Apply to the SPHeRE PhD Programme
Scholar applications are closed for 2024 academic year but will open up again in March 2025 for the 2025 academic year.
There are three modes of application for entry to the SPHeRE Structured PhD Programme:
- The first mode is for individual applicants who wish to enrol on the Programme as a HRB SPHeRE Funded Scholar (full-time) (Applications are closed for 2024)
- The second mode is for individual applicants who wish to enrol on the Programme as a Self-Funded Scholar (part-time or full-time) (Applications are closed for 2024)
- The third mode is for individual applicants who wish to enrol on the Programme as an alternatively funded Scholar (part-time or full-time) (Applications are closed for 2024)
Funding Bodies (such as charities, philanthropic organisations or employers) or PIs/Supervisors that have funding for a Scholar or a tied bursary (either externally funded or tied to their own institutions) that can fund a Scholar for 4 years can also apply for inclusion of their candidate on the Programme.
No additional fees are payable to the SPHeRE Programme.
Please contact SPHeRE Programme Manager Katherine Walsh at katherinewalsh@rcsi.com for further information on enrolling a Scholar on the programme.
Mandatory in-person SPHeRE Programme Orientation will take place in person Wednesday 25th-Friday 27th September 2024 in RCSI and TCD.
Teaching takes place in person each week in year 1 and attendance is mandatory.
1. Individual applicants: HRB SPHeRE Funded (full-time only)
Applications are now closed for SPHeRE funded Scholarships for September 2024.
The full-time 4 year structured PhD Programme includes:
- Annual stipend of €25,000, plus laptop computer, plus PhD fees
- 6 taught modules completed in the first year of the Programme
- A workshop programme which runs over four years
- 8-week specialist rotation in Irish health related agencies in the first year
- Placement with a prestigious overseas agency to further PhD project development in the second or third years
Six HRB SPHeRE Funded Scholarships are available each year. Applicants who wish to apply for a SPHeRE funded Scholarship must submit an application form and select their preferred project (or a maximum of 3 projects).
Projects are linked to an institution, and so Scholars will be based at the institution to which the project is linked. It will not be possible for Scholars to move a project to their preferred institution
The guidance above will be updated for the 2025 academic year.
2. Individual applicants: Self-Funded Scholar (part-time or full-time)
Self-funded Scholar applications are now closed for September 2024.
Individual self-funded applicants, either full-time or part-time, who either do not apply for a HRB SPHeRE Scholarship, or are not successful in receiving one, but are deemed suitable for entry to the SPHeRE Programme may register at any of the nine institutions below where the relevant University registrations and fees are payable.
No additional fees are payable to the SPHeRE Programme.
- Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI)
- Trinity College Dublin,
- University College Cork (UCC)
- Dublin City University (DCU)
- The National University of Ireland, Maynooth (MU)
- Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin)
- University College Dublin (UCD)
- University of Galway
- University of Limerick (UL)
3. Individual applicants: Alternatively Funded Scholars
If you wish to apply as an Alternatively Funded Scholar (meaning you already have a source of funding from a workplace, institution etc.) for the 2025-2026 academic year please contact SPHeRE Programme Manager Katherine Walsh at katherinewalsh@rcsi.com
Applications will be assessed on a rolling basis for candidates who are alternatively funded.
If you have any questions about the SPHeRE Programme or the application process
please contact sphereprogramme@gmail.com