PhD Studentship in Law: ‘Building refugee resilience through an ethical-legal analysis of the international protection framework in Ireland’

Applications are now open for a funded PhD Research in Law (Forced Migration) on ‘Building refugee resilience through an ethical-legal analysis of the international protection framework in Ireland’ Project

Summary of Post

Doctoral Researcher Law (PhD programme)

The School of Law, at Trinity College Dublin is seeking to recruit a highly motivated and outstanding doctoral researcher for a period of 4 years (48 months). The successful candidate will conduct an innovative project developing an ethical-legal framework that transcends traditional definitions of ‘harm’ in forced displacement contexts by empowering and giving agency to refugees and protection communities. They will be co-supervised by Dr Christiane Ahlborn (Assistant Professor of Public International Law, School of Law, primary supervisor) and Dr Ghaiath Hussein (Assistant Professor of Medical Ethics, School of Medicine, secondary supervisor).

International protection applicants and beneficiaries are typically seen as victims of persecution or ‘harm’ who do not have significant agency in determining the parameters of their forced displacement. Drawing on insights from ethics and the law, the research analyses how Ireland’s legal framework could foster resilience among international protection beneficiaries. The methodology combines desk-based analysis across legal and ethical disciplines, with semi-structured interviews with lawmakers and international protection applicants and beneficiaries. The analysis explores reframing legal provisions to recognise protection beneficiaries as resilient survivors rather than victims of harm, acknowledging their meaningful contributions to host communities. Through an interdisciplinary lens, the project integrates legal and ethical perspectives to develop a transformative understanding of the protection framework that honours the complexity of the forced displacement process.

Applicants are asked to submit a research statement that demonstrates how their research background and skills match with the project, and how they would design the project (for more information, see the ‘Application procedure’ below).

Funding Information

Trinity Research Doctorate Award for Group-based Research Project

The PhD will be funded through the Trinity Research Doctorate Award for Group-based Research Projects. The successful candidate will be part of an interdisciplinary group of researchers working on projects linked under the umbrella project ‘Refugee-thrive: Building trauma-informed refugee resilience in the face of the evolving challenges of forced displacement’. The four PhD projects are:

1. Comparing refugee children’s resilience in Irish schools: EU Temporary Protection and other refugee backgrounds.
2. Refugees as peace builders: countering populist narratives and building refugee resilience for integration.
3. Mutual adaptation of refugees and the host society: building resilient communities through informal language learning and story-telling.
4. Building refugee resilience through an ethical-legal analysis of the international protection framework in Ireland.

Moving beyond traditional views of refugees as recipients of aid, these projects recognise their capacity for resilience - their ability to navigate towards and negotiate for resources in culturally meaningful ways. By pairing disciplines in innovative combinations (sociology with psychotherapy, peace studies with nursing and midwifery, linguistics with literature and law with medical ethics), Refugee-Thrive explores how institutional practices, refugee agency, community engagement and legal frameworks can better support refugee agency, resilience and inclusion in Ireland.

This research directly advances multiple UN Sustainable Development Goals by promoting quality education (SDG4), gender equality (SDG5), reduced inequalities (SDG10), and peaceful societies (SDG16). The programme ensures social impact by actively involving refugee communities throughout the research process, from design to dissemination. Output will include academic publications, evidence-based policy recommendations across education, health, housing and justice sectors, media engagement, multilingual resources, community workshops and a major conference uniting refugee communities, policymakers and service providers.

The successful candidate is expected to contribute to the ‘Refugee-thrive’ project and to the academic activities of the Trinity Centre for Forced Migration Studies (TCFMS). TCFMS creates an interdisciplinary community connecting research, teaching, policy and practice. By bringing together academics, practitioners, and experts with lived experience, TCFMS develops collaborative research initiatives aimed at improving outcomes for forcibly displaced persons. The successful candidate will join this dynamic research community, benefiting from cross-disciplinary networks and opportunities to contribute to meaningful, impact-oriented scholarship.

Applicant Profile

Applicants are expected to have a strong interest in the topic and to be intrinsically motivated to work on the PhD project as part of ‘Refugee-thrive’.

Major research activities conducted by the candidate will involve (1) collaborating closely with your research supervisors; (2) becoming familiar with the main theoretical debates in the field by engaging in a systematic reading of the literature and writing a state-of-the-art literature review for your project; (3) designing qualitative research instruments including semi-structured interviews; (4) summarizing and interpreting results for a social science audience and developing policy implications; (5) presenting work in front of different audiences at local, national and international level in conferences or networks; (6) publishing articles arising from the study together with the research supervisors.

We are looking for enthusiastic PhD candidates who would like to write a cutting-edge PhD dissertation at Trinity College Dublin.

Qualifications

• a high 2.1 or 1st class degree at the undergraduate level in law or a related discipline with substantial exposure to legal/regulatory issues is essential; a relevant Master’s degree is desirable.

Essential research skills

• excellent analytical skills;
• familiarity with international migration law and human rights law;
• experience analysing ethical-legal issues;
• experience in the management and analysis of qualitative data in a comparative perspective

Other essential knowledge and skills

• strong interpersonal and relational skills;
• an interdisciplinary approach;
• excellent written and verbal communication skills in English;
• ability to structure and pursue an independent research project;
• strong motivation to publish in academic journals;
• very good organisational skills;
• ability to work effectively in a team.

Desirable skills

• interest in or basic knowledge of research in ethics;
• interest in or basic knowledge of the Irish legal and political system;
• interest in pursuing an academic or teaching career.

The PhD programme at the School of Law, Trinity College Dublin

The candidate will join the PhD programme at the School of Law of Trinity College Dublin, Ireland’s leading university which is located on a historic campus in the heart of Dublin. The School of Law will provide all logistic, academic and intellectual support and integrate the successful candidate into a vibrant doctoral programme at TCD. A central dedicated shared workspace is exclusively available for full-time postgraduate research students which is adjoined by a seminar room.

The Law School offers a dedicated research module, which guides PhD students in formulating and refining their research question, fostering their legal writing and oral presentation skills, and applying for research funding. Moreover, PhD students at the School of Law may participate in a variety of other training courses and audit modules in its different Master’s programmes. The School of Law is a member of the Trinity Research in Social Sciences (TRiSS), which connects social scientists from multiple schools and research themes for the purposes of collaboration. PhD students at the School of Law have access to TRiSS resources and funding.

PhD students are expected to collaborate closely with their supervisors and will produce a PhD in the form of a dissertation.

Standard expectations of this post

• Critical, systematic and analytical review of relevant literature for the project;
• Writing academic output (working papers, chapters, journal articles) in excellent English;
• Conducting empirical research using primarily qualitative methods;
• Actively writing and submitting research papers for publication and contributing to joint projects or related submissions with the PhD supervisors;
• Attending meetings, workshops, and conferences;
• Disseminating academic work to specialised and general audiences

Application Procedure

Informal enquiries are welcome and can be made directly to Dr Christiane Ahlborn, Assistant Professor of Public International Law, School of Law (ahlbornc@tcd.ie) or Dr Ghaiath Hussein, Assistant Professor of Medical Ethics, School of Medicine (husseing@tcd.ie).

To apply candidates should submit via email to Dr Christiane Ahlborn (ahlbornc@tcd.ie) and Dr Ghaiath Hussein (husseing@tcd.ie):

1. a motivation letter clearly indicating how the applicant’s profile and skills fit the requirements of the job position (max. 1 page);
2. a full curriculum vitae;
3. full transcripts;
4. a concise research statement no longer than 1,500 words excluding references (see explanation below) the names and contact details of two referees (with email addresses included);
5. at least one example of your written work (in English) that shows your analytical and writing skills in law or a related discipline.

via email to Dr Christiane Ahlborn, (ahlbornc@tcd.ie) AND Dr Ghaiath Hussein, Assistant Professor of Medical Ethics, School of Medicine (husseing@tcd.ie)

Closing date

12 June 2025 (23:59 BST)

A copy of the above post is also available to download here.