Trinity Research Doctorate (Sanctuary) Award (PhD) 2026-27

The Trinity Research Doctorate (Sanctuary) Award is open to applicants in the Irish international protection system, including those seeking asylum, with temporary protection, with refugee status or permission to remain in Ireland on humanitarian grounds. Applicants must have received an unconditional offer for admission to the full-time PhD research register in Trinity College Dublin with the support of a Principal Supervisor. 

The scholarship covers:

• Tuition fees for a four year (full-time) structured PhD programme/research doctorate.
• An annual tax-free stipend of €25,000.

Eligibility

• Applicants must have received an unconditional offer for admission by April 1st, 2026 to the full-time PhD research register in Trinity College Dublin with the support of a Principal Supervisor. This implies that applicants will have met all academic requirements including English language requirements.
• Applicants must be residing in the Republic of Ireland.
• Applicants must be in the international protection system, temporary protection, seeking asylum, or have refugee status or permission to remain in Ireland on humanitarian grounds.
• Applicants must be able to commence studies in the academic year 2026-27 (September 2026, and no later than March 2027).

Application Process

Applicants for the Trinity Research Doctorate (Sanctuary) Award must first have an offer of admission to the full-time PhD register in Trinity. Applicants should liaise directly with the potential Primary Supervisor for guidance through the official application process for admission to the PhD register. Guidance on how to identify a potential research supervisor and submit a research proposal for consideration is available here.

Once applicants have an offer for admission to the full-time PhD register, they should complete the separate application process for the Trinity Research Doctorate (Sanctuary) Award.

Application for the Award is a two-part process, as follows:

• the applicant must complete the specific application form for the Trinity Research Doctorate (Sanctuary) Award, and 
• their named Principal Supervisor must complete the required supervisor form.  (Note: access to this form is restricted to Trinity staff.) The Supervisor should complete the required template no later than April 29th, 2026.

For reference only, and to assist the applicant prepare their application, the application template are available for download below:

FOR REFERENCE ONLY: APPLICANT FORM

FOR REFERENCE ONLY: SUPERVISOR FORM

Please note that only applications submitted via the prescribed form will be accepted. Applicants are advised to complete the applicant form in one sitting.

Required Documents

Following successful online submission of the application form, the applicant will be provided with a link to an online folder to upload documentation confirming your legal / immigration status. The online application will be deemed complete after the subsequent submission of the required documents. Only complete applications will be given consideration by the Evaluation Panel.

Evaluation Criteria

Complete applications will be scored out of a total of 100 marks and allocated across four categories as follows:

• 30 marks for the quality of research design and methodology.
• 25 marks for research impact including overall significance and degree of innovation of the project. Note: It will be a requirement to evidence consideration has been given to the project’s contribution towards enhancing our local and global social and sustainability ambitions. This element will not be weighted but is a mandatory requirement in each application.
• 25 marks for evidence of support of the supervisor and appropriate supervision supports for the applicant.
• 20 marks for evidence related to the impact of an award on the student’s research trajectory.

Evaluation Process

Each completed application will be reviewed and scored by internal cross-faculty reviewers.  Thereafter, short-listed applications will be evaluated by a panel, chaired by the Dean of Graduate Studies, and include the Chair of the University of Sanctuary Steering Committee, an academic representative from each Faculty, and a representative of the Irish Refugee Council (or similar) on the basis of the full evaluation criteria.

Shortlisted applications may be invited to interview, to be determined by the Evaluation Panel. The decision as to which applicant will receive the Trinity Research Doctorate (Sanctuary) Award for 2026-27 is at the sole discretion of the evaluation panel whose decision on the matter is final.

All applicants will be contacted by the Dean of Graduate Studies at the end of the evaluation process. Note: unsuccessful applicants to the Trinity Research Doctorate (Sanctuary) Award, who are in receipt of an unconditional offer, will remain eligible for admission to the PhD register and may be considered for other available awards (as appropriate).

Timeline

• Application for TCD admission in 2026-27 opens: October 31st, 2025.
• Application to TRD Sanctuary Award opens: January 17th, 2026.
• Application to TRD Sanctuary Award closes: April 1st, 2026.
• Outcome of evaluation process expected: early June 2026.

Contact

Please email any queries to global.scholarships@tcd.ie.  

University of Sanctuary

For more information about Trinity’s University of Sanctuary work, please see here.

Trinity Research Doctorate Awards

For more information about Trinity Research Doctorate Awards please see here.