Introduction
The School of Policy and Practice at Trinity College Dublin is offering PhD Scholarships to EU and non-EU applicants
The selected candidate will receive an annual non-taxable stipend of €22,000, with EU fees payable each year for a minimum of four years. The successful candidate will start their PhD no later than December 2024. Dublin City University (DCU) is a leading innovative European University. It is proud to be one of the world’s leading young universities and among the world’s top 2% globally. DCU is known as Ireland’s University of Impact, with a mission to ‘transform lives and societies’ and focuses on addressing global challenges in collaboration with key national and international partners and stakeholders. The School of Policy and Practice, DCU Institute of Education, is characterised by high-impact national and international research, innovative teaching and learning, and extensive engagement with local, national, and international communities.
Dublin City University
Dublin City University (DCU) is a leading innovative European University. It is proud to be one of the world’s leading young universities and among the world’s top 2% globally. DCU is known as Ireland’s University of Impact, with a mission to ‘transform lives and societies’ and focuses on addressing global challenges in collaboration with key national and international partners and stakeholders. DCU has over 20,000 students in five faculties spread across three academic campuses in the Glasnevin-Drumcondra area of North Dublin. Thanks to its innovative approach to teaching and learning, the University offers a ‘transformative student experience’ that helps to develop highly sought-after graduates. DCU is currently No. 1 in Ireland for Graduate Employment Rate and for graduate income (CSO). DCU is a research-intensive University and is home to a number of SFI-funded Research Centres. The University participates in a range of European and international research partnerships. DCU is also the leading Irish university in the area of technology transfer, as reflected by licensing of intellectual property. As a ‘People First’ institution, DCU is committed to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion – a University that helps staff and students to thrive. The University is a leader in terms of its work to increase access to education and is placed in the world’s Top 10 for reducing inequalities in the Times Higher Education Impact Rankings.
DCU School of Policy and Practice
The School of Policy and Practice, DCU Institute of Education, is characterised by high-impact national and international research, innovative teaching and learning, and extensive engagement with local, national, and international communities. Our staff and graduate students are nationally and internationally renowned experts in the areas of education policy and professional studies, consistently disseminating research via high-impact publications and securing competitive research funding through various funding schemes such as Horizon Europe, Erasmus Plus, SCOTENS and the Government of Ireland Shared Island initiative. Academics in the school contribute to a range of undergraduate, postgraduate and outreach programmes offered at DCU, in addition to authentic and collaborative partnerships with schools and other education stakeholders. The school is also home to a vibrant community of Irish and international research students and university research centres: CARPE (Centre for Assessment Research, Policy and Practice); EQI (The Centre for Evaluation Quality and Inspection); FETRC (Further Education Training Research Centre) and Create21 (Centre for Collaborative Research Across Teacher Education). Finally, with civic and public engagement to the fore, the School of Policy and Practice also engages with local, national, and international organisations and communities via various initiatives such as the Partnership for Learning programme, the DCU Changemaker Schools, the Northern Ireland Shaped Professional Learning Network initiative, and Volunteer Ireland among others.
Eligibility Criteria
- Eligible Countries: Open to all nationalities
- Acceptable Course or Subjects: Any subject offered by Trinity College Dublin
- Admissible Criteria: Applicants must be new entrants to the full-time research doctorate register.
- Applicants must hold an unconditional offer for admission to the full-time PhD research register in Trinity College Dublin with the support of a Principal Supervisor by June 1st, 2024.
- Applicants must have met all academic requirements, including English language requirements.
- Continuation on the research register is contingent upon evidence of satisfactory annual progress and successful completion of the confirmation process at 18 months after first registration.
- Both the doctoral researcher and supervisor must agree to participate in Trinity’s Supervisor: Research Student Agreement.
- Postgraduate Research Doctorate Awards cannot continue beyond a fourth year on the full-time research doctorate register and cannot be split across doctorate researchers.
- Graduates must have achieved first-class honors or equivalent status in their final degree examination.
PhD Focus
The purpose of this PhD is to explore an aspect of education that is within the following thematic areas:
- Education in Divided Societies
- Educational Attainment, Poverty and Policy on the Island of Ireland
- Educational Policy and Practice
- The use of Learning Analytics for Educational Evaluation and Planning
- Educational Evaluation
- Culturally Responsive Education
- Evidence-Informed Practice and Data-Informed Decision Making
- Community-based Educational Evaluation and Planning
Thematic areas in line with the government of Ireland’s shared Island initiative will also be considered.
The Roles
The successful candidate will be required to work full-time on their PhD by publication and to contribute to selected research and teaching activities. Please see Appendix A for information on PhD by publication.
The successful candidate’s specific duties will include:
- Undertaking research leading to a PhD;
- Producing academic papers and reports throughout the course of the PhD;
- Identifying and making funding applications for further research on related topics;
- Attending research meetings and producing reports based on the work or on other general work happening in the school or centre;
- Contribute to teaching relevant to particular expertise.
The selected candidate will be based at the School of Policy and Practice at DCU Institute of Education. To further enhance the PhD student’s profile and allow the PhD student to publish in high-impact journals with a network of internationally renowned researchers, the successful candidate will also be provided with data sets derived from existing projects such as Horizon Europe and Erasmus Plus.
Offered Benefits
Successful applicants will receive a stipend of €25,000 per annum along with fees write-down for four years (full- time) to support their research endeavors at Trinity College Dublin. This award provides an invaluable opportunity for doctoral researchers to engage in innovative research and contribute to the advancement of knowledge in the field of Medicine. For more information, please visit the official Trinity College Dublin website or contact the School of Medicine directly. Don’t miss this opportunity to embark on an exciting research journey at one of Ireland’s leading academic institutions!
Application Process
Interested applicants must download and complete the Trinity’s Postgraduate Research Doctorate Awards 2024- 25 Application Form available on the Trinity College Dublin website. Completed applications should be submitted via email to by the deadline of 1st June 2024. Incomplete applications will not be considered.
Application Guidelines
To Apply:
Please email the following documents to ioe.pp@dcu.ie .
- Cover letter
- Full Curriculum Vitae
- Copy of transcripts of qualifications
- Research proposal – please use the Institute of Education Research Proposal Form available here
The closing date for receipt of application documentation is 12 midday GMT on Friday, 7th of June 2024.
Interview Dates
Shortlisted applicants will be required to attend an interview in person or via Zoom if necessary.
Interviews will take place in the week beginning 17th of June 2024.
Informal inquiries can be sent to Dr. Martin Brown, Head of School of Policy and Practice ( martin.brown@dcu.ie ) with the subject heading: Your Name: PhD Scholarship Informal Inquiry.
Appendix A
PhD by Publication:
The PhD thesis by publication should consist of: a. a set of published papers and/or papers accepted for publication; and b. an accompanying set of chapters no less than 10,000 words in length which sets the papers in the context of existing literature, gives a detailed overview of the theme(s) common to all papers included in the thesis, argues the coherence of these publications, and justifies the methodology adopted. This overarching critical document should evaluate the contribution that the research in the submitted publications makes to the advancement of knowledge in the research area. The maximum word length of the thesis, including the accompanying set of chapters, selected papers, references and notes, is 90,000. Only peer-reviewed book chapters or papers (published journal papers or papers accepted for publication) in reputable peer-reviewed outputs for the discipline(s) in question can be considered for inclusion when a thesis is submitted for examination.
A minimum of three papers is required; however, the number of papers may be higher and vary across disciplines, in the length of individual papers, and in terms of the extent of the candidate’s contribution thereto.
