Employment-based PhD Scholarships for Health Science Professionals

Employment-based PhD Scholarships Programme Health Science Professionals Guidelines 2023

The Employment-based PhD Scholarship Programme for Health Science Professionals provides an opportunity for Health Science Professionals to conduct research whilst in employment. Scholarships under this scheme will be offered in 2023 by the College of Medicine and Health (CoMH), APC Microbiome Ireland and the INFANT Research Centre at University College Cork (UCC). In line with UCC’s Strategic Plan 2023-2028, and the Missions of Graduate Studies in CoMH, the APC Microbiome Ireland and the INFANT Research Centre, the remit of the Employment-based PhD Scholarships Programme for Health Science Professionals is to enhance and sustain excellence in graduate education in healthcare and health sciences, to deepen collaboration between researchers, clinicians, and industry partners, to increase PhD enrolment numbers and to develop pathways to widen access to programmes. Projects will align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and will be anchored in or across one of the four primary UCC Futures research themes in CoMH: Food Microbiome and Heath, Child, Ageing and Brain Science, Medicines. The Scholarship Programme is open to those who are in full-time or part-time employment, who are excited by research and have a strong desire to enhance health research.

Five scholarships will be offered on a competitive basis.

Scholarships will fund annual PhD registration fees PLUS €5,000 per annum if full time or €2,500 per annum if part time for associated research costs, over a maximum of 4 years (full-time) or 6 years (part-time).
One scholarship is sponsored by the APC Microbiome Ireland
One scholarship is sponsored by the INFANT Research Centre
The PhD candidate will remain a salaried employee and will concurrently register as a PhD student at UCC for the duration of the PhD project¹.

¹ PhD students and supervisors will abide by the UCC Policy on the Supervision of Research Students. https://www.ucc.ie/en/media/support/academicsecretariat/policies/graduatestudiespolicies/PolicyontheSupervisionofResearchStudents.pdf

Eligibility

Employer

A healthcare or health sciences organisation, business, company/industry, higher education institution, registered charity, or not-for-profit civic organisation or semi-state commercial organisation.
Financially independent of the University.
Willing to provide supports such as facilities and/or dedicated research time relevant to the PhD project.
Willing to provide a mentor/supervisor for the PhD candidate and work with supervisors at UCC.

Applicant

An employee (full time/part time) employed as a health sciences or healthcare professional in an organisation external to UCC.
Have obtained a standard of at least Second Class Honours, Grade I, in an approved primary degree, or other such evidence under the University's policy for Recognition of Prior Learning for Admission to Research Degrees.

Applicants who hold a Masters by Research should hold an honours level degree (NFQ level 8) with a minimum of a 2H2 (second class honours, grade 2).
NOTE: International applicants are advised to access the International Office website for information on studying at UCC https://www.ucc.ie/en/international/

Meet the English language requirements for the College of Medicine and Health. https://www.ucc.ie/en/study/comparison/english/postgraduate/

Supervisory team¹

Must include two members of UCC academic or research staff as per UCC policy on the Supervision of Research Students.
The lead supervisor must be a member of academic staff in CoMH for the duration of the project.
For projects sponsored by APC Microbiome Ireland or INFANT Research Centre, the lead supervisor should be an investigator in the relevant centre.
Should host a research programme relevant to the area in the proposed PhD study.
Should include a co-supervisor from a distinct discipline to the lead supervisor to enhance multidisciplinary research.
Additional co-supervisors external to UCC are permitted and must abide by the supervision principles of UCC.
Should include an early career researcher (desirable).
Have agreed the scholarship and proposed study with the applicant’s employer.

¹ PhD students and supervisors will abide by the UCC Policy on the Supervision of Research Students. https://www.ucc.ie/en/media/support/academicsecretariat/policies/graduatestudiespolicies/PolicyontheSupervisionofResearchStudents.pdf

How to Apply

Prior to applying for a PhD Scholarship for Health Science Professionals, the applicant must arrange the following:

Identify a lead supervisor from a School/Department/Research Centre or Institute in the College of Medicine and Health at UCC, and an employment mentor/supervisor from the place of employment.

In the case of scholarships sponsored/hosted by the APC Microbiome Ireland or INFANT Research Centre, the lead supervisor should be an investigator affiliated with the relevant Institute/Centre.
The lead supervisor will identify additional supervisors in consultation with the candidate to ensure that the relevant expertise is in place for the proposed PhD project.

Consult with the supervisory team and employment mentor/supervisor to identify a research project of priority to the area of employment and relevant to a research programme aligned with the UCC Futures research themes in the CoMH.

Once the employer confirms support, a supervisory team has been established, and a project agreed, a candidate may apply for the PhD Scholarship.

The application form can be downloaded here Employment-based PhD Application Form 2023

Part A should be completed by the applicant in consultation with the supervisory team and employment supervisor/mentor.
Part B should be completed by the supervisory team.

A letter of support from the employer should be submitted with the application and should refer to:

Relevance of the research area to the employment organisation.
The type of support that will be provided: e.g. facilities to conduct the research project in the workplace, provision of training events, percentage of protected time for the research, any additional funding that may be available to the applicant during the PhD project.
The availability of a mentor/supervisor from the organisation who will work with the UCC supervisory team for the duration of the PhD project.

Evidence of qualifications and final examination grades must be submitted with the application.
The completed application form together with the Letter of Support and evidence of qualifications should be compiled as one document in pdf format and emailed to gradschoolmh@ucc.ie
Applications that do not adhere to these requirements will not be considered.

The deadline for submission of the application is 5pm on Friday 26^th May 2023.

Selection

Applications will be assessed by the CoMH Graduate Studies Committee based on the following:

Scientific excellence and impact of the PhD project (0-50 marks).

justification for the study in line with the relevant UCC Futures research themes (Food Microbiome and Heath, Child, Ageing and Brain Science, or Medicines) and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, hypothesis, aims, research design and methods, impact, contribution to knowledge, societal gain from the research project and benefits of the project to the employment organisation

Workplace and research experience of the applicant relevant to the proposed PhD (0-10 marks).

workplace role relevant to conducting a PhD, any previous research conducted, publications, conference presentations, research awards, patents, audits, reports, policy or guidance documents

Applicant personal statement (0-10 marks).

desire to pursue a PhD, statement of suitability for the proposed research field, capability to successfully complete a PhD

Supervisory team (0-10 marks).

supervisor(s) experience and related areas of research [publications, collaborations, research awards, patents, funding], multidisciplinary skill mix, inclusion of early career researcher. Priority will be given to supervisory teams who have not previously been funded by the scheme.

PhD training and support structures (0-10 marks).

structured training activities/events, transferable/career skills, national/international conference/networking, access to scholars relevant to the proposed PhD research area, employment-based training
facilities/resources/training/protected time available to support the applicant conduct the project in the place of employment
added value of the scholarship to initiating collaborations or strengthening existing collaborations between the UCC supervisory team and the employment organisation. Benefits to the employment organisation

Partnership with employment organisation (0-10 marks).

Enquiries

General enquiries about the scholarships may be directed to Professor Yvonne Nolan, Vice Dean of Graduate Studies, College of Medicine and Health, at gradschoolmh@ucc.ie