Postgraduate Funding Opportunities
PhD Studentships
Postgraduate Research Studentships
Trinity College Postgraduate Research Studentships (code 1252) are available to new entrants as well as continuing students on the full-time Ph.D. register for entry in September and/or the following March of the same academic year. More information can be found on the Study website - https://www.tcd.ie/study/postgraduate/scholarships-funding/
Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarships (Irish Research Council)
Application criteria and deadlines vary from year to year; the following is indicative only. The IRC typically provides a stipend of €18,500 per annum; a €5,750 contribution to fees; and research expenses of €3,250 per annum. You can apply for an IRC Scholarship before you start your degree (duration of funding 2 years for an MLitt and 4 years for a Structured PhD) or in Years 1-2 of the PhD (duration of funding 3 or 2 years). The call is generally issued around September with an application deadline at the start of November. Students should liaise with their supervisors in planning and preparing an application and study the guidance provided by the IRC and the School. The School will send out an email notification when the call is issued, organise an information session for potential applicants, and arrange an internal process for vetting applications. Applications have to be signed by the Head of School and the College Research Office. Procedures and internal deadlines will be communicated by email so please contact pghishum@tcd.ie to indicate your interest in applying to ensure you receive communications. Please bear in mind that internal deadlines will be several weeks before the IRC deadline. http://www.research.ie/funding/postgraduate-funding
Ussher Fellowships
A small number of highly competitive awards, open to new entrants on the PhD register (not to continuing students). All new full-time PhD students (EU and non-EU) who apply to the School by 1 May are automatically considered. The award is valued at €13,000 plus fees for three years. See further: https://www.tcd.ie/study/postgraduate/scholarships-funding/
The Nesbitt Ussher Fellowship
This Fellowship, provided by the Trinity Foundation, is awarded to a candidate wishing to pursue research leading to a Ph.D. in History or Botany. In addition to the normal regulations applicable to Ussher fellowships, holders of studentships in their first year must send to the Dean of Graduate Studies reports of satisfactory progress and attendance signed by their Supervisor, which must reach the Graduate Studies Office by 1st December and 1st June. Payments, which are made in two instalments, the first soon after registration in September and the second on 1st April, will only be made on receipt of satisfactory reports.
Awards from Benefactions
A call for these awards will be made during the course of the academic year - details to be posted on the History website.
Cluff Memorial Studentship
This studentship was founded in 1987 in memory of James Stanton Cluff, Scholar 1858, with endowments provided by Mr W.V. Cluff. It is awarded as often as funds permit to a student registered or to be registered for a higher degree in the History School, or to a graduate of the History School registered or to be registered for a higher degree at another university. It is awarded for one year in the first instance, but may be renewed on evidence of satisfactory progress for a second year and in exceptional circumstances for a third year. The value of the fund may change from year to year.
Applications should be no longer than one A4 page for each of the following;
- An outline of the research project (if already underway) or PhD proposal (if beginning in year of application)
- A plan of research for year of application
- Details of other scholarships or funding you have applied for or have secured
- A brief curriculum vitae
- A supporting statement from your supervisor(s).
Grace Lawless Lee Fund
Established in 1975 by Mr. J. D. Gwynn, in memory of Grace Lawless Lee, to promote and facilitate scholarship in history, primarily by assisting work by members of staff or, if sufficient funds are available, at graduate level. Students registered for courses based primarily on coursework are not eligible to apply to this fund. The income may be divided between more than one project in a year, or may be accumulated for a larger project, or in special cases may be used for grants in aid of travelling expenses and of publication.
Applications should be no longer than one A4 page for each of the following;
- An outline of the research project (if already underway) or PhD proposal (if beginning in year of application)
- A plan of research for year of application
- Details of other scholarships or funding you have applied for or have secured
Postdoctoral Researchers & Postgraduate students should also submit the following:
- A brief curriculum vitae
- A supporting statement from your supervisor(s).
Leland Lyons Travelling Scholarship in Modern History
This award was founded in 1981 by a gift from the retiring Provost, Dr Francis Stewart Leland Lyons. It is awarded biennially, at the discretion of the Head of Department of History to a graduate student who needs to undertake travel in connection with his/her research in some aspect of modern history. It is anticipated that the award will be supplemented by a grant from the Graduate Studies Research Travel Fund. With this supplementation the current value of the scholarship is expected to be approximately €444. Expenditure must be incurred before 30 September of the year of application.
T. W. Moody Memorial Fund
Established in 1985 by subscription in memory of Theodore William Moody, Erasmus Smith’s Professor of Modern History (1939-1977), the Fund is intended to assist graduate students to travel to libraries and archives, to enable them to obtain inaccessible material in copied form and to help them in other ways directly connected with their research. It is open to graduates of an Irish university, of not more than seven years’ standing, who are engaged in research leading to a higher degree in history.
M.Phil. funding opportunities
- The Constantia Maxwell Faculty Studentship, with a value of 3000 euro, is usually offered to a student in any of the School's MPhil programmes (to be confirmed for 2022-23).
- The School of Histories and Humanities also offers one bursary of 1000 euro, to be deducted from the course fees, for each of its eight M.Phil. programmes.
Awards will be made on academic merit. All completed applications with an unconditional offer by the deadline of 31 May will be considered.
Awards in Individual Disciplines
A limited number of awards are available in individual Schools and Departments. See https://www.tcd.ie/study/postgraduate/scholarships-funding/ and White Postgraduate Fellowship in Irish Art History, Cluff Memorial Studentship, Curtis Memorial Prize. Additional awards may be advertised from time to time; these are typically restricted to new entrants.
Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI)
Irish research students who meet the qualifying social welfare payment and (strict) income conditions may be eligible for a grant under the SUSI Student Grant Scheme. Grants may cover up to the full cost of tuition. They do not include maintenance. For further information https://susi.ie/eligibility/postgraduate-student/
Trinity Trust Postgraduate Travel Grants
These travel grants are awarded to research students for attendance at conferences related to their research or to carry out research abroad to supplement research undertaken in Dublin. See https://www.tcd.ie/graduatestudies/students/research/ and https://www.tcd.ie/history/postgraduate/funding/ for forms and deadlines and the Histories and Humanities Postgraduate Reseach Handbook for the School's regulations for Trinity Trust travel grant applications.
Other Travel Grants
Some individual Departments in the School also have travel funds for which research students may apply, such as the Stanford Travelling Scholarship in Classics and the Grace Lawless Lee Fund, Leland Lyons Travelling Scholarship, and T.W. Moody Memorial Fund in History. For details and deadlines please consult your supervisor or Head of Department.
Emergency Financial Assistance Scheme
Application must be made on a form available from the Graduate Studies Office. Only cases of extreme urgency are considered, on a case-by-case basis.