applications for IRC Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship Scheme - Not yet open for 2026
Provisional Timeframe*
Opens: 1st September 2025
Application Deadline: 7th September 2025
* This will depend on the IRC application dates and may be adjusted when the call for 2026 goes live
Overview
The (opens in a new window)Irish Research Council operates a few postgraduate scholarship schemes.
The (opens in a new window)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 managed by the Council.
It is open to EU and Non-EU applicants.
Full information, including eligibility, guidelines and deadlines, is available on the IRC website: (opens in a new window)(opens in a new window)https://research.ie/funding/goipg/
Prospective and current SPIRe 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.
SPIRe Application Procedure for External IRC Applicants
All PhD applicants who are interested in an IRC scholarship and wish to study at UCD School of Politics and International Relations (SPIRe) should have consulted with an academic member of SPIRe staff prior to submitting an application. The full list of faculty and their research interests can be found here.
Before an applicant can formally have an agreed SPIRe supervisor for their IRC application, s/he 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 Politics and International Relations application procedure, click here
- For the PhD Quantitative and Computational and Social Science application procedure, click here
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 SPIRe programme unless you have already been working informally with a SPIRe colleague.
Application Procedure for Current SPIRe PhD Students
Current students should contact (opens in a new window)dara.gannon@ucd.ie
There is information available on the UCD intranet for internal candidates. A UCD Connect login is required. For more information, email Dara.
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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.