Frequently Asked Questions

The Postgraduate Prospectus can be viewed online or downloaded from the Study website.

Details and application instructions on all of our postgraduate programmes can be found Academic Registry website.

All applicants whose first language is not English and who have not been educated through the medium of English must present a recognised qualification in the English language.

The Irish Department of Foreign Affairs issues visas to citizens of certain countries who wish to travel to Ireland. Further information on student visas and requirements can be found on the visa section of the Department of Foreign Affairs website.

Please visit the Trinity Study website for information and guidance relevant to international students.

Fees for postgraduate taught and research programmes are listed on the Student Finance page.

All applicants who apply for direct entry to the College (i.e. not through the Central Applications Office) must pay a non-returnable application fee of €55 per course application. Application fees are non-refundable in accordance with Regulation 11 of the Chapter on College Charges of Part II of the Calendar of Trinity College Dublin.

Normally, any deposit paid is non-refundable and non-transferable. If you decide to defer, your deposit will be retained to reserve your place for the following year.

Fees differ for applicants based on their "EU or Non-EU status" as assessed by Trinity's Academic Registry. This status is based on agreed rules and regulations and is not based simply on your nationality, your passport or your country of birth. Please visit the Postgraduate Fees & Finances webpage for more information.

Students will receive an in-tray message to their my.tcd.ie portal, advising them that registration is open. The student should then click on the “Register” tab in the left hand corner of their portal and complete all of the tasks shown.

As each task is completed the red X beside the task will turn to a green tick. When all tasks have been completed the student will then be fully registered and will be prompted to print a “Confirmation of Registration” document. This document should be presented at the dedicated ID Card Issue Desk (to be advised) (in the case of September new entrants) or the Academic Registry Service Desk (in the case of March new entrants) to obtain a new student ID card.

Students who have any difficulty in completing the online registration process should call to the Academic Registry for assistance or may submit an enquiry via AskTCD using the ‘Log an Academic Registry Enquiry’ button, or by clicking the ASK AR button on the registration screens.

Please visit the Academic Year Structure webpage for the list of important dates.

Please visit the Library website for guidance on the opening hours. 

You should discuss your situation with your Supervisor or Course Co-ordinator/Director or the Director of Teaching & Learning in your School.

Please visit the Academic Registry's FAQ page or email Graduation@tcd.ie.

Please visit the Academic Registry's FAQ page or contact Academic Registry through AskTCD using the ‘Log an Academic Registry Enquiry’ button.

You will have to make contact with academic staff in a relevant research field and identify a potential supervisor. To assist you with this, the Trinity website is comprehensive and features all relevant information about our research activities, as well as full research profiles of our staff.

There are no closing dates for application for higher degrees by research but there are only two registration periods (September and March). Applicants are advised to apply as early as possible prior to their chosen registration period as supervisory capacity may be limited.

Students are required to participate in taught modules and obtain between 10 and 30 ECTS during the lifespan of their PhD research. Your School may have specific and bespoke requirements as to how these credits are obtained or which modules must be undertaken. You should discuss these requirements with your School and/or Supervisor.

Annual progress reporting is an essential requirement for all postgraduate students on the research register (full and part-time) in Trinity College Dublin. Progress reports should be completed with the supervisor / supervisory team and are submitted locally to a designated administrator within the School. Contact your supervisor or the Director of Teaching and Learning (PG) in the school in which you are registered for any queries. 

You can apply for an extension to your thesis submission deadline by emailing PGcases@tcd.ie in Academic Registry. Please ensure you have written confirmation of support from your Supervisor or Director of Teaching and Learning (PG) as it must be submitted with the request. The request are reviewed on a case by case basis. The Graduate Studies Office will revert with a decision from the Dean of Graduate Studies.

If you wish to request a further extension on the grounds related to Covid-19, please fill in the webform available at this link: Extension Request Form.

A transfer process shall be held for all students on the Masters (M.Litt. or M.Sc.) register to decide on their eligibility to be transferred to the Ph.D. register. It is to be approached positively and constructively by all parties as an essential part in the student’s learning experience. The transfer process shall normally be completed by June the 30^th of Year 2 for full-time students who registered in September and Year 3 for part-time students. Students who entered on the March register should complete this process by January 31^st of Year 2, if full-time, or Year 3 if part-time.  The transfer process requires the student to prepare a transfer report; the transfer report should be written according to the guidelines issued by the appropriate Director of Teaching and Learning (Postgraduate). The student must ensure that a draft of the transfer report is made available to the Supervisor(s) with sufficient time for the Supervisor(s) to read it and provide comments.

The student shall then be invited to attend a transfer interview. The transfer panel for each student is appointed by the Director of Teaching and Learning (Postgraduate) and shall consist of at least two members.

Written feedback shall be given to the student as soon as possible after the transfer interview. The recommendation of the transfer panel shall be one of the following: (a) transfer forthwith, (b) transfer after some minor changes have been made to the transfer report, (c) transfer not recommended at this time: a new report to be written and transfer interview to be held again as soon as possible thereafter, (d) continue on the Master's register to complete a Master’s thesis, or (e) not to continue as a research postgraduate student.

A student may appeal the result of a transfer interview.

PhD students must study a minimum of taught components equating to 10-ECTS credits. You should check with your supervisor if your School has any specific requirements that ask you to obtain more than 10-ECTS of credit or requires you to take specific modules to fulfil their requirements. For students who are not constrained by the approach in their School, there is a vast array of options available to them to fulfil the taught components of the structured PhD, which are listed on the Structured PhD Modules page.

Yes, the Research Integrity and Impact in an Open Scholarship Era (CA7000) coordinated by the Library is a mandatory module which is delivered online and must be taken at any stage prior to the student undertaking his or her confirmation/transfer process.

Please get in touch by emailing ResearchIntegrity_CA7000@tcd.ie a brief description of the issue and the module coordinator will be in touch to offer their assistance.

Please read our PhD Viva Guide, PDF 765.2 KB.

From your Supervisor and Calendar Part III. Please contact gsothese@tcd.ie with any queries relating to Thesis Submissions.

The word limit for a Ph.D. thesis is 100,000 words of text (exclusive of footnotes and bibliography). 

Guidelines for the Submission of Theses and Dissertations , PDF 182KB provide the information on the official requirements. Please visit the Submitting Your Thesis page on the Library's website for detailed instructions on how to submit your thesis.

The Thesis Intention to Submit Form, PDF must be completed and returned at least one month prior to submission date by every postgraduate research student to the Director of Teaching and Learning Postgraduate in their School and the Academic Registry at gsothese@tcd. Submitting this form initiates the formal nomination of examiners for the thesis.

The normal deadline for thesis submission is the last day of August for September registrants (30th September including Dean's Grace), and the last day of February for March registrants (31st March including Dean's Grace).

You do not need to apply for Dean's Grace as it is automatically added to your record.

Yes, you can apply for a stay of deposition to your thesis to the Dean of Graduate Studies by using the online Stay of Deposition Form.

If you have paid full fees and withdraw prior to 31 January, you would be liable for first term but entitled to the refund of tuition fees for Semester 2. If you only paid the tuition fees for Semester 1, you will not be eligible for a refund. 

As this is a pilot scheme, the supervision and progress of all Non-Resident Ph.D. students will be closely monitored by the Office of the Dean of Graduate Studies. For further information on the general requirements of the scheme itself, please contact the Graduate Studies Office directly via genadgso@tcd.ie. Further information is available in the Non-Resident PhD Programme Fact Sheet, PDF 164.3 KB. If you wish to discuss applying for a Non-Resident Ph.D. Programme, please contact Research Admissions at research.admissions@tcd.ie.

Students on the Non-Resident register are not eligible for any university funding models including the Ussher, 1252 awards and Provost’s Project awards.

No, unless there are rare, exceptional circumstances the status of the student remains the same in line with other 'categorisation'. 

You can defer an unconditional offer if you have support from your Course Director/Coordinator, you paid your deposit and you have not already registered. If you already registered, you must apply to go off-books and there may be fees implications. Please not that offers cannot be deferred indefinitely.

Please contact Academic Registry through AskTCD using the ‘Log an Academic Registry Enquiry’ button, or visit the Student Finance FAQ online.

ou can find support from Postgraduate Advisory Service at Postgrad.Support@tcd.ie.

Student Counselling is available at student-counselling@tcd.ie.

Find information regarding student supports and services.

The Library’s Teaching and Research Support team is available online. They’ve listed a number of supports.

The Disability Service Team are available to meet with students in person, via MS Teams, phone or email. Please visit our contact page to get in touch or book an appointment with a member of the Disability Service Team. The DS Solutions Drop-in online appointments can be booked at 15-minute intervals between 11am and 3pm, Monday to Friday, through our Drop-in booking link. For general queries please email askds@tcd.ie, phone 01 896 3111, 087 113 3185, or visit our FAQ page.

Please contact Accommodation Office to discuss your needs. 

If you are a current student, check the Visas and Immigration - Frequently Asked Questions.

Trinity does not offer the option of a PhD by publication, except for those seeking the award of a Higher Doctorate. However, students can pursue a PhD that includes publications, as long as these publications report on research carried out while the candidate is on the research register. There is no set format or requirements, as practices vary across Schools, but there is a core requirement that a coherent thesis be submitted for examination. Further information is available in the Calendar:
83 A thesis submitted for a higher degree may be based on, or include single authored or multi-authored/collaborative papers and writings already published by the candidate, if the studies from which they derive have been carried out during the period of registration on the higher degree register. Such writings must be fully integrated into the body of the thesis. Where chapter(s) are jointly authored, the student must outline at the beginning of the chapter the exact nature of his or her contribution to the chapter. For avoidance of doubt, a thesis containing a published work is examined according to the standard rules for examination of any thesis submitted for a higher degree. In particular, the criteria in Paragraphs 46 and 47 of Section II, Part III of the University Calendar apply irrespective of whether the thesis contains single authored or multi-authored/collaborative papers.

Joint supervision is permitted, if prior approval has been obtained from the Dean of Graduate Studies using the form at this link. In all cases of joint supervision, one individual shall be the Principal Supervisor, and that person should be in the School in which the student is registered. The Co-Supervisor, if appointed, must be willing and eligible to assume the role of the Principal Supervisor if the latter becomes unavailable.

For more guidance, see Chapter 5, The Supervision Relationship (p. 28 – 32) in the Postgraduate Research Student Handbook:  https://www.tcd.ie/media/tcd/graduate-studies/pdfs/research-handbook-21.pdf.

There are two main models: the co-supervision model where supervisors contribute equally, even where one signs off as the principal supervisor; and the primary/secondary supervision model where a principal supervisor has responsibility for the student and oversees the research, and the co-supervisor contributes in the specific area of their expertise.

Under Calendar regulations, a co-supervisor must be on an academic contract with Trinity: (ii) The Co-Supervisor must be a Professor, Associate Professor, Senior Lecturer or Lecturer, including those with Research and Clinical titles. Members of the academic staff on contract may be a Co-Supervisor, but only if they are on a contract of indefinite duration or a contract which extends beyond the maximum period of the student’s registration (i.e., 2 years for a Masters, 4 for a PhD).

A visiting academic, a part-time non-permanent member of the academic staff, or an emeritus staff member listed in the University Calendar may be nominated as an Adjunct Supervisor. A case may be made to the Dean of Graduate Studies for the appointment of an adjunct supervisor external to College on an honorary basis. The adjunct supervisor may not necessarily be from a university background; e.g., they could be from a company (perhaps in a research role) or cultural agency. However, in this case a CV must be submitted along with a description of their proposed contribution to the supervision of the student.

See Terms of Reference for Thesis Committees, PDF 404.1 KB.

Thesis Committees are part of the support and evaluation structure for PhD students at Trinity. They are assigned to each PhD candidate to monitor and advise in relation to their progress throughout the lifespan of the structured PhD.

The Thesis Committee model has been adopted to enhance the supervisor – research student relationship and to ensure quality supervision practice in line with international best practice.

Thesis Committees perform three key functions. They:

1. support the academic progress of the student and provide guidance on their development as PhD researchers.
2. assess and monitor research progress through formal review processes (i.e., annual review and confirmation / transfer interview) and agree an appropriate recommendation.
3. support the student-supervisor relationship and enhance the overall quality and rigour of the supervision process.

Detailed guidance on the appointment, membership and functions of Thesis Committees has been provided in Terms of Reference for Thesis Committees: https://www.tcd.ie/media/tcd/graduate-studies/pdfs/terms-ref-gsc-23.pdf

Additionally, roles and responsibilities of Thesis Committee members have been defined in the Thesis Committee Guidelines: https://www.tcd.ie/media/tcd/graduate-studies/pdfs/thesis-committee-guidelines.pdf

Within two months of a student’s initial registration, Schools should normally have appointed a thesis committee.  A Thesis Committee comprises at least two members independent of the supervisor and co-supervisors (Supervisors and co-supervisors cannot be formal members of a Thesis Committee). One member must be an independent academic member of Trinity staff from within the School, who is familiar with the student’s research area. The second may be an additional academic member of staff from within the School or elsewhere in the university or a recognised external expert in the student’s field of study.

For guidance on the roles and responsibilities of Schools in relation to Thesis Committees please read our  Thesis Committee Guidelines:

https://www.tcd.ie/media/tcd/graduate-studies/pdfs/thesis-committee-guidelines.pdf

As set out in the Calendar, “Directors of Teaching and Learning (Postgraduate) will exercise particular care in reviewing the progress of students after one year of research. The Director of Teaching and Learning (Postgraduate) in consultation with the Supervisor(s) and the members of the student’s Thesis Committee will only recommend continuing registration as a research student if the candidate has clearly established to the staff concerned sufficient commitment and degree of promise that it seems reasonable to allow the candidate to proceed. In the event of disagreement between the Supervisor(s) and a student’s Thesis Committee as to whether the student’s registration should be continued, the matter should be mediated, in the first instance, by the Director of Teaching and Learning (Postgraduate) and, if no resolution can be achieved, by the Dean of Graduate Studies.”

If the student expresses concerns about supervision to the non-supervisory members of the committee, these should be relayed to the DTLP who should follow the Guidelines on managing conflict in the supervision relationship: Conflict in Supervision - Graduate Studies | Trinity College Dublin

See link here for Annual Review Form, Doc 105.9 KB

See link here for Confirmation Report Template, DOC 96.8KB.

The visa problems for non-EU students may preclude them from attending as required for the Transfer/Confirmation process and the examination - the minimum requirements associated with the programme. These are outside our control and may affect non-EU students differently depending on their country of origin.

Yes, a valid PPS number is required for these schemes and only residents can acquire a PPS.

No - the status of the student remains the same in line with other 'categorisation' - unless there are rare, exceptional circumstances.

No reduction is planned: 20 ECTS is already lower than most other programmes require and was the minimum threshold recommended by the working group and proposed to Council.

Yes, the tuition fees remain the same.

A number of new modules are coming on stream, including through the Careers Office and CAPSL. In addition, students may take any modules available within the Home School that are relevant to their area of study and so we would hope that it would not be necessary to create new modules or modify existing offerings.

The internal examiner submits the joint post viva report within 24 hours of the viva voce.

Where possible, please ensure an electronic signature is included. If not possible, please include the email trail confirming the joint report.

Please visit the Academic Affairs website for more information and useful resources.

For essential detailed guidance and comprehensive resources on pg course development (and revision of existing courses) staff should go directly to Academic Affairs Course Development site. Staff should also contact the Academic Affairs directly.

Please visit the Academic Affairs website section for more information and useful resources.