Scholarships for Masters Students in Ireland

If you want to be a part of the legacy of world-class education at Irish universities, there are a number of Masters scholarships and other funding options available to support both national and international students.

As an added bonus, international students pay the same rate as domestic students for most courses. However, the tuition fee in Ireland depends greatly on the course and the institution.

This guide lists, in detail, the cost of a Masters course in Ireland and the funding options that are available to you as an international student

The cost of studying in Ireland varies between programmes and subject areas. It is always a good idea to double check the fee with your university before calculating the total cost of your Masters and how much funding you require.

Though this is not the case for all programmes, university fees for international students in Ireland (non-EU nationals) are sometimes higher. Business courses are more likely to have similar fees for international and domestic students, whereas Arts and Humanities courses are likely to charge higher fees to non-EU students. We have created the table below with data from the official Study in Ireland website so you can compare the university fees in Ireland between different programmes and check if you’ll be charged more as a non-EU national.

Even though international students in Ireland usually pay about the same, the tuition fee is just one of the many things you'll need to budget for. The cost of studying in Ireland can add up when you start thinking about accommodation, food, entertainment etc, and it is always a good idea to look at the funding options available whether you are a domestic or international Masters student.

You can also have a look at our living in Ireland guide to know more about the cost of living, which will help you work out how much you need to fund your studies and student life.

This scholarship scheme is managed by the Irish Higher Education Authority (HEA) and is targeted at non-EU/EEA nationals. Successful applicants can use the scholarship to fund one year of Masters study at an Irish university (Bachelors and PhD programmes are also eligible).

The Government of Ireland International Education Scholarship provides the following benefits:

• €10,000 stipend for living costs
• Full tuition fee waiver

You’ll receive the stipend in two €5,000 payments from your higher education institution.

You should make your application through the online portal. You’ll be assessed on the following areas:

• Academic performance and work experience
• Two references
• A personal statement covering your plans to involve yourself in Irish society and to promote links with Ireland, as well as how the scholarship will benefit you and your country of origin

You’ll then hear if your application has been successful by the beginning of June

Find out more by visiting the Higher Education Authority website.

The Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship Programme is funded by the Irish Department of Education and Skills and administered by the Irish Research Council.

It can be used to fund a research Masters or a PhD in any discipline at an Irish university.

The scholarship programme is open to domestic and international students from around the world. You’ll need to have a first-class or upper second-class Bachelors (or the international equivalent) degree in order to be eligible.

If you’re successful in applying for a scholarship, you’ll receive the following financial support:

• An annual stipend of €22,000
• A contribution to your tuition fees of up to €5,750 per year
• A contribution to your direct research expenses of €3,250 per year

Online applications open at the beginning of September, with a deadline at the start of November.

You’ll need to find a primary supervisor who will supervise your research project and provide the details of two academic referees.

You can read more about the postgraduate scholarship programme on the Irish Research Council website.

Administered by the Irish Research Council, this programme allows students to complete a research project – through a research Masters or a PhD – in collaboration with an Irish employment partner.

An employment partner could be a business, charity, non-profit organisation or a public body (you can see a list of previous awardees on the Irish Research Council website). You’ll split your time between this company and an Irish higher education institution.

Under the terms of the Employment-Based Postgraduate Programme, researchers will receive a full salary during their studies. Your employer will be expected to provide at least €10,000 per year towards your salary / travel expenses, while the scholarship will itself provide €31,000 per year, broken down into the following elements:

• €22,000 contribution to your salary
• €5,750 towards tuition fees
• €3,250 towards direct research expenses

You should apply through the Irish Research Council’s online application portal (the deadline is usually at the end of February). Before beginning your application, you’ll need to contact – and receive approval from – an academic supervisor and an employment mentor, as well as two referees.

Find out more about the Employment-Based Postgraduate Programme.

The Irish Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) offers around 200 postgraduate scholarships in Ireland for a fully-funded one-year Masters through its Irish Aid Fellowships scheme. These Masters scholarships provide successful applicants with the following benefits

• Tuition fee waiver
• Travel expenses
• Accommodation and living costs

There are several fellowship programmes targeting various countries and regions around the world, each with slightly different entry requirements and eligibility criteria. The fellowship also only targets certain eligible course so it is important that you check if the course you’re interested in is in fact one of the eligible courses.

The largest ‘strand’ of the scheme is the Ireland-Africa Fellows Programme, which resident nationals from these countries can apply for: Burundi, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

In order to be eligible, you’ll need two or three years of work experience (including voluntary positions and internships). You should also have a first or second-class honours Bachelors degree.

These are the other Irish Aid Fellowships:

• Ireland-Asia Fellows Programme for Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam nationals
• Ireland-Vietnam Fellows Programme for Vietnam nationals
• Ireland-Palestine Scholarship Programme for Palestine nationals
• Kader Asmal Fellowship for South Africa nationals
• Ireland-SIDS Fellows Programme for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in the Pacific and Caribbean regions
• Courtney Fellowship for Burundi nationals
• Casement Fellowship in Human Rights for Nigeria nationals
• Frank Ferguson Fellowship in Engineering for Zambia nationals
• Seán MacBride Fellowship for Namibia nationals

For more information, please visit the Irish Aid Fellowships website.

Universities in Ireland can be another good source of postgraduate scholarships and funding for international students, offering a variety of different merit-based scholarships, ranging from fully-funded Masters to tuition fee waivers.

We’ve picked out the international scholarship pages from some of the top Irish universities below:

• Trinity College Dublin
• University College Dublin
• NUI Galway
• Maynooth University
• University College Cork
• Dublin City University

If you are an Indian national, there are a number of India specific postgraduate scholarships and funding available for you. You are also eligible for funding through the Government of Ireland International Education Scholarship and the Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship Programme, which we’ve covered in more detail above.

The Inlaks Shivdasani Foundation awards Masters scholarships of up to USD $100,000 (INR 78 Lakhs) to Indian students for study at top-rated universities in Ireland (as well as the UK, USA and elsewhere in Europe). Certain subjects and programmes aren’t eligible, such as Business, Engineering and Medicine.

Find out more about the Inlaks Shivdasani Scholarships.

The National Overseas Scholarship is available to low-income students who belong to one of the following categories: Scheduled Castes, Denotified Nomadic and Semi-Nomadic Tribes, Landless Agricultural Labourers, or Traditional Artisans.

This scholarship aims to enable these students to study abroad, providing an annual living cost allowance of USD $15,400 (INR 12 Lakhs), as well as covering tuition fees, travel expenses and visa fees.

Find out more about the National Overseas Scholarship.

Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) is the Irish student finance agency. In some cases, EU, EEA, UK or Swiss nationals (as well as those who have leave to remain in Ireland) can apply for financial support through SUSI.

If you’ve been living in Ireland for three out of the last five years, you could be eligible to apply for a contribution towards your tuition fees, as well as a maintenance grant (subject to qualifying as a ‘disadvantaged student’ who meets certain conditions).

If you’ve been living in the EU, EEA, UK or Switzerland (but outside Ireland) for three out of the last five years, you could be eligible for a contribution towards your tuition fees only (not a maintenance grant).

Depending on your personal circumstances, you could receive between £5,000 as a contribution towards your tuition fees.

The maintenance grant is worth yo to €1,774 if you ordinarily live within 45km of your university, but up to€4,292 if you ordinarily live outside of this radius.

Applications for the following academic year open in April and can be made online via SUSI.

For more information on eligibility for Irish student finance, please visit SUSI or the Citizens Information Board.

More about a Masters in Ireland

You can also have a look at our guides on how to apply to a Masters in Ireland and Irish student visas.

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