Scholarships

The Hilary and Galen Weston Foundation Scholarship

The Hilary and Galen Weston Foundation Scholarship is a collaboration between the Hilary and Galen Weston Foundation and Trinity Business School aimed at supporting young people from underrepresented socio-economic backgrounds to access postgraduate education and develop specialisms in sustainable business by studying the MSc in Responsible Business & Sustainability at Trinity Business School.

The Hilary and Galen Weston Foundation Scholarship is open to students from underrepresented socio-economic backgrounds who are either Irish nationals or have been resident in the Irish State for three of the last five years. Furthermore, students cannot be already qualified at master’s level or higher and need to meet the criteria of admission for the MSc Responsible Business & Sustainability at Trinity Business School in the 2026/27 academic year. To be awarded the scholarship, students need to accept the offer of a place in the MSc Responsible Business & Sustainability at Trinity Business School.

The scholarship covers full EU fees (€16,575) for the MSc Responsible Business & Sustainability programme, full student levies and charges (approx. €311), as well as a monthly stipend of €2,000 covering Michaelmas, Hilary, and Trinity term of the academic year (i.e. 11 months in total, Sept 2026- July 2027). A total of four scholarships are available for academic year 2026/27.

Eligibility

Students from underrepresented socio-economic backgrounds face situations, such as:

• Receiving government funding for low-income households during their undergraduate studies (in Ireland, for example, the HEAR access route, SUSI, the 1916 Bursary Fund).
• Being in care as a looked-after child for at least 13 weeks since the age of 14 and being aged under 25 on the first day of the course.
• Being estranged from their parents and being aged under 25 on the first day of the course.
• Being a carer for an ill or disabled family member.
• Being from a minority group.
• Coming from a deprived area.
• Coming from an area where it is unusual for people to go to university.
• Being the first in the family to go to university.
• Having a disability in conjunction with socio-economic factors, as described above

Please note that this list is indicative but not exhaustive. It is essential that applicants back up their eligibility with relevant documentation, as part of their application.

Applicants are advised to refer to official statistics and data from government, local authorities or registered civil society organizations to support their application. Pobal, for example, offers deprivation statistics and maps which can be used to understand how deprivation is distributed geographically across Ireland. In addition, we note that documentation proofing eligibility for the funding schemes described in the first point above (i.e., HEAR, SUSI, 1916 Bursary Fund) and/or proof of received funding support from these schemes are considered suitable to support the application for this scholarship.

Application Process

1. Students wishing to be consideredfor this scholarship should hold an offer for the MSc Responsible Business & Sustainability for AY 2026/27 (please note that you must submit your course application by 11^th March 2026 to meet the scholarship application deadline).
2. Offer-holders, should submit their CV, supporting documentation for eligibility, plus
   1 video addressing the following 2 questions in max. 3 minutes:

Q1. Personal Journey and Experience: Describe your personal background and academic journey, including any specific challenges, circumstances, or obstacles you have faced. In what ways does your experience define you as a student from an underrepresented socio-economic (or your specific lived experience) background within the context of postgraduate education?

Q2. Impact and Future opportunities: Think about the next five years after completing your MSc degree. How do you intend to use the skills and specialisation you gain in Responsible Business and Sustainability to drive significant, positive change? In your answer, focus on the type of impact you hope to make, whether that is within a specific sector, a community initiative, or through a new policy or model.

Don’t be afraid to be creative with your videos! Your application should consist of a single pdf file containing all the requested documentation plus a link to a cloud storage where your video can be accessed. The video link must be open access, ensuring it can be viewed by all panelists.

Please send your application to business.masters@tcd.ie by 5pm on Wednesday, 1^st April 2026 with HGWF Scholarship Application 2026 as the Subject line.

It is also important to note that we cannot offer any form of pre-check of the application or supporting documentation before the submission deadline. After the deadline, candidates may be contacted as part of the selection process to provide additional clarifications regarding their applications.

Trinity Business School and the Hilary and Galen Weston Foundation are pleased to reserve two scholarships of similar value specifically for outstanding candidates from non-EU emerging economies. Applicants from these regions who meet the criteria of admission will be automatically considered for these highly competitive awards based on the strength of their course application.

Any further questions relating to this process should be directed to business.masters@tcd.ie