Applying for IRCHSS Government of Ireland Postgraduate Research Scholarships

Basics
Only for research degrees (= M.Litt, PhD, or integrated Masters/PhD degrees). NUI Galways 4-yr structured PhD programme qualifies as integrated Masters/PhD degree. Funding for up to 3 years depending on stage 16,000 per year + fees (max. 5750) paid Must be Irish citizen or EU citizen resident in Ireland for 3 of past 5 years Applications to be submitted by post AND by email by 4.00 p.m. 21 February 2011 (or before) Outcomes expected in August

Basics
DFA Andrew Grene Scholarship 2011: see T&C Evaluation by board of 25+ international experts (each application read by multiple assessors). Criteria are described on page 7 of Application Form No other paid employment in Year 1 Up to 3 hours per week teaching in Years 2 & 3

Changes from 2010

NO academic transcripts needed at application stage
Only submitted if you are offered scholarship

All material MUST be supplied in the application form Two attempts only:
From 2009 onwards, applicants may only make one application and one subsequent application

Copies: 1 hard copy and 1 electronic copy only DFA Themes are new

New to 2011
Formal Statement on Research Environment to be completed by Head of Department (old Section D) For ease of contact Scholars are requested to use a single email for all correspondence from application, award and scholarship stages. MS Word only no PDF Application form has been simplified Word count to be specified by applicant.

New to 2011
Qualifications (Part C Academic Record) Provision of evaluation criteria and scores Fee upper limit of 5750 only Additional bursaries not to exceed 5000

Evaluation
Focus on funding excellence, originality and potential No subject quotas, no favoured topics nor disciplines International assessment N.B. assessors are assigned in accordance with Part 7 App form Evaluation process Numerical scoring and ranking No bias towards final year PhDs Both new and repeat applications are funded

Evaluation Process
Four-phase approach:
1. 2. 3. 4. Eligibility and Adherence to Terms and Conditions Pre-meeting evaluation by Board Members Assessment Board meeting Post-meeting follow up

Evaluation Criteria
Quality of Proposal
Clarity and coherence of the proposed topic. Quality and appropriateness of methodological approach. Feasibility and credibility of the proposed research plan in the proposed time period. Originality and innovative nature, where appropriate. Clarity of plans to acquire new knowledge and skills to achieve research aims, where appropriate. Direct alignment with Conflict Resolution Themes as set out in Terms and Conditions (for Andrew Grene scholarship applicants only) 60/100

Quality of Scholar

Match between applicant profile and project. Track record to date where appropriate (i.e. second or third year scholars) 20/100

Provision of Institutional Support

Match between applicant, supervisor and institution. Quality of Research environment and support available from the Department/School. 20/100

PGS Awards 2005-10

Year 2010/2011 2009/2010 2008/2009 2007/2008 2006/2007 2005/2006
Scheme
Apps Award Apps Award Apps Awards Apps Awards Apps Awards Apps Awards

Postgraduate Scholarship

649

92

630

145

461

153

365

124

378

94

293

91

Success Rate

14%

23%

33%

34%

25%

31%

10

12

14

16

0 5
Archaeology

2 5

Business & Management

Celtic Studies

Cultural Studies

Economics

Environmental Studies

French

Government and Political Science History

15

International Development Law

13

Linguistics

Literature Musicology Philosophy

2 8 4

Politics Psychology

10

Religious Studies Social and Economic Geography Social Policy and Social Work Sociology

Awards by Discipline (PGS 10)

2 3 3 2

Theology

Womens Studies

Ineligibility Issues 2010

No hard/soft copy Late Incomplete application:
No/incorrect signature Reference sent separately

Outside remit Outside original registration period (see App 1 T&C) Sections left incomplete or left blank

Scholars/Award holders
Payments are made directly to the university 6-monthly progress reports - critical processcould entail the termination of an award Permission needed for teaching/work experience, travel Template is sent to all scholars in advance

The Application Form

Download Word files from IRCHSS site: www.irchss.ie Complete Part 1 of Reference Form and send form to your referee: must be typed Get Head of Department/School to complete Formal Statement on Research Environment 16 sections to be completed on Application Form Some sections of special importance

SECTION 7. PLEASE INDICATE THE DISCIPLINE(S), IN ORDER OF IMPORTANCE, TO WHICH YOUR PROJECT RELATES.

Choose conventional disciplines (e.g. French, Sociology, History, Classics, Psychology, Film Studies, English, Marketing, Geography) AND/OR Interdisciplinary areas (e.g. Womens Studies, Cultural Studies, Irish Studies) This assists IRCHSS in choosing your assessors

SECTION 10. PROJECT

(10A.1) Description of topic (no more than 1000 words) aims and objectives central research questions (10A.2) Methodology (no more than 600 words), investigative and analytic methods theoretical frameworks (10A.3) Research plan (no more than 400 words) including a schedule of the completion of tasks/phases of the project and efficient management and performance of research

SECTION 10. PROJECT (contd)

(10A.4) Description of the relationship of the project to existing research. Suggest how the project will make a new contribution to knowledge (no more that 600 words). Do not provide bibliographical lists or footnotes. (10A.5) Description of any specialist knowledge/data required to undertake the project (e.g. language competence, technical skills, use of specialist software, etc.). Describe plans for acquiring this knowledge/data if is not already in place. Describe how data required for this project will be accessed. (No more than 200 words)

SECTION 10. PROJECT (contd)

(10A.6) Description of the reason for choosing this institution and supervisor for the project. Please provide details if the project will be part of an established research team. (No more than 400 words) (10A.7) Detail any proposed research trips (no more than three weeks duration) which will be necessary as part of your proposed project. (No more than 200 words) (10A.8) Description of dissemination plans (i.e. conference papers and publications) and potential impact, where relevant. (No more than 4200 words)

SECTION 10. PROJECT (contd)

FOR APPLICANTS ALREADY STARTED ON PhD: (10B) Assess your progress to date (no more than 500 words). (10C) Description of modifications made to the proposal if the proposal has been previously submitted (no more than 200 words).

(10A.1) Description of topic (no more than 600 words).

Aims and objectives Central research questions = what are the questions to which you are seeking answers? Provisional structure of thesis
* KEEP PROSE SIMPLE, DECLARATIVE AND

PRECISE IN ALL SECTIONS DO NOT WRITE IN ESSAY MODE

Illustration from first paragraph of a successful application: This thesis aims to expand our understanding of the Irish harp as a key cultural signifier in 18th- and 19th-century Ireland. Using a combination of sociological and literary analysis, it will contextualise the position of the harp in relation to the ideological, political and economic structures of the period. More specifically, it will trace the various visual, literary and musical representations of the harp alongside an examination of the harp as an actual object of musical performance and as an economic commodity. A particular focus will be given to the harps evolving role within Irish nationalist discourse from the period of the United Irishmen (and the crucially important Belfast Harpers festival of 1792), to the Sinn Fin movement of the early twentieth century.

Illustration of research questions:

The thesis will pose the following specific questions: What are the specific ways that the figure of the Irish harp been mobilised in Irish discourse, and with what purpose and effect? Were there variations in the cultural meanings of the harp among different socio-economic and political groups? What factors might explain these variations or evolutions? What is the relationship between literary and iconographic representations of the harp, and the manufacture, performance and reception of the harp as a musical instrument? How did economic and sociological factors affect the role of the harp as popular performance instrument? How do these material factors relate to the literary, scholarly and iconographic representations of the harp? To what extent does the position and meaning of the Irish harp enable us to understand the general evolution of Irish nationalism in the period?

(10A.2) Methodology (no more than 600 words). With what tools do you propose to find answers to your research questions? Investigative and analytic methods, for example: qualitative methods, quantitative methods, critical analysis, linguistic analysis, semiotic analysis, etc. Theoretical frameworks, for example: historicism, feminism, sociolinguistics, postcolonial theory, structuralism, etc.

(10A.3) Research plan (no more than 400 words).

Outline of development from year to year in term of tasks and phases

(10A.4) Description of the relationship of the project to existing research. Suggest how the project will make a new contribution to knowledge (no more than 600 words). Describe briefly what you know of the existing field already, showing that you know what the major works in the field are at present Do not give bibliographical lists or footnotes discuss and briefly evaluate the scholarship in plain prose, perhaps categorising by theme or chronology Suggest how your work will EXTEND and/or CHALLENGE this work (what are the gaps and problems in the existing field that you will address?)

Illustration:
The iconographic and ideological significance of the Irish harp has not been explored in a comprehensive interdisciplinary context to date. Some excellent musicological examinations exist such as Colette Moloneys recent synthesization of Buntings collections which deals authoritatively with one specific area, but is therefore limited in range. While Joep Leerssen has expertly examined the creation of a self-image of Ireland in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the prominence of the harp as an agent in the formation of culture, ideology and society is not a central concern of his. Barra Boydells research into the iconography of the harp offers interesting overviews; however much of his lore on the subject comes from the visual or historical. In no case are the theoretical perspectives of semiotics and feminist theory deployed.

Illustration:
More specifically, my project should add to our existing knowledge of these areas in several ways: providing a more extensive, richer, and more complex interdisciplinary analysis of the various roles and meanings of the Irish harp than has hitherto been possible; a demonstration, through the case study of the harp, of the relations between ideological, political, cultural and economic spheres in Irish society in the period; a deeper understanding of the history and dynamics of cultural nationalism in Ireland.

(10A.5) Description of any specialist

knowledge/data required to undertake the project (e.g. language competence, technical skills, use of specialist software, etc.). Describe plans for acquiring this knowledge/data if is not already in place. Describe how data required for this project will be accessed (no more than 400 words).

Languages Technical skills: e.g. laser profilometry, interviewing Software: e.g. SPSS, NUD*IST, NVIVO, XML, GIS, etc. Datasets Archives

(10A.6) Description of the reason for choosing this institution and supervisor for the project. Please provide details if the project will be part of an established research team Supervisors expertise Appropriate library or other institutional resources Specific training opportunities Existence of relevant programmes or similar research projects at your chosen university

(10A.8) Dissemination plans (no more than 200 words).

Examples of publication and forms of impact:

thesis, conference papers, articles, databases, software tools, websites, podcasts, etc.

(12) Bibliography (no more than 2 pages) List any works mentioned in previous sections, and provisional indication of reading you expect to undertake (15) Ethics Check with research office if you believe your topic may require ethical approval (does it involve research interviews, etc.?) Section MUST BE SIGNED by Head of Department either Yes or No.

The Reference
Choose an academic referee who is familiar with your work e.g. your current supervisor, or MA course lecturer, or a final-year tutor Discuss your draft proposal with her or him well in advance of deadline

Remember!
Get your reference organised early Keep checking FAQs on IRCHSS website Section 15 must be signed by Head of Department Section 16 must be signed by Supervisor and signed/stamped by Vice-President for Research. (Fiona Burns in the Research Office is the contact for Vice President for Research signature/stamp). Formal Statement of Research Environment must be signed by Head of Department Electronic and postal submission