The Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship Programme funds individual research master’s and doctoral candidates at Irish higher education institutions and research bodies. It is funded by Ireland’s Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science and managed by Research Ireland. Awards are made in the applicant’s own name, cover every discipline from archaeology to zoology, and are selected through international, independent expert peer review. Research Ireland calls the programme highly competitive and reports an average success rate of 18% over the past five years. From the 2026 call the scheme moved to a full-degree funding model: it is open to new entrants to a master’s or PhD programme and to students in the first year of the degree they are seeking funding for. The 2026 call is closed — it ran from 11 September to 23 October 2025, and those awards begin on 1 September 2026 — and Research Ireland has not yet published dates for the next call.
Benefits & funding
- Up to €34,000 per year in any approved year, made up of the three items below. The grant must be accepted in full, across all three budget headings.
- A stipend of €25,000 per year.
- A fee contribution of up to €5,750 per year, paid to the host research body and covering non-EU fees. A non-EU national may request a further €4,000 per year; any fee balance above that is paid by the scholar and/or the research body.
- Eligible direct research costs of €3,250 per year.
- Duration of 1 to 4 years: four years for a new entrant to a doctoral degree and two years for a new entrant to a research master’s; three years and one year respectively for applicants who have already completed up to the first year of that degree.
- Funding is full time. The scholar must be based full time at the nominated eligible research body.
Eligibility
- Open to applicants of any nationality. The call document sorts applicants into two categories. Category 1: a national of an EU member state (including Ireland), Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, the United Kingdom or Ukraine, who has also been ordinarily resident in one of those countries for a continuous three of the five years before the award start date. Category 2: all other applicants. Both categories may apply; the call document notes that Category 2 applicants have had a lower success rate.
- New entrants to a research master’s or doctoral degree, or students who have completed no more than the first year of the degree they are seeking funding for.
- A first-class or upper second-class honours bachelor’s degree, or the equivalent, or a master’s qualification.
- Applicants for a master’s award must not already hold a master’s degree of any kind. Applicants who already hold a PhD may not apply for any degree type.
- Applicants who have already been unsuccessful twice in this scheme may not apply again.
- No age limit and no minimum years of work experience.
- Applicants must not be permanent staff at an Irish or international research body.
- The degree must be taken full time at a Research Ireland eligible research body, which is where the scholarship is administered. Research Ireland publishes the current list of eligible bodies on its website.
- An academic may act as primary supervisor for only one applicant per call. There is no limit on how often someone acts as secondary or co-supervisor.
- Applications are accepted in Irish or English only.
Can you apply?
Worth a closer look
Sign in and add your profile to check this against your nationality, residency, and studies.
Education required
Bachelor · Master · Master Enrolled · PhD Enrolled
Not in your profile yet
We only check the criteria we have data for. Always confirm full eligibility on the official page before applying.
Application process
- 1Choose the research master’s or doctoral programme and secure a primary supervisor at an eligible research body.
- 2Complete the preliminary eligibility quiz in the online system, naming that primary supervisor. The name must match the one given later in the application form.
- 3Complete and submit the application form in the online system before the applicant deadline. Hard copies and emailed forms are not accepted.
- 4The primary supervisor submits the endorsement form by the supervisor deadline, about two weeks after the applicant deadline.
- 5The research office at the host body endorses the application by its own deadline the following week.
- 6Research Ireland checks every proposal against the mandatory criteria. At least two independent international reviewers then assess each application, and the top-ranked applications go to two further international reviewers and an assessment board panel. Reviewers are not shown the applicant’s name, date of birth or gender.
- 7Outcomes are announced at the end of April and awards start on 1 September.
Program timeline
2026 call opens, 12:00 Irish time
Sep 11, 2025
Deadline for applicant questions to Research Ireland
Oct 16, 2025
Applicant deadline, 16:00 Irish time
Oct 23, 2025
Primary supervisor and mentor deadline
Nov 6, 2025
Research office endorsement deadline
Nov 13, 2025
Call outcome announced
End of April 2026
Awards start
Sep 1, 2026
Next call
dates not yet published; the 2026 call opened in September 2025