Funding opportunities for doctoral and post-doctoral studies at Trinity’s French Department
Trinity College Dublin offers a range of funding opportunities for doctoral and post-doctoral candidates. Below is information on these funding schemes and on how to apply for them.
DOCTORAL RESEARCH
How to apply
Prospective doctoral candidates are invited to consult the Department’s research areas (https://www.tcd.ie/French/people/), select a potential supervisor, and direct initial enquiries to the specific member of staff and then to the Head of Department, providing a full CV and an outline of the research project envisaged.
The research proposal (maximum three pages) should include: aims and objectives, status of research in terms of the project’s central research questions, the proposed methodology, and compatibility of the project with the host institution (supervisor, research facilities, etc.). Please note that normally candidates must have a first- or upper-second-class degree in French (or in the French component of their degree) to be considered for research in the Department.
Once a doctoral candidate has identified a supervisor and reached agreement on a PhD project, the candidate proceeds to register for the PhD. To register, please consult the following page: https://www.tcd.ie/courses/postgraduate/research/schools/lang-lit-cult.php. Although there are no closing dates for applications for higher degrees by research, there are only two registration periods (March and September). Applicants are advised to apply as early as possible prior to their chosen registration period as supervisory capacity may be limited.
Trinity Funding
Pichois Award
This award is available only through Trinity’s Department of French and is made to a candidate holding a first-class or II.1 Honours Degree in French (or equivalent) and having a research project within the area of nineteenth and/or twentieth-century French Literature. It is awarded only once every three years. The current annual value of the award is equivalent to EU/non-EU fees, plus subsistence costs of up to €16,000.
Ussher Award
This award is granted to outstandingly qualified students for three years of postgraduate study. A maximum of two such awards are available each year within Trinity’s Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, of which the French Department is a constituent member. The current annual value of the award is equivalent to EU/non-EU fees, plus subsistence costs of up to €13,000.
Provost’s Scholarship Award
Trinity offers 40 funded PhD scholarships (covering fees (either EU or Non-EU), plus an annual stipend of €16,000 per year for 4 years) across all faculties for students working on research projects with assistant or associate professors. Applications are made by assistant and associate professors in all disciplines who are entitled to be a Principal Supervisor of a PhD student, for an award in relation to a particular research project which they are undertaking or will undertake in order to fund the cost of a PhD student to work with them on that project. Successful awardees will then be able to recruit a funded PhD student to work on their project and will, in turn, supervise the student’s PhD to completion.
Extra-Mural Funding
Irish Research Council (IRC) Postgraduate Scholarship Scheme
This award offers a contribution to fees (including non-EU fees) up to a maximum of €5,750 per annum, a stipend of €16,000 per annum, and eligible direct research expenses of €2,250 per annum. For further details and application deadlines, see http://research.ie/funding/goipg/.
ADEFFI Postgraduate Bursary
ADEFFI offers an annual Postgraduate bourse sponsored by the Association des Membres de l’Ordre des Palmes Académiques en Irlande (AMOPA). The bourse is valued at €500 and is open to postgraduate students studying at a higher education institution on the island of Ireland. Applications, which can be in English or French, should contain a brief description of the candidate’s research project (no longer than 1,000 words). It should also include a curriculum vitae (listing personal details, information on university affiliation, details of any conference presentations and possible publications resulting from the candidate’s research). Candidates should also ask their thesis supervisor to forward a confidential letter of recommendation. The project outline, together with the curriculum vitae and the letter of recommendation, should be emailed to the President of ADEFFI. The deadline for the application is normally in March. For more details, please visit the ADEFFI website: https://www.adeffi.ie/doctorants
POST-DOCTORAL RESEARCH
The French Department encourages researchers with PhDs to apply for undertaking post-doctoral research in the Department. Post-doctoral research is funded through the IRC:
Government of Ireland Postdoctoral Fellowship Programme
This highly competitive fellowship aims to support suitably qualified applicants in any discipline to pursue a postdoctoral fellowship at an eligible higher education institution in Ireland. Fellows will hold a Government of Ireland Postdoctoral Fellowship for either one or two years. The fellowship offers a salary of €31,275 per annum, employer’s PRSI contribution of €3,425 per annum (10.95% of salary), employer’s pension contribution, where applicable, of €6,255 per annum (20% of salary) and eligible direct research expenses of €5,000 per annum. The competition for this award opens in September and closes in November. For further details and application deadlines, see https://research.ie/funding/goipd/?f=postdoctoral.