Deadline: January 15, 2027
Applications are open for the UCD Iseult Honohan Doctoral Scholarship 2027. 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.
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. They 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 2026, UCD School of Politics and International Relations is ranked in the top 100 in the world.
Scholarship
This scholarship:
- Covers full fees (EU and Non-EU)
- Provides a living stipend of €25,000 per year for up to four years
Eligibility
- Applications are open to EU and non-EU candidates interested in either of the following programmes:
- PhD Politics and International Relations
- PhD Quantitative and Computational Social Science (if supervisor is based in SPIRe)
- Continuing students, students seeking a non-September start, students with a supervisor outside of SPIRe or students transferring only part of their PhD studies to UCD are not eligible for the scholarship.
- Applicants must have a minimum grade of 2.1 (GPA: 3.6) in a relevant Master’s degree.
- Applicants who have not yet completed a Master’s degree are eligible to apply but the award will be conditional upon a final minimum grade of 2.1. For applicants not currently holding an MA degree, the quality of the research proposal is particularly important.
Application
You do not need to identify a potential supervisor in advance of your application. All colleagues will have a chance to express their interest in candidates, after the initial eligibility check has been completed.
The following documents will be required as part of the application form submission.
Incomplete applications will not be considered. Do not include any unrequested documents such as passport pages, birth certs, etc.
- Cover letter, stating reasons for interest in the SPIRe PhD programme.
- Thesis proposal (1,500-2,000 words maximum, excluding bibliography) which should include the following:
- provisional thesis title
- a statement of the research question
- a brief literature review that points to research gaps the PhD project could address
- an outline of theoretical approaches considered
- a brief discussion of the proposed methodology
- Copies of Academic Transcripts (Undergraduate and Postgraduate)
- C.V. or Resumé (2 pages maximum)
- Evidence of English language competence
- Non-native English speaking applicants must provide a certificate from one of the examining bodies listed on this page.
- The certificate should be no more than 2 years old and must meet the minimum requirements as noted on the above webpage.
- Certificates from examining bodies not on this list or that do not meet the UCD minimum requirements will not be considered.
- If you are a non-native speaker but have obtained a degree from a university in a native English-speaking country, you are exempt from having to provide an English certificate.
- If you are a non-native speaker but your undergraduate or masters degree has been conducted entirely through English in a non-native English speaking country you are exempt from having to provide an English certificate but you must provide official verification from the university.
- Two academic referees: You are required to include the contact details of two academic referees, who have agreed to provide a reference, on the google form. If your application is successful, they will be contacting your referees to obtain references.
Note that they may need your referees to provide a reference within a week [on short notice]if contacted during the month of February.
For more information, visit UCD Iseult Honohan Doctoral Scholarship.
