The Irish Research Council’s call for the 2022 Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship and Postdoctoral Fellowship calls are now open.
- The scholarship programme offers scholarships for suitably qualified individuals to pursue a research master’s or PhD (either traditional or structured), in any discipline, at eligible higher education institutions in Ireland. In addition, a number of targeted scholarships are offered in collaboration with their strategic funding partners: Department of Foreign Affairs, Environmental Protection Agency, Mét Eireann and the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
- The fellowship programme offers suitably qualified individuals the opportunity to pursue a postdoctoral fellowship in any discipline, at eligible higher education institutions in Ireland. In addition, a number of targeted fellowships are offered in collaboration with their strategic partner: Department of Rural and Community Development.
Pioneering proposals addressing new and emerging fields of research or those introducing creative, innovative approaches are welcomed. Proposals of an interdisciplinary nature are also encouraged as it is recognised that advancing fundamental understanding is achieved by integrating information, techniques, tools and perspectives from two or more disciplines.
The Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship and Postdoctoral Fellowship Programmes are highly competitive, with an average success rate of 18% over the past five years. Successful applicants who become scholars and fellows under the programmes are recognised as demonstrating world-class potential as future research leaders and in the quality of their ideas.
What the Scholarship Offers:
- a stipend of €18,500 per annum;
- a contribution to fees, including non-EU fees, up to a maximum of €5,750 per annum; and
- eligible direct research expenses of €3,250 per annum
Supervision Requirement
All applicants will require an Maynooth University based supervisor, who is a permanent staff member, or holds a contract of sufficient duration to cover the full duration of the scholarship. The supervisor must be committed to providing support in the drafting and review of the application, as well as supervision and mentorship for the duration of the proposal.
What the Fellowship Offers:
- a salary of €40,023 in the first year of award and €40,583 in the second year of the award;
- employers PRSI contribution; and
- eligible direct research expenses of €5,000 per annum.
Mentor Requirement
All applicants will require an Maynooth University based mentor, who is a permanent staff member, or holds a contract of sufficient duration to cover the full duration of the mentorship. The mentor must be committed to providing support in the drafting and review of the application, as well as mentorship for the duration of the proposal.
It is the responsibility of the supervisor/mentor to provide/mentor a full review of the final draft of the applications prior to submission to the IRC.
*Supervisors/mentors must also confirm with martin.odonoghue@mu.ie whether or not they are registered on the IRC’s online application system as supervisor or mentor. If they are not already registered, I will be able to register them, provided they are a permanent staff member, or holds a contract of sufficient duration to cover the full duration of the scholarship. Applicants should notify their supervisors of this before, they commence their online application.
PLEASE NOTE, due to the volume of applications to this call (* last year, we received 107 Applications which were submitted), the MU Research Office will not be able to provide a pre-submission review service for applicants.
How to apply
In the first instance potential applicants should closely read the 2023 IRC Government of Ireland Schemes Call Document, and also reflect on the 2023 GOIPG and GOIPD Indicative forms and Guides for Applicants carefully, to ascertain whether or not they are eligible to apply, and what the maximum duration of their scholarship or fellowship would be. Please use the following link to explore these forms.
All applications should be submitted via the online system by the deadline of exactly 16:00 (Irish time) on 20th October 2022. However, applicants are strongly encouraged to submit their application well in advance of this deadline, to avoid any delays in submission, due to heavy traffic on the online system. Applicants should log on to the online system as soon as possible to being preparing their application.
Indicative versions of the applicant and supervisor/mentor forms for this year’s call (provided for information purposes only) are available on the IRC Website. However all participants must create and submit their forms via the online system, which is now open for applications.Please note that referee forms are not required this year.
The IRC strongly encourages supervisors/mentors and applicants to consider the attached ‘General Application Feedback’ when preparing their application.
Applicants should please note that while this feedback was compiled from assessors, the IRC advise, that taking it on board does not guarantee an award but that it may guide applicants away from the most common shortcomings assessors identified in applications.
Important dates for the 2022 call are as follows:
- Call Open - 8 September 2022
- FAQ deadline - 13 October 2022
- Applicant deadline - 16:00 (Irish time) 20 October 2022
- Supervisor/Mentor deadline - 16:00 (Irish time) 27 October 2022
- Research office endorsement deadline - 16:00 (Irish time) 3 November 2022
- Call outcome - End of March 2023
- Start date - 1 September 2023
Applicants seeking further clarification are then recommended to contact me (martin.odonoghue@mu.ie) in the Research Development Office.
For questions and queries which require further clarity, I will contact the IRC for a response through the frequently asked questions (FAQ) process. An updated FAQ document will be published weekly on the Irish Research Council postgraduate and postdoctoral website.
Please note due to the volume of applicants which apply for this call each year, if an applicant’s query is put forward to the IRC, it will be the responsibility of the applicant to check the FAQ document which is updated weekly for the response to their FAQ’s.
Please also find attached the following documents to assist you with your proposal preparation.
A help pack is available to applicants with guidance on completing each section, gantt chart templates and other policy and information documents. Should you wish to receive them please contact me (martin.odonoghue@mu.ie).