Of the approximately 10,000 PhD student enrolments annually in Ireland, in the region of 3,000 receive stipend awards from Research Ireland and approximately 1,000 do so from other public funders. Roughly 2,000 receive some level of institutional scholarship support from their host higher education institution, with the assistance of core funding from the Higher Education Authority. The remaining approximately 4,000 PhD students are privately funded, either by the individual or the employer.
In June 2025, Research Ireland updated its policies for maternity, paternity and adoptive leave. These updated polices include the approximate 3,000 PhD students in receipt of stipend awards that are funded by the agency.
Institutional scholarship supports received by PhD students from their higher education institution are funded primarily by the core funding provided to the sector, which has been progressively increased by the Government over recent years as part of the Funding the Future policy. The use of core funding is at the discretion of each higher education institution whose autonomy in this respect is established in legislation.
For those PhD students in receipt of stipends from national competitive funding agencies outside the remit of my Department, the level of stipend awarded and its Terms and Conditions is at the discretion of each funder and its parent Department.
