Funding Opportunities (MA & PhD)

1. Jean Hogan MA Memorial Scholarship

The School of Philosophy has introduced an annual scholarship in memory of one of our MA students who passed away recently. Jean Hogan was an outstanding student who overcame very difficult personal circumstances to do the MA. The scholarship is open to anyone applying for an MA in Philosophy, Philosophy and Public Affairs, Philosophy and Literature, Consciousness and Embodiment, Contemporary European Philosophy, Ethics: Theory and Practice. The scholarship is a fee waiver up to the value of EU fees of €10,100.

MA applicants who wish to be considered for this award will be asked to specify this in their personal statements submitted with their MA application.  The successful applicant will have an outstanding academic track record to date. The selection criterion for the scholarship will be the quality of this track record, determined by the information provided in the candidate’s application for the MA. Applications from candidates who have overcome difficult circumstances to pursue their studies are particularly welcomed.

Past Award Recipients

• 2022: Conall Clarke
• 2023: Sophie Foley
• 2024: Not Awarded

2. MA Entrance Awards

Up to two competitive entrance awards ​of €1,000 may be offered to students who have been admitted to the UCD Philosophy MA Programme. 

3. MA Newman Scholarship

One Scholarship is available for students applying to the MA in Philosophy (General Programme), with the commitment to write their MA dissertation on an aspect of the work or legacy of John Henry Newman. 

John Henry Newman (1801–1890) was a leading intellectual, religious thinker, philosopher and literary figure whose works include The Idea of a University (1852), An Essay in Aid of a Grammar of Assent (1870), and Apologia Pro Vita Sua (1864). Newman was the founder of the Catholic University of Ireland, that led to the establishment of University College Dublin. 

The scholarship will provide a significant contribution to the cost of tuition fees of €7,990 (minimum 50% and up to a possible 100%). Scholarships are open to Irish, EU and International applicants. The scholarships are endowed by the Newman Foundation. 

Once they have applied for an MA in Philosophy (General Programme), applicants are requested to email a brief description of their interest in Newman’s work and of their proposed dissertation project to (opens in a new window)philosophy@ucd.ie.

Past Scholarship Recipients

• 2014: Nora Sullivan and Ulysses Ryan Flynn
• 2015: Ross Ferrara and Christopher DuPee
• 2017: Dhanya Raghavan and John Rogers
• 2018: Paraskevi (Evi) Filea
• 2019: Andrew Doyle, Cormac Duffy, Shane Hutchinson
• 2020: Duane Michael Browne
• 2023: Cathy Darling
• 2024: Not Awarded

Deadline for PhD scholarship applications:

• Monday 2nd June 2025 Non-EU Applicants
• Monday 30th June 2025 for EU Applicants

Applicants will be informed of the decision by Friday 11th July 2025

The School offers up to four PhD scholarships consisting of:

• Fee remission of up to €7,130 per annum for four years subject to satisfactory progress each year
• An entrance award of €2,000 for the academic year of entry only
• Opportunities for teaching and research assistantships remunerated at the University’s hourly tutorial rate.

Two of the (up to) four PhD scholarships are earmarked for work with (opens in a new window)Dr Tatjana von Solodkoff on the philosophy of fiction, including but not limited to the metaphysics of fictional characters, and (opens in a new window)Dr Keith Wilson for work in the philosophy of perception and the senses, including multi-sensory or non-visual perception, naïve realism and the metaphysics of experience; spatial and/or temporal experience; philosophy of psychology and cognitive science.

When applying for the PhD programme, applicants should state on their application that they wish to be considered for the Scholarships.

Past Award Recipients

MA and PhD applicants are also encouraged to explore opportunities with outside funding agencies.  The information below relates to some of the more widely available sources, but is by no means exhaustive.

1. (opens in a new window)Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) grants for fees for Irish resident students (means-tested).
   
   
2. UCD Global scholarships for:
   
   • international students
   • past UCD students who studied abroad in non-EU countries
   • students who graduated from member universities of Universitas 21
   • students from certain countries.
     
     
3. For PhD students only: the Irish Research Council’s (IRC) (opens in a new window)Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship Scheme. Applications open in September and close at the end of October.