Doctoral Student Conference/Course Bursaries

Twice a year, in the Autumn and again in Spring, the Graduate Studies Committee in the College of Medicine and Health invites applications for up 10 Travel Bursaries or Registration Bursaries from students registered for a doctoral degree (PhD/MD/Doctorate) in the College of Medicine and Health.

Application Guidelines - Autumn 2023

Graduate Studies in the College of Medicine and Health are now inviting applications for the Autumn 2023 call.

It is envisaged that the College will award up to 10 Doctoral Bursaries to CoMH students registered for a doctoral degree (PhD/MD/Doctorate), to cover activities taking place between 1^st October 2023 and 22^nd September 2024. 

The purpose of these awards is twofold:

• To facilitate students who wish to present their work at an international conference.
• To facilitate the training of students who wish to acquire skills that are essential for their academic development, but which they cannot otherwise receive in UCC.

Student applicants can apply for:

• Up to €1000 in financial support that may be used towards the cost of travel, accommodation and registration fees for relevant conferences or training courses [Travel Bursary].

• Or up to €500 in financial support that may be used towards the registration fees for relevant online participation at conferences or training courses [Registration Bursary].

Further details and an application form are available by clicking on Doctoral_Bursaries_CoMH_Guidelines and ApplicationForm_Autumn 2023.

Please note that all applications must be submitted by 5pm on Friday 1^st December 2023.

Research Funding Opportunities

Research funding may be sought from the national funding bodies, mainly the Health Research Board (HRB), the Irish Research Council (IRC), Science Foundation Ireland (SFI), the National University of Ireland and the Universities Ireland North/South Scholarship scheme; from international funding bodies, including the European Commission through the Horizon Europe programme, Wellcome, and the US National Institute of Health (NIH) (subject to eligibly of any particular grant), and through charities and societies in a particular disease or research area, such as and The Irish Cancer Society and Breakthrough Cancer Research. 

These funding bodies put out calls (grants) for proposals which may be ‘top-down’, where the research idea is predetermined in order to address a particular policy or grand challenge, or ‘bottom-up’, where you are free to propose any research idea. Calls may or may not be aimed at a particular career stage. They may for open to a single applicant or an applicant team (consortium). For example, Fellowships are for single applicants and focus of the individual’s career development as much as the research idea.  

Keep an eye on the websites for open and upcoming calls. Also check out Research Professional, a very useful one-stop-shop where you can find all available grants from every funding body or society.   

The funding landscape is complicated and difficult to navigate, so don’t hesitate to seek help from Ashleigh, the CoMH RMA (research management/administration) on ashleigh.byrne@ucc.ie.  

Relevant current and forthcoming grants

*EOI = expression of interest. An initial short application which, if selected, precedes a full application.  

Travel Bursaries

Annual travel bursaries are offered through the Fulbright Irish Awards. Travel bursaries are also offered through professional colleges or specialist societies, available according to the area of study, so it is worth looking into what may be on offer within your field.