[Ireland] 4-year PhD Scholarships in Political Science - University of Dublin

University of Dublin, Trinity College Six Fully-funded Four-year Ph.D. Scholarships Department of Political Science, Trinity College Dublin

*Starting October 2008, covering fees and stipends of up to €16,500.*

Our four-year doctoral programme is designed to give students the highest level of training to become scholars at the forefront of the discipline. Most of our Ph.D. graduates have gone on to careers in research and teaching at established universities, while others have gone on to careers in government and business.

The Department of Political Science at Trinity ranks among the best political science departments in the world according to independent evaluations of its research and teaching (e.g. in the global ranking of political science departments conducted by Professor Simon Hix at the London School of Economics). Ph.D. researchers also benefit from the Department's strong links with Institute for International Integration Studies at Trinity College Dublin (http://www.tcd.ie/iiis/). This Institute brings together researchers from different disciplines to study international integration. In addition, the Department is involved in the Dublin School of Social Sciences, which provides graduate training in collaboration with University College Dublin.

The doctoral programme is designed to impart substantive knowledge about politics, and to train students in the techniques, including quantitative methods, necessary to recognize, design and implement cutting-edge research. The writing of a dissertation of original research follows a rigorous training in how to design and conduct research.

We seek outstanding and motivated graduates for entry to our doctoral programme in October 2008. Applicants are particularly welcome from students who wish to conduct research in areas in which the Department has particular research strengths: comparative European politics, European Union politics and policies, Irish politics, public policies, electoral systems, political parties, public opinion and electoral behaviour, the politics of international law, international organisations, and political theory. The Department also invites applications from students whose research develops innovative quantitative methods, such as the quantitative analysis of political texts, as this is another strong area of research among staff.

Prospective students are encouraged to consult the webpages of members of staff (http://www.tcd.ie/Political_Science/), and to email individual staff members who could be potential supervisors for their Ph.D. dissertations. General enquiries may be directed to the Director of Graduate Studies, Dr. Robert Thomson (thomsor@tcd.ie).

The deadline for applications to the doctoral programme for entry in October 2008 is April 1st 2008.

Students who require an early decision on their entry to the doctoral programme are encouraged to contact the Director of Graduate Studies.